Douglas MacArthur was a US General in WWII. He commanded US troops in the Pacific. Among other things, he is famous for his bold statement “I shall return” when US troops were forced to evacuate the Philippines early in the war. He also was headstrong and brash — which led Harry Truman to fire him during the Korean War. At which point he said, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”
The other day I came across this quote by him. I like it’s simplicity and common sense.
“Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.”
I particularly like “(you) are as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear.”
Self confidence is an important key to your life and career success. I tell my career mentoring clients that there are three ways to build your self confidence.
- Choose optimism — believe that things will work out, and then do whatever you need to do to make it happen.
- Surround yourself with positive people. Jettison the negative people in your life.
- Face your fears and act.
As General MacArthur points out, fear is a confidence killer — and it will make you old before your time. People who are willing to face their fears — to do things that frighten them — stay young. They also increase their chances of success. When you fight past your fear you build your confidence and increased confidence makes it easier for you to take on new and bigger challenges.
Your career mentor,
Bud
PS: You can download a free copy of my popular book, Success Tweets and its companion piece, Success Tweets Explained at www.SuccessTweets.com. When you do, I’ll begin sending you daily motivational quotes and give you a free basic membership in my career mentoring site.
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