Confidence Blog

All great leaders have one particular great quality that, perhaps, stands out further than the others, and that is: they all have a vision. Their vision could vary and be as wide spread as from leading a company expansion or merger to creating a happy home environment.

A CEO from a well-established company has lead the expansion of his own company three times within a few years of its establishment. Yet he constantly faced a lack of leadership in his ability to create magic moments with his two young children.

On his way home, after our third and most mind-storming session, a thought suddenly came to him. He immediately put down the newspaper and reflected on that thought: I learned to be a leader because I was quick to realise and accept that every challenge had presented me with an opportunity to grow.

From that moment, a personal vision came to effect. And that was to commit to lead and spend at least one high quality hour with his children every night, no matter what.

If you were to take the lead to improve on the quality of your life, what one action are you prepared to commit to for the coming three months?

Hani Al-Qasem

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

Do you want to learn how to have the self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life? Be sure to read the tell-all guide Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps to rocket your self-confidence and self-esteem to achieve all that you want.

“You are so negative. Why not try being positive and appreciative just for once in your life?” cried a disgruntled executive as she glared across her Managing Director’s wide desk. Then she turned on her heels and sternly walked out of his office, feeling proud of herself.

As he outlined this event to me a few days later, I could clearly see that he was taken aback by her reaction. He never considered himself to be a negative person whether at work or at home. And he certainly thought he appreciated his staff.

I asked him to carry a notebook with him at all times, and to always make sure it was visible to him; to serve as a reminder to note down any time he felt or said anything negative. For this inventory to be effective, he was to include a weekend day.

At our next session, we tallied up his negative thoughts; they were, to his surprise, rather high. Now that he became aware of that, the next step was to eliminate them. As soon as a negative thought came to mind, he was to stop it and turn it into a positive statement. If he cannot think of one, he could turn the negative into an appreciative thought.

When you notice you are having a negative thought, one powerful method to stop and counter that is to say, “CANCEL THAT”, to yourself or out loud. Another method is to wear a rubber band on your wrist, and when you become aware of that negativity creeping in, snap that rubber band. The sting will divert your thoughts from that negative thinking, and you can turn that interception into a positive or appreciative thought.

If you were to catch yourself thinking, or talking, negatively about someone or a situation, what tool would you use to put an immediate halt to that negative thought?

Hani Al-Qasem

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

Do you want to learn how to have the self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life? Be sure to read the tell-all guide Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps to rocket your self-confidence and self-esteem to achieve all that you want.

We all want the best for our children. We want them to be the top in their class, to be the best in sports, to have the best jobs and to live a happy and successful life.

To play our part in preparing our children, as they grow into young adults and beyond, it is important that we always remember to keep their best interest at hand. And we do this by keeping a keen eye on what they are good at and what they enjoy doing.

A very open-minded and joyful company director one day realised that his seven year old son really enjoys putting things together. He would confidently and happily spend hours in his world of creativity.

This man accepted that it was his responsibility, as a father, to expand on the boy’s interest. Yet he was unsure how to encourage him without the boy thinking that his dad was interfering or pressuring him, resulting in the boy losing interest.

By working closely with a coach the father decided that he would indirectly build on that creative confidence. And then he would use that stack to expand on his son’s ability to succeed in other areas in his own way.

If you want to build greater confidence in your children, in a way that they feel that they had gained that extra spurt on their own, how would you plan to achieve it?

Hani Al-Qasem

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

Do you want to learn how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life? Be sure to read the FREE sample of the e-book Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.

Many people live a habitual life: always taking the same route to work or to the shops, getting dressed in the same order or going to the same resort for their holidays year after year.

What about the other habits, those that make up who some people are: always a cigarette with a cup of coffee, too shy to attend social events, not courageous enough to ask a person on a date.

A mother, who worked as an executive in the financial district of London, said: “I want to be confident enough to make something more out of my life. Yet I have a habit of running away from opportunities that I know would really benefit me. Can I change this habit?”

We create our habits because we are creatures of habit. And we can change our habits to better our life.

Following a number of sessions with an executive coach, the mother began to see a number of small opportunities; these were her own, they were her ideas that she was happy to incorporate, and as time went by, she used these to build her confidence.

The small opportunities became small successes and she built on the confidence gained from these to start exploring and taking on board larger and more challenging ones. In this way, she naturally integrated new habits into her way of life.

Get into the routine of changing your old habits by making one small change every day, large or small. The possibility for change is always there, every moment of every day.

Create and practise habits that support how you want to be, and notice how new doors of opportunities begin to open.

If there is a habit that is not allowing you to make an improvement in your life, what would that habit be?

Hani Al-Qasem

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

Do you want to learn how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life? Be sure to read the FREE sample of the e-book Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.

Success, in all its shapes and forms, and in any way that you describe it to be, is not achieved by accident. It takes commitment, motivation and persistence.

And more importantly, the journey begins the moment you make the decision to be successful, and then by making the right choices that are congruent with that decision.

An executive in a thriving cosmetic company had often thought of resigning as she felt she didn’t have the qualifications to progress any further, and, as a single, working mother, she couldn’t find the time to improve on her credentials.

By the end of the second session, this lady had made a decision that would advance her career. By deciding to reach higher, she made the decision to invest in herself, to learn more so she can offer more.

To do that, she chose to commit at least one hour every night to study, rather than watch television, once the children were asleep.

If you were to make one decision today that would have a positive impact on your life, what would that be?

Hani Al-Qasem

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

Do you want to learn how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life? Be sure to read the FREE ebook Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.