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Dec 16, 2008 
Billie Jean King once said, “Be bold. If you’re going to make an error, make a doozy, and don’t be afraid to hit the ball.”
I’m not asking you to engage in dangerous behavior, be foolhardy, or be reckless. However, I want you to engage in one act of boldness per week as part of your overall strategy for becoming more self-confident.
Boldness here means undertaking some deliberate action that involves attempting more than you usually comfortably attempt.
For example, maybe you can head up that fund drive for your church or community group, even though you’ve never done anything like that before.
A mysterious and wonderful thing happens when you engage in a bold activity -and oftentimes you succeed!
Even if you don’t, you often learn valuable lessons along the way. Also, you add to the well of self-confidence you’ve been building.
I read about a mountain climber who said that as a strategic maneuver, he sometimes began scaling the wall of a cliff where he knew he could not retreat. His only option was making it to the top, succeeding all the way (and then, presumably, finding a reliable way down on the other side).
I’m not asking you to scale cliffs, far from it.
Here are some suggestions for your once-a-week act of boldness:
1. Ask for a raise, even if it’s months before the time when raises are usually given.
2. Speak up at a meeting where you’ve never before spoken up.
3. Wear something that is normally a little wild or extravagant for you.
4. Write a highly opinionated but well reasoned letter to the editor of your local newspaper about some issue of current importance. Intend for it to be published.
5. Throw down a challenge to the members of your team or your staff at the next meeting.
There’s an old Russian proverb that says you can’t jump a chasm with two leaps.
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boldness, positive energy, Positive Mental Attitude, practice boldness, self confidence
