I feel like over the last little while, there have been many posts about guys who are complaining that they can't succeed for one reason or another. Height, race, location, blah blah blah. Mark already sort of addressed this in his 'Dont Play the Victim' blog, but I've got another spin on it.

One of the keys to being confident in yourself is having a glass-is-half-full mentality and being positive about yourself. Those who focus on their 'negative' aspects are going to seriously lack confidence and thus will struggle to achieve what they deem as success.

That being said, let's do a little comparison between 2 guys here:

Guy #1: Is short, skinny and has stretch marks. He has a big nose and wears make up daily to hide pimples on his face. His penis is no larger than average and he has a speech impediment. He was always the 'loser with no friends' in school and has many reputation-killing rumours spread about him. On two different occasions, he was publically beat up by a girl. He is a college dropout and lives at home with his mother. He lives in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business and quality women are few and far between. He wonders daily whether or not he will ever break free and be successful in life.

Guy #2: Goes to the gym 3-4 times a week and has put on 20 lbs of muscle in the past year. He takes good care of himself and dresses well. He has a good job that he enjoys, and allows him to work close to home. He travels often and drives a black muscle car. Over the years, he has dated cheerleaders, Hooters waitresses, models, exotic dancers and minor celebrities. He is preparing to attend University and major in an important field of study. He has the reputation of being a guy who can have a different girl every night of the week - and it's true.

I'm sure that some of you are able to identify with Guy #1, and some with Guy #2.

Here's the catch: They're both the same person - They're me.

The difference is that I focus on the positive aspects rather than the negative. That's where my confidence comes from and that's a big reason why I'm successful. Everyone has something to be confident about it. Find it.

Great post Dave!

Maybe I should add a couple of my stories.

- I wanted to get a grip on my social life: I called everyone in my cell phone. Now I'm having a social life that has never been more rich then ever. Keep in mind that before I used to be mistreated by very bad friends, I had zero backbone.
- I used to be horribly overweight. Now I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and I'm getting compliments from women about how I'm looking. Girls are starting to wonder why I don't have a girlfriend (yet ).
- I used to be extremely shy, yet one day I decided to speak in front of an audience. Little did I know that I just discovered a HUGE talent. Women told me they've never met anyone who is more powerfull. People were comparing me with Tony Robbins and even abraham lincoln (I doubt if anyone has ever heard him speak, but hey great compliment ).
- In groups I was always the guy who spoke last, when i had a joke I always told it to someone else first and then he mentioned it to the group. Now people tell me that I'm the most fun person they've ever met (after 5 minutes). People are always telling me how optimistic I am and how much positive energy I'm having.
- I used to be a chronic underachiever. Now not anymore. My school work? I'm now conditioning myself progressively and I'm unstoppable. I went from 24 hours to 29 hours to 37 hours to 42 hours per week. Only today I took a break , but hey I've never worked this much in a row in my entire life.
- I'm confident that I can achieve whathever I want. Now I'm developing concentration skills to be even more ambitious. 5 years ago I was consistently bitching about how I lacked "concentration".
- I'm ridiculously proactive. I wanted money? Fine just ask in 30 bars whether they want you or not. I earned a lot of money that way. I got fired in one business? No problem, I had tons of options .
- My looks. I used to be so insecure of myself. Now i've heared women compare me with Brad Pitt and it's not uncommon for me to get approached by women. During the day or during the night. I regurarily hear oh he's so cute or you were very impressive

.....

I think there are even more stories like that. In the end I'm actually happy that all this bullshit happened to me (teachers who told me I was to passive, friends who took advantage of me). Seriously....

And you know what? The reason I'm so ambitious about my entire life, is because I'm afraid of where I came from. I don't ever ever ever want to get back to the old way again. NEVER

oh yeah I'm 5f9 and I'm NOT SHORT haha , I just don't think that. I have way too much natural charisma to allow myself to be affected by just that.

oh yeah the summer vacation is probably going to be the best I've ever head. Since I've already met a lot of great girls who live close to my home.

I'll also add that one of my beliefs is that everything happens for a reason and it serves us in life.

cheers! life is to short, take advantage of it

tony robbins

euh I mean crazy horse

Holy shit I didn't expect the ending... good post! +1

wow... talk about an inspirational post. respect.