Successful Business Owner or Successful Actor?
One day while feeling worthless after losing a big account, I began to panic over a sales call I had to make later that day. I felt like such a loser. How could I possibly close the upcoming deal? On the way, I stopped at my parish to help with the arrangements for the christening of one of my seven children.
As I approached the monsignor’s office, I heard him say to someone unseen, “Act as if you have faith, and faith will be given to you.” Boom! It was like one of those profound moments in a movie where the hero gets larger on the screen as his surroundings shrink. This was my epiphany. This was the key to my future success. That simple sentence changed my life.
So even though I didn’t really feel like a winner, I acted like I was the most confident guy in the world. I put back my shoulders, lifted my head, relaxed the worried crease between my eyebrows and strutted down the street to my business appointment. I boldly greeted the prospective clients, joked and chatted and began to give the best sales presentation of my life. Halfway through, I wondered if I was really confident or if I was still just pretending to be confident. I couldn’t tell. Afterwards, as they signed the contract, it struck me that somewhere during the afternoon my confidence had returned full force. Feeling inadequate? Act as if you are outgoing and you will become outgoing. Trust me … it works.
