When Confidence is cool
Marietta, GA – When Confidence is cool
We all know who the cool kids in school were. I remember a guy in my school was just “cool”. I won’t mention his name, I will just call him “Howie”.
Howie had an older brother, who was also cool. Everyone know who Howie was. The teachers all knew him and candidly respected him and the girls all swooned when he walked down the hall. Younger guys like me wanted to be just like him. The coaches wanted Howie on the team roster. Not because Howie was the best player on the team but because the team just performed better with him on the field or court. He lifted the confidence of the best players to up their game.
Years later I understood why Howie was so cool. He had a confidence about him that gave him a certain authority. An air of invincibility that followed him. It was a trait that was learned and practiced. We all have an area in our life where we can practice and acquire confidence in something that will define us. Malcolm Gladwell referred to the 10,000-hour rule where anything that we commit 10,000 hours to will make us an expert in whatever the area of concentration is. Want to be an awesome, world-class musician? It’s easy. Just surround yourself with a compatible peer group and commit 10,000 hours or 5 years of your life.
In business we call this person a Subject Matter Expert or “SME”. What would you like to be known as an SME in? If you could be the absolute best in something, what would you like to be known for? Go ahead, dream big. Begin or complete your path to 10,000 hours now. What better time to begin? Don’t limit yourself. You can be confident and “cool” in whatever field you want. I encourage you to take that step. Just begin. Just do it.
#EncourageExcellence
Bryan
The world is a different place today. COVID-19 has changed numerous lives and situations, from businesses to nations. People across the globe have been faced with the unknown countless times during this pandemic and are still currently staring down an unlit tunnel. Where does the world go from here?
It is written within out civil liberties that the people hold the right to freedom of assembly. While I do believe that at this current state the government is still attempting to reign in the spread of COVID-19, will they stall their overarching reach once the pandemic begins to die out? This question has started to become more frequent as the quarantining orders prevail nearly nationwide.
While the above may be true for a vast majority of people, it is not without its solutions. Reputation can be re-made and there are resources whose goals are to help aid in reputation management. 
Students that are between the ages of 12 and 15 are coming into their own identity as they enter the time of life when they will be choosing lasting friendships, career choices, and whether or not they want to attend university or stay closer to home and pick a trade instead. Big choices that will shape their future in a short 3 or 4 year time period.
One thing that every middle schooler should embrace is the technology and it has shaped our world and will continue to shape our society. Middle school-aged students that embrace technology like blockchain will be ahead of most of their peers and even most college-aged students today. Blockchain will shape our world for the next 50 years in almost every facet of our lives. Incorporating blockchain technology in our government in elections, for example, would reduce fraud and corruption to being almost nonexistent.
Dan says, “If you want to write a good novel, if you want to work for Google or some other cool company, if you want to complete college – all of those things require some serious intellectual firepower. 
Polarization seems to be everywhere today and it will probably get worse unless we take the proactive approach of engaging others who might disagree with our own worldview.
We, as Americans, have won life’s lottery in many ways by just living in the USA during the current century. Our way of life is the envy of the world and we have a huge responsibility to not squander the opportunities that we have been given.
A lot of our coworkers and even our children may have never experienced a “recession” before. One thing we can absolutely be certain of is change. My former GE CEO, Jack Welch, was fond of telling us that we must embrace change because we can’t stop it. He even wrote a book entitled, “Control your own destiny, or someone else will” We can’t be afraid of change. We need to embrace it. Times will become uncertain but that’s OK. Reassure your friends, family, and coworkers that everything is cyclical. Our US economy will adapt and overcome like it has for over two centuries.
The “Great Recession” may have only happened 13 years ago but some of us folks have lived and worked through 6 or 7 recessions. We know that recessions will end and we will see the change in our economy and the way we live our lives. “Experienced” individuals and managers need to step up and lead by example to help those who might be nervous or lacking confidence. Remember to encourage excellence in everything we do. Some of our biggest and most successful companies have been started during recessions. Use your creative minds to stay sharp and don’t let fear creep into your thoughts as we weather some of the storms ahead. We WILL get through this period and be better and stronger. 
Most Americans did not get to attend church this week. I am looking forward to things getting somewhat normal again soon. May God bless you and your families during these unpredictable times.
Dr. Bob Rotella is a Sports Psychologist that has worked with some of the best athletes in the world. He is a pioneer in the field of process improvement of the minds and bodies of elite professional athletes.
Players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Pete Marinich and Larry Bird have played at a different level because they trained their minds and focused their practice on a trajectory of improvement that the other 99% of professional athletes aren’t willing to do. To put in the work to separate themselves from the average professional. Even if the average professional athlete is already superior to most players.
This Flywheel of Dreams, Goals, and Process will gather momentum as the elite professional becomes better and more confident with each accomplishment. Through hard work and preparation, they see themselves taking the last shot, wanting the ball at critical moments and winning the games at the highest levels.
Bryan E. Wilson 