Confidence - in any area of life - comes from doing something over and over. But the trick is doing it right. Our level of confidence is built on our successes, but we achieve those successes by learning from our failures and trying to not repeat them.

In his book, Everyday Enlightenment, Dan Millman wrote, "The next time you feel that something good can't last, remind yourself that evolution moves in an upward spiral and that life can, and usually does, get better over time. You live and learn. If you pay attention and strive to improve, you become stronger, clearer, wiser and more capable. Life is a process of rediscovering your worth and the worth of all beings.

... To discover your worth, you have to reach within yourself and find it there. You have to create it through worthy actions."

Confidence brings with it a host of benefits. A confident creative is better equipped to make a persuading presentation. They tend to be better networkers. They aren't afraid to charge higher fees. They possess the wonderful ability to simply say "no." They'll take calculated risks and be more aggressive in pursuing those clients that are a good fit for them. In a nutshell, they're proactive, not reactive.

Confidence differs from plain 'ole cockiness in that it's based in facts. If you're having trouble seeing your value (and lots of us do), step away from "you" for a bit and look at your work, and you as a creative, from an objective point of view. What do you bring to the table? How have you helped your clients achieve their goals? What do you do that your competition doesn't? That difference can be a lot of things - style, unique point of view, how you handle the working relationship, etc. For me, I bring my marketing background along with a good design sense. Other designers around here and elsewhere, don't do that too often. They may be great designers, but they don't have the knowledge or desire to see the big picture in a client's marketing arena. One brochure or website doesn't a winner make. It's pulling all the touch points together seamlessly to make an impact on the audience.

So, how do you start building confidence? Here's a few quick methods:

Ask for client testimonials.
One way I get testimonials is to simply ask or by doing a survey. I have this deal I send out occasionally that's sort of my report card. I have a bunch of questions with multiple choice answers. I try to add some humor in there to keep things light. Clients fill it out and mail it back to me. They can do it anonymously, but they usually put their name on it. I mail these rather than email. I include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a scratch off instant lottery ticket as a thank you. They seem to get a kick out of it and several have won some dough. I also do a similar thing at speaking engagements. They get to rate me at the end of the presentation. Reading through these surveys can give you an immediate confidence boost. "They like me! They really like me!"

Enter some competitions and win a few awards.
Those help because, like testimonials, they're third party endorsements. You can promote those from the point of view of "Hey, it's not me giving these glowing accounts of how wonderful I am. It's them."

There are loads and loads of competitions out there. For designers, check into HOW, ID, Communication Arts, etc. You might also want to look into The American Design Awards and the various competitions put on by the paper companies. Here's a site with a nifty listing of competitions.

Acting as if
This is a simple, but very effective technique. You just act as if you had confidence. Piece of cake, right? For some folks, it's a matter of finding a confident person they admire and mimicking what they do.

I'm a pretty shy guy. Yeah ... I know, hard to believe, but true. Although I'm shy, I don't let that prevent me from striking up a conversation at the table during a business networking lunch. I also don't have any problem with public speaking, a task that places higher than death on the "Things folks hate most" list.

How do I pull it off? I sort of become a different person. Early on, I had a mentor who was remarkable when it came to self-confidence. He was a natural salesman and leader. I watched what he did and did the same. Guess what? It worked. Over time, I built up my confidence level because I'd proven to myself that I could do it. I knew what to expect.

Clients (and people in general) will subliminally pick up on your level of confidence. Real confidence has a Zen-like calm. Cockiness is boisterous. When the client's freaking out because they put off planning for the trade show that's coming up, they're reassured when they see you approach the project calmly. You're calm because you're confident, knowing you can pull it off because you always have in the past. You know where the problems are likely to crop up, so you address them before they become major headaches. You end up with a happy client who will sing your praises.

Building confidence also means stretching ourselves a bit. We all tend to rise to our own level of expectation. Expect a wee bit more from yourself each day and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. As Lao Tzu said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Consider calling that prospect at Mondo Big Corp. who you've been chomping at the bit to work with. Sign up to attend that networking event you've been putting off due to the shear terror of having to talk to somebody you don't know. What's the worst that can happen? Lots of people have this idea in the not-so-far-back of their head that they'll come off as an ass or make a fool of them self. So what if you do? Big deal. We all goof up every now and then. The trick is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, have a little chuckle and move on.

Basing our self-concept on the opinions of others is a pretty bad idea. Albert Einstein's early teachers labeled him as having no talent in the math department. If he had bought into that thinking, the genius within him would never have seen the light of day.

Consider doing a reality check. Write down your good points and your not so good points. Be objective. Talk it over with someone close to you. Often a significant other or close friend can see the positive traits and abilities within us that we can't, because we're too close to the situation or our thinking has been influenced by others early on. Consider the words of Sun Tzu, "Know yourself and you will win all battles."

At the end of the day, confidence is about believing in yourself and your abilities because of your successes. That belief lets you spread your wings and try new things. It's about feeling okay in your own skin. It's about living, learning and building on a solid foundation. Each day you become a bit more than you were yesterday.

Write this down and stick it on your monitor or bathroom mirror, "Believe in yourself. You are your greatest asset, there's nothing you can't do."

And remember, don't ever sell yourself short.