Confidence And The Wagon Wheel Of Success

This is for all the young folks out there that haven't learned to develop enough "confidence" to accomplish the goals in life they want. I was recently asked along with my other classmates to write what I was most proud of accomplishing after I graduated. This got me thinking about an article I wrote sometime back, about confidence. I've got some classmates that have put me to shame, like the Retired Chief Of Police of a city, or another guy that was able to build a home of such substance it was used as a Model for " Better Homes and Gardens" or a gal that not only owns a great home here in Ohio, but another one in Sedona Arizona I could go on and on. How do they do it? I keep seeing post after post here on Facebook from our young friends that obviously lack confidence and I though, I was like that at one time how did I overcome the most shy and backward kid in school. Read the story and see and maybe it will change your life like it did mine, it enabled me to earn enough money in 9 months to pay for a brand new 1966 Mustang.

CONFIDENCE
WHAT IS IT: The dictionary says its belief in one's own abilities? Trust; reliance; assurance:
WHY DO YOU WANT IT: Let me answer that by telling a short story about myself? When I was a young man in high school going through my senior year, I was very shy, almost backwards and had no confidence in my abilities in social graces.
I knew who I wanted to ask to the senior prom and probably everyone else in school who knew me knew also who I would ask. But I didn't have the confidence to ask her, even though I sat right beside her in study hall every day. I was just simply to shy and scared to try.
I didn't want to call her on the phone from home for fear my brothers and sisters might laugh and tease me, if by chance I got turned down. So what could I do, well I decided to walk about a mile down the road to Elmer's Grocery Store and call her from there, because I could have some privacy as I would pick a time when no one was about. I had no confidence at all in myself and I almost blew it, because she told me she wasn't going to wait any longer for fear of having to turn down any other callers and have no one ask her and if I hadn't called by now I probably wasn't going too. Well everything turned out well and I took "Miss Fireman of Ohio" to the senior prom and we all had a great time.
HOW DO YOU GET IT: Confidence comes mostly from doing something and doing it well enough to know you're good at it? Back to when I was in school I had good confidence in my ability to play basketball. You see as a teenager I could do something most could not do.
I milked 6 cows every morning and again at night which gave me very strong hands and fingers. I could walk out on the gym floor holding a basketball upside down in each hand and this gave me the confidence I needed to try hard enough to make the team.
I wasn't arrogant; I was just self-assured and knew I could play well, after all my dad played well in Kentucky and could still out shoot me in the barn lot. Plus I have some cousins who played at Lynchburg that I learned from, Johnny who was really good ended up playing for the United States Air Force team and played all over the world and at Madison Square Garden's many times. He had articles written about him in the New York Times calling him "sure shot Branham with springs in his feet"; Johnny could jump like a Deer. I was 5' 10" tall and he would run straight at me and jump completely over my head. His older brother Jimmy played along with our coach John Burton there in Lynchburg and Coach Burton held the school record for highest score until it was won by Danny Branham little brother to Jimmy and Johnny. Danny obviously learned from his older brothers.
Confidence is so important and if you'll watch closely when you see a great athlete that has a son or daughter that comes along they develop that trust and confidence from their father that helps them excel beyond the normal very quickly. It's the trust and assurance they are able to gain that gives them the boost they need.
When I entered the USAF and was sent to March AFB in Southern California, where I was just another rock in the creek, I lost all confidence among the many that talked with arrogance like Rush Limbaugh or Bobby Knight does today, with all the confidence in the world, not knowing they were just as scared as me.
Things went along like this for quite some time until one day I met Marty Bloomingdale and in talking with him I heard him tell Jim Garret the amount of money he was making in his off hours. As I was only making $123.00 per month with a wife and kid I was interested in making a little more money. Let me just say that Marty was not an impressive individual he was not good looking and he was not someone most would want to emulate. So I figured if he could do it so could I. So I went with him to meet this Chuck Courtwright who was the leader of this group called "Presto Pride".
Well Chuck changed my life forever he instilled in me the confidence and enthusiasm that was always there just waiting to come out and be displayed. He asked me a few questions and said, come back next week and in between now and then I want you to read this book and handed me a book called [Think and Grow Rich]. He knew if I was really interested in improving my life I would read the book and return wanting to know more and if I was just another blow hard I probably wouldn't even come back.
Well I read the book and was as thrilled and excited as one can be, I had never heard of such successes as was in this book and all starting from nothing. I was ready to get to work, but he wasn't ready for me just yet, he handed me another book called [How to Win Friends and Influence People] by Dale Carnegie. I had to wait another week before he would hire me, he said I don't want you to get started and then fail, I want you to know you can do this and continue to be successful from here on out.
I didn't doubt him at all I could see success all around him at every meeting he was giving away prizes that I couldn't afford at all, dozens of them fancy lamps and what knots for the home, fancy clocks made of glass, stuff you would only dream about as a young 21 year old Airman.
Just let me say I went to work with him and in nine months earned enough money to completely pay off a brand new 1966 Mustang. We almost completely furnished our home with his prizes, you see he knew he had to not only have me, but he needed to have my wife's confidence as well hence all the prizes to motivate her to spur me on and help build my confidence. I parlayed all that success into enough confidence to come back to Ohio and had all three company's that I had given my resume too wanting to hire me, and yet with no formal education [college degrees were a requirement] I was hired as a salesman for PITNEY BOWES, the world's leader in mail equipment.
I went on to own Century 21 Champions Real Estate Company with 155 sales people and seven offices plus a commercial division in Cincinnati. A large building company an Insurance company and a development company selling my land to Fifth Third Bank , Arby's and United Dairy Farmers and others . I even wrote a National book on " Mergers in the Real Estate Business". So if this ole country boy can do it so can you. Hope you don't take this as bragging, but why should you believe me if I had never accomplished anything, I'm just trying to set my posture as they say lol.
Confidence is like pouring water into a glass; if you try to do to tepidly you will most likely spill some of it just trying ; if you're so arrogant you just grab it and dump it in you'll lose most of it also; but if you pour with assurance, trust, and confidence you will fill the glass and never spill a drop. Learn all you can about what you want to do, find something you desire, go after it with a passion. Keep your priorities straight, I always put GOD first family second and my vocation third and anything else after that for fun.
Remember your ABC'S when it comes to success I had a complete "wagon wheel of success" I used to teach my sales associates it works and some drove new Cadillac's free to prove it.
ATTITUDE
BELIEF
CONFIDENCE
DESIRE
EFFORT
FAILURE
GOALS
HELP
Look at these attributes as spokes in a wagon wheel. As you know in order for a wheel to turn it has to have many spokes the more and stronger the spokes the faster it may turn. If any of these eight spokes are broken or are no good the wheel is no good either, this is true of me and you if we don't have good attributes we can't perform and work successfully either. The more good spokes we have and the stronger the better. The reason for the analogy of the wagon wheel it helps to keep us focused and a good way of remembering how it all fits together, everyone remembers their ABC's.
Now let's build a strong wagon wheel that will carry us through and help make us successful and enjoy life they way we desire.
First the hub of the wheel the spokes are imbedded into is your persistence, this holds the axle that will extend your goals and desires to others" other wheels", for when you are able to make others successful then you will be also. Back to the spokes and the wheel there's more to the wheel than just spokes , it need a band of iron all around the wheel to hold it all together. This is your dreams, your aspiration's of life all the things you want out of life to make it all worth all your time and effort.