What I learned from the bullies, and the bullied, in school...

[GordonJ]

Thanks Dien, I remember kicking that wimp Rob several times whilst stealing his lunch money. What a loser.

Oh, Rob founded a tech company, sold it for a billion and sent me a pic of his body guards and invited me over. I politely declined. HA!

Luckily in the business of making money, we can easily avoid the bullies, the punks, the thugs and those who want to steal our chips (ala Robert Ringer-Looking Out for #1).

Getting bloodied in business, is often a little rejection. A NO. A SCRAM.

No trips to the ER, no bones reset, no broken noses. It is the EGO which most often gets bloodied.

Your post raises the question of how to get the self confidence an easier way, although, my dad made me learn the hard way...I had my share of butt kickings. And I was a likeable loveable fellow too.

Anyhow, one way I think is good for a newbie to begin is with some quick, albeit, small success.

Too many want to get rich quick, or own a business where they are the boss, and being a business owner can feel pretty good to the ego. Until they go bankrupt and out of business.

I advocate starting small and growing. I refer you to the Grow as you go plan I wrote about in Sprint to Freedom. That same plan can be used for IM, or affiliate or ecom, any online business.

MAKE a fast profit. Do it again, faster and faster. Make it bigger, make it more often. Grow. Reinvest.

My 3 decades old mantra, the TRIAD tells the story.

Doubt is the shadow of our fear.
Confidence is the reflection of our success.
ACTION is the revelation of our faith.

Many want to build a castle or a mansion on the mountain, I say, start with a yurt in the valley and go from there. Get a small success, take more action, build momentum...

And MOTH (mansion on the hill) manor will surely be yours.

Remind me to tell a Ben story about confidence one of these days.

Gordon

Originally Posted by Dien Rice

There was a guy at my school... I think his name was Rob...

That poor guy got picked on... a lot.

One thing I noticed, was...

He never fought back.

I think he lacked confidence.

One "rule of the playground" that I figured out was... when the bullies pick on someone, if that kid doesn't "fight back" in some way, they get picked on... again and again...

However, let's say another kid gets picked on. And this kid "fights back" in some way...

Even if they get "hurt" in the short term... In the long term, they're better off.

The bullies find someone else to pick on.

Because the kid who "fights back" is simply too much trouble. The bullies figure out that it's better to pick on the kids that don't "fight back"...

I thought about this because I was leafing through Ben Suarez's book, "7 Steps to Freedom II."

What is Step 1?

Ben's Step 1 is... "Create self-confidence."

I think Ben's right. Nothing happens unless you start with some self-confidence.

Although it's not exactly the same... the kid in the playground with some self-confidence - who then "fights back" - is better off in the long run... even if they get a little "beaten" in the short run.

Business and entrepreneurship can be like that. In the short run, you have to risk getting a little "bloodied"...

But in the long run, you'll be better off! Because with each experience, you'll learn a little bit more on how to succeed...!

Okay, that's my rant for today...

Best wishes,

Dien