“Slow down – imagine where it is you want to be – and then go do it.” says Brett.

Brett Legree runs a brilliant blog called 6 Weeks, which has become one of my firm favourites.  His tagline is “Fail early, fail often” and he’s got a big following for the simple reason that he’s so damn insightful.

This guy is a deep thinker and deep feeler, and also has a real sense of fun and wonder about life that’s all too rare.

If he were in London I’d buy him a beer to say “Thanks“.  Here’s his confidence interview.

1. There are so many different definitions of what confidence is and isn’t – what does real “confidence” mean to you?
Real confidence to me starts at the moment when you *know* that you can accomplish anything yourself, because you are great at what you do, without having someone else tell you this.

I think it is kind of like a “coming of age”, in a way. Once this happens, you are on your way to becoming unstoppable.

2. Everyone has times in their life when their confidence takes a battering – what role has a lack of confidence played in your life?
Lack of confidence has kept me back on different occasions – usually at work, to be honest.

I work in a “traditional job” and it is a personal view of mine that many companies don’t want you to realize how great you really are at what you do, sadly.

Because if you did, you might also realize that they are not paying you as much as you could command elsewhere!

3. What did you learn from that?
Several times a year, I take stock of everything, make a list of my strengths, skills, experiences and so forth. A good way to do this for me is a combination of visualization, mind mapping, and updating my CV.

Every time I do this, I come away from it thinking “I can rule the world!” and I get one step closer to doing that (in a nice way, of course!).

4. How has self-confidence helped you in your career and personal life?
When it comes to making decisions on the fly and especially in hands-on situations, I have always been a good problem solver – very intuitive – and I can also confidently communicate with just about anyone.

I have been fortunate to work on some very high profile projects in my industry (nuclear) that have required these kinds of abilities, and each time I have been successful.

The realization that only the people in the room at the time of the work will ever do that kind of project made me think each time, “the reason I am here is because I am the best in the world at this” – and it encourages me to push forward with my own ventures.

If I can work on special nuclear projects, certainly I can run my own business!

And so I will (slow and steady wins the race…)

5. Where would you love to be more self-confident, or where do you think you’d benefit from having more confidence?
As in my answer to the question above, it is the transition from “traditional work” to being an entrepreneur.

I believe I have the confidence to do it, and perhaps I just need to be confident to move a wee bit faster. Perhaps being conservative is a side-effect of my day job.

Visualization is the key for me. I know I can do it, so I just need to see myself doing it and I will be there.

6. What’s your best piece of advice for someone who has a lack of self-confidence?
Whatever it is that you want to do, someone else has probably done it, or something similar.

We all put our pants on one leg at a time. So just remember, if I can do it, you can do it too.

And visualize it – I believe this is the most powerful tool that so many of us do not use. As Stephen Covey says: “All things are created twice. There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.”

Slow down – imagine where it is you want to be – and then go do it.

Find out more about Brett over at the brilliant 6 Weeks.