 Young people often worry about how to build self-confidence. We marvel at the skill of the famous public speaker who enchants his large audience with his words without breaking speed, without stuttering. When we are asked if we can speak even before our colleagues at school or at work, our confidence shatters. We spend the following nights before the day panicking and having sleepless moments because of 5-minute speech. For most young people, it is the confidence to start a business. It is a wonder how we worked some persons, launched a business, quitting his day job and working diligently to build that business. Soon as the business picks up, we praise him but are too scared to start ours. Does confidence come from having broad shoulders, muscular body or all the cash in the bank? Most would argue that I would start a successful business if I have $50,000 in my account or if only I didn't have to struggle with speaking good English I would become a prominent public speaker or soon as I hit age so and so, I am sure I will be confident to launch that dream and so on. But we never do whatever it is we dreamed to do because we keep waiting for confidence to descend on us like the wind upon the tree yet it doesn't work that way. Why you should not become confident later? You cannot become all you hope to be while waiting to be ready. Most successful people who ever achieved their dream never had an inbuilt confidence reservoir that helped them to face every dream and push it to success. Most would admit that they had their heart in their mouth the whole time, their heart pumping so hard with fear and uncertainty as they follow in the path they have chosen for themselves. But in the end, as they mindlessly break through the hustle and keep nipping their fear with small success strides, those tiny strides soon built into giant steps that led to victory. For example, I remember when I launched into the business of writing. I was an amateurish writer who didn't know so much about setting up a website or writing for clients. I had only written poems and short stories all through 5 years. But I started to learn the ropes through studio's attempts. I read all I could on writing for clients, charging for writing and getting more money into my coffers. The truth is, I was never confident to even pitch my writing skill to clients until 2 and a half years later. The whole time I was writing, I was reading and I was learning. When the time finally came and the client approached me to write for him, I was ready to go. My confidence had become so built up I knew I could easily pull off that writing assignment. But not only that, even when I had started getting writing clients, I was still careful how I charged them and what writing jobs I took, why? Because I was a rookie and I feared I might not be able to pull off some writing geek. This of course limited what I charged until I could prove to myself through consistent practice that I could pull off a certain kind of writing I didn't increase my charge. Until now, I charged far more than I used to and the fear I used to have about failing at a writing assignment is long gone. What changed my lack of confidence into strong confidence that my business and skill keep feeding from? It is the truth that I learned about how you can have obstacle-shattering confidence. It is this truth. Confidence not acquired, confidence not developed. What do I mean? By doing a little bit of the things you fear, you keep growing your confidence. The more small success you can hide under your belt, the more confidence you become. As Napoleon Hill said, any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thoughts. What you repeatedly do, you become confident in. But some who may never have started a business before could dream to build a multi-million business in a short time. This dream, while not bad, is a fallacy because it would require far greater confidence to achieve this. Confidence which you must have built from starting several other small companies, failing and succeeding at them. The more you try your hand at something huge, if it takes biting a bit off of it, consistently, the more your confidence soars because confidence is never acquired, it is developed. Avoid sabotaging your dream To avoid sabotaging your dream and stopping yourself short of what you can achieve, take little action steps daily towards your dream and stop waiting to be ready or confident before you do so. People will never permit you to be who you are supposed to be, you only become who God made you be by choosing to get up to go for it. You will have to stop waiting for people's permission to do what you are supposed to do. You won't always feel ready, you won't always feel safe, you won't always feel your heart strong enough to face the cost in your life that you are supposed to face. There won't ever be a time when you are without fear of doing something great. Fear, healthy fear is the sign that you are getting out of your comfort zone. As you take little steps towards that cost, stumbling and standing up anyway to continue.