Welcome to the Becoming podcast. A podcast focused on inspiring you with topics of progress and overall growth. We all are BECOMING something, so let’s become better together. My name is Zack Harris, and I’m your host today. Last podcast we started a two-part discussion on BECOMING confident. I researched confidence and here are a couple definitions I found: Confidence means feeling sure of yourself and your abilities — not in an arrogant way, but in a realistic, secure way.It's a quiet inner knowledge that you're capable.If you are like me there have been so many times I lacked confidence. ASKING Am I a good enough parent, spouse, friend? Am I making an impact in my job or my career? Or maybe you’ve lacked confidence in the way you look. I’m sure we’ve all struggled with confidence.  I believe confidence has internal components and external components. The internal dialogue within ourselves impacts our confidence more than we know and our external actions greatly impact our confidence. The last podcast talked about BECOMING INTERNALLY CONFIDENT. If you missed that podcast, make sure you check that out first. In that podcast I gave two important truths about BECOMING INTERNALLY confident. LOVE YOURSELF. Not in a self-absorbed kind of way. But viewing yourself as valuable simply because you exist. IDENTIFY AND REPLACE TOXIC THOUGHTS: We all have toxic thoughts and our lives are moving in the direction of those thoughts. I gave some real practical ways you can fight the battles in your mind. When you espouse a positive mindset, it can truly transform your life. But for this podcast, I want to talk about BECOMING EXTERNALLY CONFIDENT. With Becoming INTERNALLY confident we looked at what is happening inside the heart and mind. With Becoming EXTERNALLY confident I want to share some actual ACTIONS or HABITS that I believe have helped me become more confident. POSSIBLY CUT ALTOGETHERYou could probably google and find 100 ways to become more externally confident and many of them are fine. I mean I’m all forFun tripsGetting your hair doneBuying a new outfit Getting something new for the hobby you love and enjoy.Those are fine  But I want to give you THREE things that have helped me BECOME more externally confident in a way that lasts. Now, my list doesn’t have to be your list. Your list may be different. You may love one of mine and you may dislike some of mine. But that’s ok because they are mine. The point is for you to think about a few things you are DOING or you CAN do that will help you BECOME externally confident. Here’s my list: The first thing I do that I believe helps me become externally confident is I SAY DAILY DECLARATIONS Something powerful happens when we speak truth into our lives. I’ve added this discipline to my life and it has helped re-align myself to who I am and what I stand for: Here are a few of mine I say each day:  I am a positive leader. I will speak hope & optimism into others.  I am not a victim of circumstances. I am gifted to create, lead, and change circumstances from what they are to what they could be.I won’t give emotional energy to things I can’t control or that don’t impact eternity. I WILL embrace pressure as a privilege, look for the good, and remember why I started. I love people and believe the best about others. I am disciplined and I always bring my best. The world will be better today because I’m called to make a difference. Can you feel the energy that is built from speaking those truths. What does this do? It realigns my confidence. A car gets out of alignment from time to time and you have to go get an alignment to center the car. Our lives are the same way. Someone criticizes you and it rattles your confidenceYour facing a battle within your family and it shakes your confidenceYou have an argument with your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, child, or friend-shakes your confidence. You make a mistake at work, let your team down,  and your boss gets on to you. And this impacts your confidence. It’s important to know everyones confidence gets out of alignment from time to time. We all make mistakes, none of us are perfect. But we can’t let those mistakes hold us hostage. So what do we need to do? We need to realign ourselves and one of the things I do to accomplish this is through these declarations. So I want to encourage you to write down some declarations. Make a list in the notes on your phone. You may start with 2-3 and just add to them as you think of new ones. My list started small and now I have like 20 that I declare over my life that truly helps build my external confidence. For me, one of the best habits I’ve introduced into my life that’s helped me become externally confident are these daily declarations.  The second thing I do is I try and ADD VALUE TO SOMEONE EVERY DAY One of the greatest leadership teachers in our world today is John Maxwell and he says “Adding value to others is the surest way to add value to our own lives.” If you are lacking confidence. Wondering, Am I making a difference? Am I succeeding as a parent, spouse, friend, am I succeeding in my job. Here’s what you do: You add value to someone else. It's easy to focus on what I am doing and what I need to do to improve. Taking the focus off of ME actually helps me grow. When I care for others, I am a better person! This is different from what we are told success looks like in our world today.That is so good and so true. If you are lacking confidence, go add value to someone else, encourage someone, serve someone, and I can promise you it will build your confidence. Write a note of encouragement to someone who has been going through a difficult timeTake someone to lunch on your team and just speak life into them. Call someone on the phone and tell them how much you appreciate them as a friend. In your business, find ways to help your colleagues shine. Whenever possible, give credit to others for the team's success.It feels great to be a blessing to others. And here’s what happens. You are actually BECOMING confident because you are adding values to others.  John Maxwell also says this and I believe it to be so true: “People will always move towards anyone who increases them and away from others who devalue them.” “Adding value to others is the surest way to add value to our own lives.” Do you want to BECOME more confident?  Add value to someone every day. And the last thing I do that helps me become more externally confident is I TRY AND ALWAYS BRING MY BESTI’m not perfect at this but in order for me to become more confident, I always try to do everything with excellence. My day starts by waking up about 4:30am and I go to a 5am Crossfit class. It may be hard, I may be tired, but I always try and bring my best.You see excellence is not being the best, it is doing your best. There’s more in you than you even know. I like this quote from Angela Bassett “Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that’s in us.”So what do we do? If you are working on a project at work, bring your best. Show initiative If you committed to do something for a friend, go the extra mileBring your best as a husband, wife, mom, dad, friend. I’m feeling convicted right now to bring my best more at home. We shouldn’t just bring our best at work. We should bring our best at home. I need to wash those dishes with excellence, give Nicole the best back massage she’s ever had.  This is so important. TO build our external confidence we want to ALWAYS BRING OUR BEST. There's a value we have at our church: There’s a book I really love called The Power of Habit. In this book the author talks about  a concept called Keystone Habits. These are small changes or habits that you introduce into your routine that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of your life.” Keystone habits create a domino effect that change every area of your life.So here’s how it’s played out in my life. I bring my best early at the gym (This is my keystone habit of bringing my best) and it creates  a domino effect throughout the rest of my day. I feel great, confident, and ready to win the day. So then I start working on a project like this podcast and I bring my best, I spend 1-1 time with someone on our team and I give them my best, I go home later in the day and I bring my best. So what is a keystone habit for you? Some of you love quiet moments early in the morning to meditate. Decide what’s best for you. Bring your best and watch it create a domino effect throughout your day. Here's a little tip for you that I’ve learned. You have to manage your energy, not just your time. I can’t bring my best ALL DAY with the same energy. What do I mean?  What I mean is energy is finite. As the day goes on, my energy weans. I get up at 4:30 in the morning. So what I do is I find ways to take breaks throughout the day, get refreshed, so when I’m doing the most important things I can BRING my best. If you want to BECOME more externally confident, it really helps to BRING YOUR BEST!So what do we do to BECOME more externally confident? SAY DAILY DECLARATIONADD VALUE TO OTHERS DAILYALWAYS BRING OUR  BESTApplication Questions for you? As you reflect on this podcast, where are you lacking in external confidence? Work lifePersonal disciplinesFamilyRelationshipsWhat daily declarations can you write that will build your confidence? Ask yourself, Who can you add value to today?  Well I hope this was helpful to you and gave you some practical ways to BECOME more confident.  Since we are just getting this podcast started it would mean so much if you gave this podcast a review on ITUNES or if this is really valuable to you, I’d really appreciate you sharing this on your social media that would mean so much to me. In the word of George Elliot, It’s never too late to be what you might have been. So let’s declare “I AM BECOMING. 

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