Self-confidence is one of the first things people notice in you, and it can take you further than almost any other attribute.

So the first question is, how do you know if you posses self-confidence? You may think you have self-confidence, but is it the superficial kind which is just at the surface. Having true deep self-confidence is much different, and is what really matters. For instance, how many incredibly attractive people do you know, who may project self-confidence but are really the least confident of all? I would wager the answer is a “large portion”.

To find out how confident you are, there is a simple test which is best described in an example. If someone comes up to you telling you about their trip to China. They describe how the Chinese do things, about their culture, and what are the great sites to see. Yet, they do not know that you lived there for 2 years, and know far more about China. Do you have to one up them, and tell them everything you know, or can you just let them have their story and not mention anything? If you can just let them have their moment, you have true self-confidence.

After 31 hours, I have arrived in Dunedin, NZ!

New Zealand is by far the prettiest place I have ever been. The land formations created from volcanoes are beautiful and the sunlight is a much whiter light than anything I have seen in the US. This is due to a hole in the ozone above New Zealand. So while you get burned rather quickly, it does make for great star viewing.

Hopefully I’ll get a few shots of Mt. Doom and maybe a few hobbits while I’m here.

Just a tip for future travelers to NZ. The first time you cross a street, look right….then left. Large buses and other cars drive on the left side of the street.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President

A common complaint about making New Year resolutions is: why should a person wait until the new year to make a change in their life. And while I agree w/ that in theory, in reality, there is a very powerful psychological tool about starting something new. A person is more likely to follow through w/ their resolutions if they really believe that something new has started. Otherwise, they get into the trap of saying….well, I’ll start that diet tomorrow. By having a date, they do not have that out.

A new year is a good point to take stock in your life decided what is working, and what is not. Setting up new behaviors, and bettering yourself as a person.

So what are my resolutions for the year?

1.) Blog minimum once a week (you can hold me accountable for that one)
2.) Stay away from fried food
3.) Read 2 books a month (would be more, but school and writing take a lot of time)
4.) Work on reading people’s strengths & weaknesses quicker
5.) Do more public speaking

It strikes me that too many of America’s youth idolize sports stars as their heroes in life. Unfortunately, this idolization extends past the star’s abilities in the arena to their personal life. Needless to say, stars like Kobe Bryant and Mark McGwire are not model citizens.

A hero should be someone who you want to emulate, and has done something to be proud of.

My question is, why do not more children see their parents as heroes. From fathers who are over in Iraq, to mothers who work three jobs to support their family. These are America’s heroes.

While I do not believe kids should grow up thinking that working three jobs is something to emulate, I do believe the mentality of doing what it takes is something to be proud of and something to strive for.

Goals are the single most important driving factor towards success. If there is not a destination in mind, how can you figure out where you are going? Furthermore, in setting these goals they should be made measurable stretch goals. How will you know your potential if your goals are easily attainable. It is not what a goal is that matters, it is what a goal does.

So what about my life goals:

1.) Create a fortune 500 company
2.) Write a best seller
3.) Million dollar net worth by age 32
4.) Have a happy family (yes, I know it’s neither measurable nor stretch, but important nonetheless)
5.) Travel Africa
6.) Speak in front of 5,000 people
7.) Own a house on Lake Austin
8.) Speak a second language
9.) Have a separate Austin home for my parents to live in whenever they want to visit
10.) Retire by 55, and own the Lions

Sometimes the best way to prove a point is through an example. It is a little long, but intriguing until the end. Take a look at a simplier life:

   Body Ritual among the Nacirema

Read the comment below after reading the study.

Perhaps one of the most insightful questions that can be made. This simple question tells what a person’s ambitions are, how much self-confidence they possess, what they believe is important in life, and what they think they can achieve. Its open-ended nature evokes a litany of possible responses. From someone who believes they will be a great mother, to someone else who believes they are the next Steve Jobs.

The interesting thing to look at is how the response is worded. When a person crosses over from what they “will” do to what they “want” to do, that is a good indication at the line in which a person really believes they will achieve in their life. As one of my esteemed colleagues pointed out, the delta between the “will” and the “want” is your potential.

So, if I were asked if I’d be great, I’d respond: I believe I will be a great innovator and pioneer of technology. I will start a number of successful businesses, and at least one will be a fortune 500 company. I want to be considered a peer of Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and possibly even Bill Gates.

I finished my week of “business immersion” for Business school, and I must admit, I was blown away at the caliber of the professors we have and the material covered.

One of my favorites sessions was on effective communication by John Daly. What the professor does, is to go around and talk to very successful business people and find out what some of the small things that they do to be successful. There were some simple things, like never take a new position where the previous person did an outstanding job, or leaders identify problems, not solutions. However, the best tip he gave us was from a story that happened to him.

John was talking with an executive one afternoon over coffee. They talked for a few hours, and on a tangent, the exective mentioned that he thought his niece had one of John’s classes, and she really enjoyed it. He said he’d double check for him. They continued to talk for a few more hours before they parted ways.

The next day the professor got a handwritten letter from the executive saying how much he enjoyed their chat and in the p.s., he said that his niece did have his class, and that she really enjoyed it. John looked at the p.s., and had no idea what he was referring to. He brushed it off and went about his day. A few hours later, it occurred to him that the p.s. was in reference to something they talked about in the middle of their long conversation. He picked up the phone, and called the executive. John thanked the executive for the letter, and asked him how he remembered that small 2-second aside about his niece in their 5 hour conversation. The executive replied, “John, you remember when you asked me what helps lead to success. Well, it’s not keeping the big commitments that build people’s trust in you, because they have to keep them regardless. It’s the little commitments, the ones that the other person may not even remember making that truly build trust in a relationship.”

The big takeaway from this class is, it’s not just the big things that make someone successful, it’s all the little things that really count.

Only 6 days until I start B-School at University of Texas. The first week I go down to San Antonio for a Business Immersion Course (BIC). It’s basically business boot camp for us non-business types.

I’ll soon find out if my summer of business-book reading actually helped.

I’m excited about it right now, but I’m sure my tune will change once I’m studying for final exams again. My first classes are accounting and operations management. How hard can accounting be for an engineer? (famous last words)