IMAGINE two people of equal skill applying for a job. Would you pick the person who is
less confident? Ever? Quite simply, a positive sense of self can transform your life.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author of the bestselling book Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End, has honed the definition down to its essence: “Confidence is the expectation of a positive outcome,” says Kanter. A professor at Harvard Business School, Kanter helps translate textbook concepts about success and attitude into practical results. “The fact is,” she says, “confidence makes you willing to try harder and attracts the kind of support from others that makes ‘winning’ possible.”
In marriage, it makes you more capable of hearing the feelings and criticisms your partner really needs you to hear. In the business world, confidence bridges the chasm between the person who’ll ask for and receive a rise and the employee who accepts the status quo; between the salesperson who gets discouraged by rejection and stops cold-calling and the one who forges ahead and scores the mega sale.
If, like most people, your confidence could use a boost, here are strategies on how to develop it quickly - and keep it working for you the rest of your life.











liable to lose both. But when someone close hits you up for a loan, it can be tough to say no. The first consideration, say financial experts, is whether you can afford it. If you can’t afford to give the money away, you can’t afford to lend it. Next, get it in writing. For big amounts, a repayment schedule helps to legitimise the loan. “It protects the lender, and can make the recipient more comfortable, so they don’t see the loan as charity,” says Howard Levine, a charactered accountant. Should you charge interest? It’s not mandatory, and may have tax implications. But if your money would be earning 5% on a term deposit, charge the same 5%. Or structure it as a loan but forgo the interest on repayment. And if a pal defaults?
do. According to a recent report from Pew Internet and American Life, women view the Internet as a place to extend, support, and nurture relationships and communities.