Instant Confidence

LinkedIn is flooded with tons of generic advice on how to be confident. When you read it, all the gurus repeat the same things: the symptoms of confidence. That's why their advice doesn't work...

In the last year, professional portals (such as LinkedIn or Harvard Business Review) are flooded with generic, AI-generated information about how leaders can become confident, authoritative or influential.

The problem? Just as the rest of our society it is all about symptoms.

I recognise it from clinical practice:

• doctors are trained to recognise symptoms, and then manage the symptoms, often forgetting to address the actual cause of the disease.

• Pharmaceutical companies develop medicines that manage symptoms, not cure diseases.

• The rest of the society: people buying £600 shoes, expensive cars, flashy handbags, houses they can’t afford - their entire lifestyle is focused on symptoms.

Symptoms of success, symptoms of confidence, symptoms of wealth, symptoms of status, or attractiveness.

LinkedIn is flooded with generic advice on how to be confident. Page after page, the self-proclaimed experts outline 12 ways to be confident like a firefighter, 28 ways to command respect like a CEO, 7 habits of confident leaders, 5 ways to attract your perfect partner, etc.

When you read them, they all repeat the very same things: have a great posture, appear well dressed, shake people’s hand firmly, use their name three times, tap their shoulder, speak loudly, use those words, and don’t use others…

This is all bullshit!

They are just giving you the symptoms of confidence, authority or influence…

And this is exactly why it does not work. It can not work. Because none of this crap addresses the underlying fundamentals of confidence, influence or authority.

What is Confidence?

We define confidence as a learnable skill rooted in self-permission and internal belief, rather than external validation.

In other words, confidence is a feeling that arises from granting oneself the authority to act, speak, and lead without hesitation or the need for approval from others.

Here is a truth that you might not like to hear.

You are told exactly what to be: You need to Be Polite. You need to be strong. You have to be quiet. You have to be liked by others…

Here is the tradeoff that you have learned by the time you started primary education:

You will be giving away a little bit of authenticity for a little but of approval from others. And this trade off becomes an automated behavioural script. A reflex. A habit.

This is why we stop expressing. And we start doing something else: curating. Pretending. Acting. We trim down our very self. We do that to fit into a template of what we believe will be palatable to others; will gain approval of others.

So you adapt.

You follow the average of your environment. You try to fit in. But… There is price to pay. And the currency for the ingrained need for external approval is confidence.

There are 5 fundamental pillars of confidence

1. Assumed Permission (Believing you have the right to act confidently, without seeking external approval).

2. Behavioural Certainty (demonstrating smooth and fluid behaviour, free from hesitation).

3. Cognitive Authority: Embracing the belief that you are the author of your actions and words.

4. Dominant Social Stance: Demonstrating behaviours that lead others to unconsciously accept your authority.

5. Empowered Permission: Projecting such confidence that it empowers others to act confidently as well.

Apart from developing required skills, it is important to Identify and overcome limiting beliefs that hinder confidence. Recognising self-imposed limitations (Mirror Step of the M.I.N.D. Programme) allows individuals to reframe their mindset, leading to a more resilient and self-image.

What can I do if I am not confident?

Confidence training, be it for surgeons or operatives in government agencies, is treated not as a character trait but as a trainable skill critical for patient health, operative success, credibility, and personal resilience.

Organisations, where confidence is essential to achieving desired outcomes, use structured approaches to develop operational confidence under pressure.

The principles you will learn about today are adapted from military psychology, behavioural science, and high-stakes performance training.

You will learn:

• The techniques that government operatives, CEOs, pilots, or elite surgeons use to appear confident in ANY situation, regardless of the pressure or stress.

• Why positive affirmations (like “You can do it!”) cause more harm that good, and make it impossible to become confident.

• You will realise how generic advice available online makes you weak and insecure.

• All backed by science.

• But most importantly - it all works in practice - so your results will be guaranteed!

Let’s begin!