Confidence

      Why is confidence such an important trait? By the famous words of Marcus Lullius Cicero, “Confidence is that feeling in the mind that embarks on true and honorable courses with a trust and hope in oneself.” In other words, confidence is essential because it makes great accomplishments happen with relative ease. It is the spark of initiation for any goal, no matter how trivial or how great. From this quote, may people can see that confidence is a very important asset while traveling through the road of life, because without confidence, failure will prevail because people never even try.

Think about the skills Michael Jackson had to have in order to achieve his status in the hierarchy of basketball. Sure, he had to have tremendous skill and knowledge about what he was doing, but gaining the skill required to play so well was anything but easy. In fact, it would be incredibly hard: Jackson would have to spend hours of his life on end practicing basketball outside battling exhaustion, heat, and even the weather. Surely Jackson did not practice just to be pained and tortured in the process. He had to aim for something. He aimed for the NBA, and he had to have some flame, some spark to drive him there. This spark was the spark of confidence, the skill that makes things happen.

However, do not get mislead that confidence only paves the road to truly successful people. Confidence helps all people, even ordinary people! It was a dreadful, desolate Sunday with an overcast sky when I felt confidence touch me on the shoulder during a seemingly hopeless situation. It was during this day that I was attempting to sell mugs for my local school fundraiser program, and half of my day wasted away without much success. With the day setting and the clock closing in on six, I gave a heavy sigh and went back to my house to have dinner, without selling any mugs. The clock struck six-thirty when it started to rain. Down the rain came, in thick sheets of liquid. The...