On confidence and humility

Zoe: How do you balance humility and confidence?

Thank you, Zoe, for another great question.

I think both confidence and humility are extremely useful, and I try to foster both. However, I don’t think they’re on a spectrum, or at least that’s not how I think about it.

I foster my confidence by working on my craft. By celebrating my wins. By protecting my mojo. By being very selective about where I get feedback.

Consequently, I have a lot of conviction about my work. If you come and spend half-a-day with me for mentoring, my expectation is that it will be life-changing.

At the same time, I try to foster humility by separating my work from me. By recognising that my ideas aren’t actually mine. That my best ideas come through me and not from me. That the more present I am, the more impact I have, but the less my identity is involved.

And I have to admit, I probably do a better job on the confidence side than the humility side … but I am working on it.