There’s a great essay from Mindy Kaling , (my usual favorite source for insight: A Cup of Jo) where she talks about the secret for killer  confidence. Wait for it……

It’s hard work. As she says “The truth is, I have never, ever, ever met a highly confident and successful person who is not what a movie would call a “workaholic.” Sounds obvious.  But it means different things to different people.  Working hard looks like this to me.

1. You’re in early. It’s not “The late bird gets the worm” for a reason.

2. You do your homework: you don’t come into meetings unprepared. Ever. There’s a big difference between winging it and prepping yourself like you’re going to testify in front of the senate.

3. You’re described by people as intense. Focused. Driving. Impatient. Roll up your sleeves to get the work done. Results oriented. Don’t stop till you get to the right answer. But, MOST IMPORTANT, almost always right because you do the work to understand the issue.

4. You are asked for  your point of view. For advice. For feedback. From lots of different people. You make time to be accessible.

5. You review everything with a critical eye. Emails, reports, presentations. You are hell bent on eliminating ambiguity, and don’t consider yourself done until it’s a thing of beauty.

Not everyone wants to work this hard. That’s a personal choice. But if you want to have that killer confidence…to be able to meet uncertainty and new things with anticipation, not dread...this is the way to do it.