The Clever Campaign to Bump Up Your Confidence and Brilliance

Raise your hand if you have ever felt insecure or anxious about whatever is next in your life. It might be something big, like your next career move or project assignment. It might be something you are passionate about bringing into the world, and you want to raise your Grit Scale, per Angela Duckworth’s research. Or it might sound logically small but feel emotionally big: an upcoming meeting with someone who seems to have it out for you, a sales call, a meeting bound to bring conflicting points of view—and the list goes on.

You may tell yourself it isn’t a big deal, but your thoughts and emotions are not bringing out your best, most brilliant self. In essence, this is about raising your positive thinking. Positive psychologist Dr. Barbara Fredrickson calls this your Positivity Ratio. Her research, along with that of many others, has found that a positive-to-negative ratio of 3 to 1 is key if you want success—success in almost any life endeavor.

Good news: there is a process for preparing yourself for wonderful and/or tricky life events—or for repairing whatever is chipping away at your confidence and feeding your negativity. Heather Monahan, in her TEDxBocaRaton talk “Me Too’s Mis-Step or Me Too’s Mistake,” about female-to-female bullying, outlines a brilliant process for combating insecurity and destroyed confidence. She explains that a personal advertising campaign helped her regain confidence. The outline below, with some additional thoughts of my own, is not just for recovery from bullying. It can be used to build your brilliance no matter the circumstances.

Your Ad Campaign

1. Who is the customer, and what do they need? This is the most important part of every campaign. My husband and I recently went to a travel agent to help plan a big trip. She learned our general geographic preferences and then quickly threw a bunch of travel books at us—or so it felt. When I asked questions, she cut me off before I finished. How often do you stop and listen to yourself? What are you looking for? What does brilliance look like for you? What is blocking that brilliance? This first step means doing some research on who you are and what you need. We might assume the campaign is “me, and I know me.” Yet self-awareness is a never-ending activity if we want brilliance.
2. The right platform for your ad campaign. For your self-concept, the only platform that makes sense is your mind. This campaign means interrupting your regular self-talk with new messaging.
3. Messaging. Develop a strong, powerful, frequent message—otherwise known as affirmations. Construct one to three affirmations to repeat several times a day. Affirmations typically begin with “I am . . .” They are said in the present tense and name what you want to be true. I suggest connecting a feeling word to the message as well. Examples: I am loving, because God first loved me. I rest in the shadow of the Almighty. To remember to say them, attach the repetition to activities at various times of day. For instance, say your affirmations when you brush your teeth and before or after each meal. I also suggest writing them down to bring in additional senses and increase their power. Write them in your journal and say them with your daily prayer or meditation.
4. Music or jingle. Pick a song that elicits the emotion you want for this campaign. Download it and play it over and over. Or, if you are a musician, write and record your own jingle. Someday you may want to share it with the world.
5. Call to action. What feeling or event will be your call to action? Heather explains that fear was hers. When she felt it, she stepped into action. Steven Pressfield, in The War of Art, explains that for artists—and I believe we are all artists in some way—resistance is what must be overcome. According to Pressfield, “Resistance (self-sabotage, procrastination, fear, arrogance, self-doubt) is inside you. No one inflicts it on you from outside. You bring it with you from birth.” Are you too tired today, too busy, or just too distracted to work on the goals that fulfill your passion? The War of Art says that is not an excuse. We need to get to work, and we need to do the work.
6. Visual. Find a picture that shows you at your best. I recently went through the branding process for my book and business. The photographer I used for my headshot took the time to find the feeling you want your brand to promote. I encourage you to find a self-portrait that strongly brings out your brilliant brand.

You now have the components of a strong ad campaign, at least as I see it. When I researched successful marketing campaigns, I found many practices. If you have a different process, use it. The point is to do whatever it takes to market you to you. Successful campaigns let the world know the brilliance of a product. It’s time to let yourself know the brilliance of you.