My youngest daughter at only 4 years old has developed quite an imagination. At least that’s what most people would say. I’d say she’s confident. She makes decisions and offers opinions without hesitation. She reviews a picture in a book, ignores the text beneath and tells a story of exactly what she believes the characters are doing. She always has a decision, a direction and an opinion of what everyone should do or not do. And, at only 4 years old, I can see her starting to lead the entire family. She’s reminding me how important confidence can be, how persuasive it can be and how intoxicating it is.

I should have learned all this from dating. I remember being young and picking up my date. The first couple of dates I always had a plan of what we were doing. After you get comfortable, it began the dance of “What do you want to do?” answered with “I don’t care, what do you want to do?” and the decisions lumbered along.

It happens all the time; people create indecision and generally defer things. So when you see people that know what they want and create a path to it, it is intoxicating. They attract others, they become leaders and they find success.

I thought about this during a client meeting, too. It seems in a service business each relationship is different and requires a unique and custom approach. However, having a basic system or process for that unique approach creates confidence – confidence from you and confidence in you for your customer. If you don’t have a basic process for your custom approach, you meander around with indecision and eventually their belief in your ability wanes. Confidence, after all, isn’t about knowing all the answers; it’s knowing how to answer all the questions.