By: Arthur Villa-Real, Barbizon USA

If someone were to ask me, “Mr. Arthur, what do you know for sure?” I would have to answer, “What I know for sure is, confidence is the foundation and key to all success.” Not only has it been a platform in my success, but it has been the driving force of why many of us work in this industry. So, why is confidence so important to all of us at Barbizon? Mainly because confidence is something our students will gain by going through the modeling, acting and personal development program. Gaining confidence at a young age is one of life’s greatest treasures. The more we understand ourselves while we are young, the better quality of life we can have as adults.  Why go through life lacking self-knowledge and self-worth?

Here are 5 simple ways we can gain confidence in ourselves.  

1. Allow yourself to know that you are important.  Speaking words out loud and allowing yourself to believe these ideas is a great way to start.  For example, “I am beautiful.” “I am fierce.” “I am worth it.”  After a while, you will start to see yourself in a different light.  When you want to be greater you have to see it and believe it.  Choose five positive adjectives that you want to possess and say them out loud starting with the words “I am…”.   
2. Stop comparing yourself to others.  When we are born, we each possess many different unique traits that makes us special.  Some of us are artistic, while some are very good with numbers.  The beauty of understanding your uniqueness will eventually show you your niche.   No one in this world is exactly same so be thankful for that.  If we were all exact copies of each other then this world would be bland.  Embrace what makes you, you.  
3. Focus on the things you can change.  Everyone can grow to be a little more grateful, a little more humble, and a little more giving.  It’s amazing how much happiness flows into your life just by helping others.  Changing yourself for the better will also make you a role model.   
4. Celebrate the small triumphs.  If you want to gain more confidence, you have to start with small accomplishments first before trying to conquer the greater ones.  
5. Go and surround yourself with positive people.  When you surround yourself with people who are authentically optimistic, you will quickly start to see a shift in your own perception.  

There is only one way to gain confidence and it’s to do the actual work. It takes lots of practice to gain these skills. Unfortunately, you cannot go to the grocery store and buy it, but fortunately you have the opportunity to actually take the time and put in the manual work. The more confidence we build in ourselves, the more we can become walking examples of it. 

If someone were to also ask me, “Mr. Arthur, what else do you know for sure?” I would confidently answer, “I know that I believe in what we do at Barbizon and the amount of lives we can change for the better together.”