Curiosity is the Doorway to Confidence

One night last year, my 16 year-old son, Jack, airdropped a PowerPoint presentation onto our TV, walked into the room, and said:

“Hey Sharks. I’m Jack Renze, CEO and Founder of House of Renze, and I’m seeking a $250 investment.”

He proceeded to pitch his fragrance business to my husband and me like we were on Shark Tank.

Here’s the honest part:

Those first fragrances?

They weren’t great.

But here’s the better part:

Jack didn’t quit.

Over the past year, he studied the art of fragrance, learned how to blend like a mixologist, tested, failed, tweaked, and refined. Today, he has an incredible collection ...and even more importantly, confidence that was earned, not given.

And Jack has always been like this.

-A snack stand at the end of the driveway.

-Learning to yo-yo.

-A clothing line.

-Door-to-door trash can cleaning.

-Learning to cook all things

-A paper airplane club at the school (part of his plan to get into the Air Force Academy) 

....and many other things

He tries things because he’s not afraid to be bad at something new.

As adults though? We often lose that spark.

Not because we don’t care, but because life gets full.

Careers. Families. Responsibilities. Expectations.

All good things.

BUT... somewhere along the way, many of us stop pursuing ourselves.

We stop trying new things because:

-We don’t want to look silly
-We don’t want to be “bad” at something
-We worry what people will think
-We tell ourselves our goals are selfish or not worth the time

Here’s the emotional intelligence truth:

Confidence doesn’t come before the first step.

Confidence comes with the FIRST IMPERFECT STEP.

No one is great at first. Not confident people. Not successful people. Literally NO ONE. But they start anyway. And they figure it out along the way.

They’re just willing to begin.

This Week's Tip

Don’t ask yourself, “What will I be great at?” Ask instead, “What am I curious about?”

Curiosity is the doorway to confidence.

Pick one small thing - just one - that’s for you.

...Not for your résumé.

...Not for approval.

...Not for anyone else’s expectations.

That’s how you reignite the pilot light.

That’s how butterfly goals are born.

That’s how you become more confident - by becoming more you.

Be who you came to be.

Love will guide you.

xoxo, Tara

PS. Of course we gave him the $250 to fund his business. You've gotta meet this kid. Go check out his website - www.houseofrenze.com and here's a link to my favorite fragrance from his new collection- Evergreen