2003年，喜剧演员大卫·查普尔邀请了当时还籍籍无名的音乐人维斯特参加了他的喜剧小品类电视节目。“当时感觉就像拳王阿里来到了奥运村，”查普尔在2014年回忆道，“他就是知道自己会拿金牌。”维斯特骄傲得超乎寻常——当天演出结束后，他和几位著名的饶舌歌手一起听Jay-Z的新专辑，他甚至跳起来要求重播某首歌，这样每个人都能听到Jay-Z在歌里点了他的名字。

我们都知道“那个家伙”——那个信心似乎过度膨胀的人。但奇怪的是，有时尽管出乎所有人的意料，那个家伙却是对的。

这是有原因的。尽管有大量研究表明，过度自信会干扰人们决策，但也有证据表明，它有助于实现成功。伯克利哈斯商学院的教授卡梅伦·安德森表示：“过度自信的人会被其他人认为更有能力，他们会获得更高的地位。”换句话说，过高评估自己的能力和最终的成功之间存在直接联系。

如果你是一名创业家，应该不会觉得这个说法陌生。哪怕一开始你的脑海里只有一个想法，其他什么都没有，你也得说服别人成为你的客户、员工、合作伙伴和投资者。你需要表现出十分有信心，似乎你脑海里的未来一定会实现。其他人需要知道，你会做你说你会做的事情。

这是我的经验之谈。没有十足的信心，我可能就永远无法做出那些让我取得商业成功的决定。这些决定包括：

· 在安全保障很少的情况下辞职

· 设定不切实际但最终实现了的目标

· 在老顾客说价格太高时仍然提价

· 不死缠烂打，只用一个电话就把我们公司的教练计划卖出了数百万美元

· 遇到重大挫折时仍继续前进

在教导其他创业家如何做好销售时，我注意到，如果有人有不安全感，会导致两种现象。首先，他们不采取行动，因为他们害怕失败。其次，哪怕他们采取了行动，他们也会卖不出去。当你没有安全感时，你的潜在客户会和你有一样的担心。如果你自己都不相信自己的产品，他们也不会相信。如果你认为产品价格太高，他们也会认为价格太高。

哪怕你说的都是对的，你在说话时也会不断地释放出潜意识里的微小信号。他们会出现在你的音调以及你的面部表情中。人们会注意到这些信号，并立刻做出反馈。例如，如果你是那种做决定很慢的人，你就会吸引这种人。

不过，问题不仅仅是看起来或听起来很自信。安德森在他的研究中，另外一个重要发现是区分了过度自信和印象管理。印象管理是刻意尝试以更积极的态度呈现自己。过度自信是“对自身能力的看法的确存在问题”。他的研究表明，成功和过度自信之间有关系，但和印象管理无关。

所以真正的问题不是“我如何显得自信”，而是“我如何变得自信”。

我们中有太多人在等着别人告诉我们，我们已经足够优秀了。等着别人给我们证明。给我们盖章认证。但唯一可以给你盖章认证的人是你自己。你必须先看到自己的才能，这个世界才会看到。研究表明，如果你相信自己的才能，其他人都会被吸引。（财富中文网）

拉斯·鲁芬诺是Clients On Demand公司的创始人，该公司主要帮助小企业主开发销售漏斗模型，吸引转换高收入客户。

译者：Agatha

Back in 2003, comedian Dave Chappelle invited the then unknown musician to perform on his sketch comedy TV show. “It was like Muhammad Ali in Olympic Village,” Chappelle recalled in 2014. “He just knew that he was gonna get the gold.” West was ridiculously proud — so proud, in fact, that after the show, when he and several famous rappers were listening to a newly released Jay-Z album, West jumped up and demanded a certain song be replayed so everyone hear Jay-Z’s shoutout to him.

We all know “that guy” — the person whose confidence seems overinflated. But here’s the weird thing — sometimes, against all odds, that guy is right.

There’s a reason for this. Though there’s plenty of research on how overconfidence muddles our decision-making, there’s also evidence that it contributes to our success. According to Cameron Anderson, a professor at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, “overconfident individuals are perceived as more competent by others and they attain higher status.” In other words, there’s a direct connection between over-appraising our own ability and our ultimate success.

If you’re an entrepreneur, this shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. With just an idea in your head and nothing else at first, you must convince others to become your customers, employees, partners, and investors. You need to project so much confidence that the future in your head seems inevitable. Others need to know that you’ll do what you say you’ll do.

I know this from experience. Without serious confidence, I would have never made the decisions that led me to be successful in business. Decisions such as:

· Quitting my job with little safety net

· Setting unrealistic goals that I ultimately achieved

· Raising prices when my old customers said they were too high

· Selling millions of dollars in my company’s coaching programs with just one phone call without being pushy

· Keeping going when I had major setbacks

In teaching other entrepreneurs how to sell, I’ve noticed two things happen when someone is insecure. First, they don’t take action, because they’re afraid of failure. Second, when they do take action, they don’t get sales. When you’re insecure, the potential client is going to be worried about the same thing as you. If you don’t believe in the product, they’re not going to believe in it. If you think the product is expensive, they’re going to think it’s expensive, too.

Even if you are saying all the right things, you are constantly giving tiny subconscious cues when you’re speaking. It comes across in your tonality and your facial expression. People pick up on all these cues and they reflect them right back to you. For example, if you’re the kind of person who makes decisions slowly, that’s exactly who you are going to attract.

Still, it’s not just about looking or sounding confident. In his research, Anderson makes another important distinction between overconfidence and impression management. Impression management is a deliberate attempt to present oneself in a more positive light. Overconfidence is a “genuinely flawed perception about one’s abilities.” His research shows a link between success and overconfidence, but not between success and impression management.

The real question is not, “How do I appear confident?” It’s, “How do I become confident?”

Too many of us are waiting for someone else to tell us that we’re good enough. To certify us. To give us a stamp of approval. But the only person who can give you a stamp of approval is you. Before the world sees your talent, you have to see it. And according to the research, if you believe it, everyone else will get sucked right in.

Russ Ruffino is the founder of Clients On Demand, which helps small-business owners develop sales funnels that attract and convert high-paying customers.