He is also a friend of Bill Clinton, Tony Robbins and Richard Branson. He is also truly the most inspirational and naturally confident man I have ever had the privilege of spending time with…

My interview with Sean was the longest interview about confidence that I have done out of all 60 interviews to date – it lasted almost 2 hours! And I said LESS than in any other interview! I simply sat back and soaked up everything Sean had to share about his journey into confidence and his tips for creating a life of confidence…

And I will have it ready to share with you very soon. I am busy editing right now. In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about this incredible man…

Sean Stephenson has inspired millions of people around the world, including Tony Robbins and President Clinton. He has had more life adventures than anyone I know.

“Sean is an amazing person with an important message.”

- President Bill Clinton.

Sean was expected to die at birth because of a rare bone disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta Despite and yet, despite or more probably because of all the challenges he has faced, Sean is now one of the leading authorities on the deconstruction of self–sabotage. In his early years he faced so many reasons to give up and to doubt or pity himself. And yet he never did.

In fact…

- He has worked on Capitol Hill for U.S. Congressman William O. Lipinski and in the White House alongside President Clinton.

- He has testified in front of the United States Senate on two separate occasions.

- He has developed a thriving professional speaking business.

- He has shared a speaking platform with Tony Robbins, Henry Winkler, and Mark Victor Hansen.

- He has traveled to over forty seven states and six countries.

- He filmed a fitness video called, No Excuses! with Miss Fitness Universe and her husband, a former Mr. Olympia competitor.

- He was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for National Association for Self-Esteem.

- He is a board-certified psychotherapist, who runs a private practice and is completing his Doctorate in Clinical Hypnosis.

Oh… and he has been seen by millions on Oprah, CNN, The Discovery Health Channel, WGN, CBS News, and in The New York Times.

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Exactly ten years ago, Tony Robbins inspired Sean (at the time a sickly 19 year-old boy) to dream big. REAL BIG. He said create a TEN year vision. And Sean did…

In the vision, he dreamed of writing a book and having it published. He dreamed of creating and launching his own TV show.

Well, last month Sean began filming his TV show, on the A&E network called “3 Foot Giant.” And he also just published his book, Get Off Your “But”: How to End Self-Sabotage and Stand Up for Yourself. It’s already getting rave reviews…

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After interviewing him, I promised Sean that I’d read and review his book.

I have to tell you I LOVED it. My copy has a TON of notes scribbled over it from cover to cover.

Here’s a little video review I filmed in a bookshop in Beijing. I’m not sure why I look quite so serious!

“Here’s what I want you to do next.” - Buy a copy of Sean’s book here (this isn’t an affiliate link, I just can’t recommend this book highly enough):

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Off-Your-But-Self-Sabotage/dp/0470399937

Find Sean online here: www.timetostand.com

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Let me know what you think of Sean’s story and who else you’d love me to interview. And check back here soon to listen to my interview with this amazing man!

******

Rich Litvin
that confidence guy.
Author, Speaker, Confidence Coach, Entrepreneur
rich@thatconfidenceguy.com

This is me.
The good. The bad.
…And the ugly.

I’m a guy who’s on a journey to discover the secrets to natural confidence and to share what I learn on my travels…

In case you don’t know, I am currently traveling the world and writing the book “Secrets of The World’s Most Confident People”. I am literally searching out The World’s Most Confident People and interviewing them.

How am I choosing the people I interview?
I simply looked at the main ways I lack confidence in the world – and there are four of them.

I lack confidence around Sex, Money, Other People and Being Creative.

So the next part was easy…
I want to meet the most Sexually Confident people in the world.

I want to meet people so Confident with Money that they can generate whatever they need. Whenever they need it.

I want to interview men and women so Confident with Other People that they can walk into a party or a networking meeting not knowing a soul and walk out with a dozen phone numbers! (Me, I break into a sweat every time I walk into a party…)

And I want to interview people with such Creative Confidence that they feel free to do what they love. And even those creative people who have seen huge success: artists; musicians; film stars and more. Creative souls who are so excited about their work that others pay them. LOTS. Paid for doing what they LOVE – imagine that! So they can KEEP doing what they LOVE!

Cool. So why the aching heart? That sounds like fun.

If you don’t know, then read this older post…

As I write, I’m currently living on a beach in Thailand (I know. I know. What are you complaining about, dude?!)

And my wife has decided to take time away from me. Hey, who am I kidding? We are separating.

We are separating to get clear on what we both really, really, REALLY want from life.
That may include being together (Personally, I hope it does).

And it may not…

The key to being authentic is that I hide nothing. So you’re gonna get all of me on this blog. And I’ll be unapologetic about it.

Except when I say sorry.

So here’s the strange bit.
We have three more days together on this beach and I realized that I can spend this time being sad and upset and miserable and morose and gloomy [insert your favorite adjective for when you feel down in a relationship]. Or I can Choose My Experience.

My friend Michael Neill is a Supercoach (well, he ought to be – he has just written the book, Supercoach!) In Supercoach he says:

“Your day doesn’t create your mood; your mood creates your day…
When your mood is low, the world looks bleak; when your mood is high, you feel like you can take over the world.
When your mood is high, your partner is the most wonderful man or woman in the world; when your mood is low, they’re a complete bastard.
The difference is, as always, not in the world, but is being created inside you.  And a deeper understanding of how it’s being created will give you a whole lot more options about what to do about it.”

He goes on to say that the important thing to realize about your thinking, particularly your “unhappy” thinking is:

“It’s never the first thought never hurts – it’s the fifth, or fiftieth, or even five hundredth which inevitably comes when you follow a negative train of thought on its rambling journey to destinations unknown.”

And I get it.
I can sit here on this beautiful beach, and go off into my head, judging myself for all the mistakes I made, worried about how I’ll cope when my wife leaves or anxious about a future alone…

OR…

I can look at the beautiful blue ocean, the golden sand and the stunning woman in a bright red bikini lying next to me (that’s my wife, Monique, by the way!) And I can be totally present in this moment.

My life is great. I have 2 more weeks in Thailand; then 2 weeks in Singapore, where I’ll be interviewing two women who have been guests on Oprah. After that, I travel to China. I don’t know what will happen then. But I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

My heart hurts.

AND…

My life is great.

“Here’s what I got.” - I’ve got a download of my favorite song by my wife, Monique DeBose, from her 2nd album “Choose The Experience: Volume 2″ She’s an amazing singer/songwriter. Check her out here and download Enjoy The Ride here

Go on.
What else do you want to say?

How do you know?
What makes you so special?
And if you need to say that then you can’t be confident, can you?!

Good questions. I’m glad you asked.
Let me answer them all.

How do you know you’re so confident, Rich?

I know I’m one of The World’s Most Confident People because I’m writing the bestselling book “Secrets of The World’s Most Confident People” and I have spent the past 6 months traveling the world, meeting some amazing people.

Great. What does that have to do with your confidence?

Patience. Give me a moment longer. I’m getting to it, I promise.

Now you may have already seen this on the home page but let me just share with you a little about the people I have met…

What if I told you about the modern-day James Bond who said he knew he was confident the first time he stole a Billion Dollars? Or how about the High School Dropout who was a model, a celibate Buddhist monk for 7 years, a geisha trainee and dated Bill Gates. And who now consults at the White House and has personally helped 150 people become Millionaires.

Or how about three New York Times bestselling authors who are regular guests on Oprah; the World’s Leading Hypnotist; one of the Most Influential & Powerful Women in Social Media or the Creator of a Website with Two Million Visitors a month?

Or the woman who went from being a secretary to an Internationally Known Psychic; the Mother of Two who Founded a Charity and Influences Governments; the Success Coach who works with Royalty and Hollywood Stars; the World’s Greatest Seducer and three of the Most Sexually Confident Women you’ll ever meet…

OK. They sound like interesting people but how do you claim to be so confident?

Ok. Ok. I promised I’d answer your questions. And I will.

How do I know I’m one of The World’s Most Confident People? Well, the first thing I noticed when I called these amazing people to set up an interview was that the most common reply was, sure I’d love to do the interview but I’m probably not as confident as you think I am…

Hmm… strange, I thought. I know that feeling. People sometimes think I’m confident. But it often doesn’t feel like that in the inside.

Then the next thing I noticed was that most of these people would tell me that they were very confident in some areas of their lives. And not in others. For example, the male porn star who told me he needed my help in meeting women! And the senior executive in a Fortune 100 company who dealt with billions of dollars every day but was terrified about losing his own money.

And then I noticed that there were people like the world-class martial artist who used to be terrible at martial arts (I know – he’s a buddy of mine and 15 years ago I used to routinely beat him when sparring). The difference is, he kept training, week in, week out for 15 years. And he’s now about to take his 3rd dan black belt in one of the most challenging martial arts in the world.

And then I began to hang out with these people. Some had been on Oprah. Some were making millions of dollars. Some worked with Presidents and Prime Ministers. And one worked with CIA and KGB agents!

And you know what was strange?

They were all pretty ordinary people.
Ok. Some were really fascinating and I couldn’t stop asking them questions. But to be frank, some bored the shit out of me.

Some were attractive. Some were not. Some were confident as little kids. And some had childhoods that were excruciating because their self-esteem was so low. Some hung out with celebrities and were still excited about that. And some were celebrities and weren’t even aware of it.

What makes you so special?
Good question.
That’s the cool part.
Nothing.

I put my pants on one leg at a time. Just like you. (I’m assuming you wear pants, right?)

There are times in my life when I feel confident. Hanging out with friends. Playing with my nephews. Working with clients. And spending time with my wife.

And there are times in my life when I totally lack confidence. Walking into a party. Holding a new born baby. Talking to an audience of more than a thousand people. And spending time with my wife!

I recently had a conversation with a Success Coach who works with Hollywood Stars and Royalty. He shared a story about Bruce Springsteen, who was asked in an interview,

“Are you ever nervous before you perform on stage in front of 50,000 people?”

His reply was simply, “No.”

The interviewer was incredulous and said, “Really?! Well, what happens before you go on stage?”

“Well,” he replied, “my heart starts to thump really hard in my chest, my palms get clammy, my
face gets hot and sweat drips down the side of my face… And I know I’m pumped and ready to go on stage…”

I love that story. In my business its called a re-frame. And it reminds me that so I often I compare how I am feeling on the inside with how other people look on the outside.

>> What if you knew that everyone who has successfully started a new business, earned a black belt in martial arts, become a movie star, spoken on stage to thousands of people or made millions of dollars experienced everything that YOU experience?

>> What if you knew that the steps they took to build their confidence could be learned?

>> And what if you knew that everything they have done is possible for YOU, too?

I’m here to tell you that everything they have done is possible for YOU.

And if you are still thinking, no… Not me. Then let me tell you that just four years ago I was fired from my job.

I was almost at the pinnacle of success in my profession. I had recently bought my dream home (a three story town house in London). I had my dream car – a convertible. And then in an instant my self-esteem plummeted to rock bottom.

I SO know what people are going through right now as I read the headlines about the people who are being laid off on a daily basis. I felt devastated, angry and ashamed.

It took me three days before I could even bring myself to tell my parents what had happened. And even then, I tried to make t sound like it was some kind of voluntary thing that would be good for my career!

It took me over three months of being unemployed to notice that I was still referring to myself by the job title I used to have! It then took another three months of being unemployed to actually stop using that old job title.

I’ve done some crazy things in the past four years. I sold my dream home and my dream car and left England for good. I lived on a beach in Thailand. I proposed to a woman I met 10 days earlier. I lived in India, the United States and China and I traveled the world for a year with my fiancé. I apprenticed with the best coaches in the world. And I created a business where I can do what I love from anywhere on the globe (I’m writing this article in Singapore and tomorrow I fly to Thailand).

Now finally. You see, I haven’t forgotten. You asked:
And if you need to say that then you can’t be confident, can you?!

Well, it actually took a lot of balls to begin this article with the words, “I’m one of The World’s Most Confident People”.

But that’s part of the point. You see confident people have all the same fears and concerns as the rest of us. They just take action anyway.

People ask to work with me because they want more confidence.

What I know is this:

Confidence doesn’t exist.

At least not in the way that people often want it.

You see, “Confidence is a result of action. Not a requirement for action.”

Nike got it right. JUST DO IT.
And if you need some support. That’s fine too.

I only wrote this article because I just spent an hour on the phone with one of my mentors! I wasn’t sure what to write. I was wrestling with the question what if they don’t like it. And I was scared of putting myself out there.

He said just do it.
And I did…

I started this article with the words, “I’m one of The World’s Most Confident People.”

I’m gonna finish it with the words, “YOU are one of The World’s Most Confident People…”