While Batman and Spiderman hide behind a mask, Iron Man wants the world to know that Tony Stark is the man in the suit. He’s a character who the world can relate to because he’s not the perfect character as many Super Heroes are depicted. He has flaws like the average person, yet he has built an empire reflecting his personality and passion for his craft.

When it comes to Tony Stark, the man oozes the combination of many traits that result in a great leader. Self-confidence is one trait that Iron Man has that can be seen throughout every scene. His self-confidence is the difference between his sense of being unstoppable and being scared out of his wits in the face of controversy. The way Tony Stark carries himself directly impacts how we, as viewers, perceive him. Whether it’s his dress, demeanour or witty comebacks – Our perception is his reality (in a fictional sense).

Here are a few things you can do to start building your self-confidence to the level of Tony Stark. Some of this may sound robotic, but it’s quite the opposite; take these tips and inject them with your personality, your style and your voice. At the end of the day, to be self-confident, you must be comfortable with who you are and who you are trying or striving to become.

Tip #1: Talk Slower

Many people rush their words because they don’t want someone to have enough time to judge their thoughts. They think that the faster they talk, the faster they will be able to connect with the person or the crowd they are talking to. They hope that by keeping the public on the edge of their seat with their speedy insights and thoughts, they will be able to keep their interest. In reality, however, it simply gives the perception of nervousness.

Three words: Slow. It. Down. You will appear to be more smooth with your conversations when you talk slower. Think about Tony Stark in conversations, and he embraces what many would call an awkward silence and strategically injects his presentations and speech with dramatic pauses.

Tip #2: Control Your Reactions

Many people allow their emotions to get the better of them in high stake situations. Rather than making sudden and instant decisions, control your reactions and make the appropriate decisions later if necessary. Most importantly, never let your emotions get the best of you and make you do something you will regret later on. Controlling how you react to situations is complex and requires inner conversations and habit-building.

You must identify the most minor things, such as the correct times to laugh, the right times to frown and even the correct times to walk away. It’s the combination of having complete control over your mind to ensure that your body acts and behaves in the way you know is strategically appropriate. This may sound very calculated and trivial, but it’s essential. You must control your nervous chuckle and fidgeting and, if necessary, get professional help for your nervous stutter. To ooze confidence, you must completely control your body, mind and spirit.

Tip #3: Think of Dying

The more you think about the loss of lifestyle, the more you think about how useful some time to energy is in this world. When you identify and accept the idea that daily could very well be your last, it should be enough time to recognize it’s a chance to like yourself and do what is best for you. Upon considering the loss of lifestyle, you begin to do factors that you genuinely want to do and take threats that you would not take if you thought that you had permanently decided. Death is the most significant indication for every one of us to get out and stay. Do something value doing and keep a lifestyle value residing.
As you begin pursuing a desire and doing more of what you want and less of what the community desires of you – The more assured you will become. You will understand that the only distinction between you and anyone else is what you have done and will do. Everyone has the same amount of time in a day; everyone has the same amount of time weekly. How you use those times and times will illustrate and figure out what kind of heritage you keep behind. You will undoubtedly be assured if you endeavour to keep a legacy. Positive about yourself and assured in your objective of making a heritage. Know Yours. Do something worth doing and live a life worth living. Steve Paul Jobs may have put his best

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Tip #4: Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Self Awareness is not only the key to success, but it’s also the key to confidence. If you don’t know what you’re bad at, you can’t truly understand what you’re good at. More than anything, it’s essential to identify what you’re good and bad at and what you hate or enjoy doing. If you’re horrible at public speaking but love doing it – This is one of those weaknesses you should strive to improve. If you’re awful at content marketing or understanding the art of the hustle and have no interest in it, don’t focus on it. Focus on things that you’re either interested in or already good at. Ignore the things that will not contribute to getting you where you want to be and focus on those things that will. This chart frames up what you should and shouldn’t be focusing on.

Tip #5: Embrace Praise & Criticism

This one is difficult but something that those who are successful have perfected. While embracing praise and support is easy, it’s much more difficult to deal with criticism. Both have complexities that result in or give the perception of a lack of self-confidence. When someone gives you praise, it’s easy to dismiss the compliment and not take it as something sincere or meaningful. It’s easy (and wrong) to discredit the positive but hang onto every word when someone expresses something negative. We assume that the person expressing the compliment was simply being nice or that they are inexperienced and didn’t notice all the mistakes. Sure, sometimes this can be true, but for the most part, it’s not. In fact, for the most part, you deserve the praise you receive and need to embrace it.

Embrace negativity as well. The biggest issue with negative feedback is that it’s often difficult to differentiate between constructive criticism (the good stuff) and destructive criticism (the haters). Once you can identify the difference, you will notice both benefits. Constructive criticism is great for actually making improvements to yourself or your business. Some constructive criticism is extremely valuable, while others are simply one opinion. Destructive criticism has no value and is simply someone who doesn’t want to see you succeed or is being negative. Instead of watching what they say, count how many of them you have. I haven’t done the statistical analysis yet, but I feel the more successful you are – The more haters you have.

Tip #6: Dress to Impress

Clothes may not make the man, but they affect how you feel. When they first start their career, a lot of people are strapped for cash and don’t have the budget to pay for the nicest clothes. I understand this and have been in that situation before. That said, I’m here to tell you how you dress and your appearance can take you a long way. Even if you’re going to an Ugly Christmas Sweater party, you can set yourself apart by rocking just the right cardigan or pullover. Never underestimate the importance of style.

If you’ve watched Iron Man, you will notice that Tony Stark typically wears a stylish suit, an iron suit or a designer t-shirt. Now, I’m not saying you must throw all your graphic tees in the garbage or your favourite baseball cap in the dump. I’m saying that it’s important to dress to impress and understand the ROI of dressing well. Not only will it improve the way people perceive you, it will also make you feel better about yourself. Create your own style. Be comfortable but don’t dress like you just rolled out of bed. At a certain stage, it’s time to stop shopping at Hollister and time to start wearing something that screams confidence and not “I did a Keg Stand last night.”

Wrap Up

So there you have it; if you can exercise these tips, you will be six steps closer to creating your very own Stark Industries. Yet we can’t forget the most important part of this entire puzzle. Tony Stark is confident because he has the resume to back it up. It’s great to be confident in yourself, but you must also put in the hours to become a true expert in your craft.

Understand your industry, your role, and what you’re looking to become. At the end of the day, developing self-confidence can help lead you into a role of great power, but as Uncle Ben said, with great power comes great responsibility. Oops 

Source: Shubham’s Blog, Ross Simmonds