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I'm huge on this concept. When you have a chip on your shoulder, you perform better. You have a reason to prove to yourself, and to someone else, that you can do it.

You just become even more motivated and driven than normal.

Agree or disagree, follow me for a second, because I think this gets even more interesting. Recently at a business dinner, a colleague shared with me that they feel like they always had a chip on their shoulder that was driving them, but they've recently lost it, and they asked how they can "get it back."

At the time, I didn't have the answer, but I was so intrigued by the concept that I decided t0 dig deep after the fact. It resonated with me because I believe I've always got a chip as well. But why am I never losing mine?

Then it dawned on me after some micro-moments occurred in real life.

I feel like I’m constantly creating one. Yep, my inherent mindset as I scan the room is always helping me create a chip. This isn't something I purposefully do, or intentionally do, it's just my default, and has been since I was a kid.

But even if it's not in your DNA, and you're like my guy at the business dinner, here's the mental exercise I broke down for you to try creating the chip yourself.

1. As you scan the room you're in (or situation if you're not literally in a room with people), profile yourself. Look at yourself through the lens of others, and critique yourself.

That’s what other people are doing, or did earlier in your life when you had the chip.

2. Now, create the narrative of what they're thinking/saying about you. This is the mental exercise. You can remember real micro moments or fabricate them.

They’re looking at you thinking “he’s small and average looking, he can’t have his own successful show.”

They’re listening saying "he had a high voice, he can’t have a top 100 podcast.”

Walk around every day making moves in spite of what they’re thinking.

They think you’re a project manager, not a coder! Bullshit. You didn’t go to this or that college, so you can't do x, y or z. You’re in marketing not IT so you can’t know our tech stack.

You’re an intern, you can’t write copy!

This is the chip.

3. It’s great that you have positivity around you and you’re in a good place mentally. It’s the perfect time to create “the chip.”

He can’t make a million dollars, he doesn’t have the background, education experience, etc.

Have you achieved everything you want to?

That’s the chip.

4. When you’re healthy and happy, the chip becomes something you can flip on and off when necessary. Just like booting up your computer— the chip flips on.

Now you're controlling the chip, allowing yourself to reach a different level of focus and determination.

As you're in control of this chip switch, it is more a version of self confidence and a tool to achieve success than a feeling of needing to overcompensate for perceived inadequacies.

So first of all I'm big on a chip being a real thing. It starts likely earlier in life with a feeling of someone else doubting you. You then achieve in spite of them, or maybe because they motivated you. In the end, the chip gave you confidence to achieve success. You achieved so much success that they chip went away.

Well, not with me, but with some others.

But now, you can use mental exercises to create the chip, keep going, achieve more, and turn it on or off when needed.

This is the Chip of Confidence concept.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Paul Hickey, Founder / CEO / Lead Strategist at Data Driven Design, LLC has created and grown businesses via digital strategy and internet marketing for more than 10 years. His sweet spot is using analytics to design and build websites and grow the audience and revenue of businesses via SEO/Blogging, Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads, Social Media Content Marketing and Email Marketing. The part that he’s most passionate about is quantifying next marketing actions based on real data.

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