My friend Tamara Packer Zander shared about her friend Raja.

 

They were at a retreat for top realtors. Abundance of food and drink were all about them, yet as Raja was honoring Ramadan he sat with the others as they ate and didn’t eat or drink anything.

 

My friend asked him, is this hard to watch everyone else eat?

 

“No it isn’t, I have control”.

 

Raja in honoring his Muslium faith, is using that system to increase his Connection to God.

 

What habits and patterns of our lives are we honoring, or using, to connect us further to God?
What are the benefits of such a connection?

 

It’s impossible to have self-respect and lack self control.

 

It’s easy to see what others are doing wrong, but to ask ourselves how can we become better versions of ourselves? That is harder. It requires a dance between humility and dedication. That’s the adventure of life isn’t it? That with the hard things and good things of life, we push ourselves to become more than we were.

 

We’re offered the alluring philosophy that we should be accepted just as we are. No change or growth required.
However no matter who accepts us, validates us, we know the truth. We look in the mirror and know who we really are. No amount of outside validation will give us self respect.

 

Raja isn’t tempted to break his fast, because he has learned he can trust himself, he has control of himself.

 

My content as a speaker is all about Confidence and how to build it.  Raja’s comment boldly showcased a perfect example of how when you know yourself, you have put the work in. You are good with everyone else around you doing differently because you’re good, you know yourself. That’s the core of true confidence.