The Art of Confident Living: 10 Practices for Taking Charge of Your Life, a book review

You might wonder why I’m writing about confidence on a blog about evolving from a student to a successful freelance writer. Or, you might not.

Anyone with experience in or entering into the publishing industry, freelance life or wide world of self-employment understands it takes a lot of chutzpah to dive in. Most days, freelancers are more likely to be hit with rejection letters than acceptance letters and it’s inevitable something they send out will have errors or need an editorial overhaul. Some days those bumps are easy to navigate, other days they hurt and can turn the most confident person into a pile of mush if they’re not careful.

But, according to Dr. Bryan Robinson’s book, “The Art of Confident Living: 10 Practices for Taking Charge of Your Life,” the last thing you want to do is stay mushy. Nope. What you want to do is pick yourself up, fake-it-’til-you-make-it and keep on going, being careful about who you surround yourself with and the conversation going on in your own head.

The author takes readers step-by-step through the 10 practices on a confidence boosting journey. Each chapter begins with a quote, a story about someone everyone can relate to and tips for honing your confidence-building skills. Each chapter ends with an exercise or two (they only take a minute).

Read the book once to give yourself the ultimate boost, then refer back to it when you need a recharge. It’s easy to find the exact page you need, thanks to the user-friendly contents page and an extensive index.

For example: are you in a whoa-is-me cycle brought about by poor decision making? Check out “The Practice of Choice” on page 61. Maybe you don’t have time to read the entire chapter, so you read the section entitled “Make Life an Adventure to Experience Instead of a Problem to Solve.” By the end of that two-minute read you’ll feel refreshed and ready to take charge of the important decisions in your life again because you’ll have the tools to re-frame your problems and break the cycle.

What if it’s a bad editor day, nothing you write seems any good and everything you’ve submitted this month has been rejected? Why not revisit “Bending with Life’s Curves” in “The Practice of Harmony” section on page 115? Because, you know, you must be able to bend if you are to survive out there on your own freelancers.

The point is, the book — as a whole — will be a light in your life, but you’ll want to keep it around for a refresher every now and then because the writing life is hard and sometimes you’ll need to take a break and remember you’re important, being confident about your abilities and talent is equally important and opening your life to the possibilities that await sometimes takes practice and regular effort.

Dr. Robinson’s book is no boring self-help tome designed to help you sleep better at night. On the contrary, some of the real-life stories he shares will touch your heart or make you laugh — and they’ll all remind you that you’re not alone. Even the person every one thinks is the most confident person they know needs a little reassurance and guidance now and then. This book offers that. By the last page, you’re sure to feel like a better — more confident — version of yourself. More, you’ll be armed with new tools to ensure you feel like that good more often than not.

Published by HCI in January 2009, you can get your own copy on Amazon.com for just over $10.