As this will be the first in a four-part series on success, it is important that you understand and become completely aware that to succeed you must first believe in you.

Do you ever notice the people who claim defeat before the event has even happened? Like the golfer who steps up to the tee box and proudly proclaims, “here comes another slice” or the person interviewing for a job and stating very sorrowfully, “I don’t know why I am going on this interview, I’ll never be hired.”

You see what they have done don’t you? They have given themselves the freedom to fail in the eyes of those who had to watch the slice or listen to the reasons they didn’t get that job.

It’s like the salesman talking himself out of making the sales call because he “just knows the customer won’t buy today” and either enters the meeting with the prospect or customer expecting to hear “no” or maybe even decides to stop for a coffee and sandwich instead, blowing off the meeting entirely. When you portray a negative attitude, you will attract negative responses. So let’s turn it around, what do you say?

The secret to success starts as we commit to a belief in ourselves. When we look in the mirror each day as we brush our teeth, our hair, or as we shave, we must recognize the winner looking back at us. You and I cannot change the economy alone, we can’t alter the weather, and we probably cannot create jobs that don’t exist. But what we can do is enter every day with an unshakeable belief in who we are.

When teaching or coaching sales professionals I always include a segment on success being the 3 C’s: Confidence; Confidence; and Confidence. Successful sales professionals must first have confidence in themselves, confidence in the product that they sell, and confidence in the company that they represent. If they have this self assurance they can go toe-to-toe with any buyer or competitor and more often than not, handle or overcome most objections.

It is no different for any of us in our own quest for success. We must first have or develop the self belief or healthy self image. Then we must have complete assurance and belief in our product (our skill, talent, will, and gifts), and then we must firmly believe that our company (our family, friends, and associations) will stand behind us as we pursue success and even excellence.

In an interview prior to his first 2010 Olympic Short Track Speed Skating Event, Apolo Ohno had a great response to a question about success. He inferred that we all have an obligation to seek success and when we awake in the morning, do we ask ourselves if we are ready to give our all in the pursuit of success today and then at the end of the day we need to hold ourselves accountable and ask if we did indeed give it our all on that day.

So for the “C” student that wonders why they study, the spouse who considers giving up, the athlete who worries about competing in the next event, the business owner who doesn’t know if they should open the doors today, and for anyone in doubt about what the world holds today just remember this, every one of these is worth the fight and worthy of your very best effort. You are the one in control of your own success journey, you are brilliant and beautiful, gifted and gorgeous, and today you have a purpose so live it with passion.

Thanks again for all of the e-mails. I do love your insights and feedback and look forward to our continued communications. So tell me about your healthy self-image and self-confidence at msnorton@comcast.net and make it a better than good week.

Michael Norton, a resident of Highlands Ranch, is the former president of the Zig Ziglar organization and CEO and founder of www.candogo.com.