The Power of Self-Confidence: Become Unstoppable, Irresistible, and Unafraid in Every Area of Your Life

CHAPTER 3

Achieving Competence and Personal Mastery

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, no matter what their chosen field.

—Vince Lombardi

You will only be happy, satisfied, and capable of enjoying high levels of self-confidence when you know that you are absolutely excellent at doing something that is important to yourself and others. What is it? What could it be? These are two of the great questions of life.

Fortunately, you and every other person has the inborn ability to become excellent at what you do, and to achieve peak performance in your life and in your chosen field. You have the capacity to function in the “exceptional” range and to achieve mastery in any area that is important to you. The development of lasting self-confidence requires nothing less.

The Edge of the Envelope

In the world of test pilots and prototype aircraft, as described in the book and the movie The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1979), they refer continually to what is called the “envelope.”

This “envelope” consists of an upper and lower edge. The upper edge marks the height and speed that any previous aircraft or jet has flown, up to the time of the most current test run. This upper edge of the “envelope” is the maximum height and speed deemed possible for a new aircraft before it theoretically comes apart in the air or malfunctions or self-destructs.

The goal of the test pilot is to expand the edge of the envelope. His job ...