The Con Man

con man (noun phrase)

• A confidence man
• One adept at persuasion, esp at dishonest or self-serving persuasion

My last employer was a truly astounding individual. Watching him conduct business was a revelation, not because of his effective employment of business principals, but as a fascinating study in what can be achieved through sheer, unjustified confidence.

He (let's call him Steve) was the epitome of a con man. I watched Steve walk into meetings with government officials, control the room, hijack the meeting, steer the agenda completely in his favour, get the results he wanted, and walk away with everyone thinking he was a great guy, simply because he behaved with confidence and no one had the guts to contradict his behaviour. Only his employees present at the meeting knew there was no basis for his confidence, that he barely understood the issues at stake, and that he certainly intended to abuse the government's trust.

You can see why this was my last attempt at employment.

So why am I telling you about Steve? Because working for him clued me into how the world truly works and what you can get away with (or achieve) if you behave with confidence. I learned more about business and people working for this abusive, sexist, racist, and morally corrupt jerk than I did in years of working for a major corporation.

It was like watching an evil magician at work. I kept expecting people to see through it, to stand up to his seemingly blatant manipulation of things in his favour. Especially the government! But it never happened.

So here's what I learned from Steve and the kernel of wisdom that I'm hoping is buried inside of this post. Confidence will get you farther than you could ever imagine.

This principal has also stood up in my own life. The small success that I am experiencing as an artist today is entirely based on behaving with confidence and applying to exhibitions and shows that otherwise intimidate me.

Those of us prone to introspection and self-doubt, who hang back and think we're not ready or not worthy, we need to muster up our own confidence and start making things magically happen too.

'Cause the Steves of the world aren't held up by our self-doubts.