I have been seemingly attemping to lose weight for the majority of my adult life and have tried many a diet.

A few years ago, I decided to try to reduce the amount I weighed yet again, but was determined that this time the fat would stay off.

I wrote down all of the reasons I was trying to lose the excess fat. On my list I wrote about how I wanted to look and feel stronger and fitter. This I believed would help my self-confidence and self-esteem which were always fairly low which may have been one of the reasons why I had a stuttering problem. I had had enough of feeling ashamed of my weight and fat belly. I wanted to walk down the street feeling proud and assured plus I also wanted to stop stuttering of course.

I used to also eat when I was stressed and I sure had a lot of worry via work which was in the fostering services UK and DVD duplication industries.

I wanted to lose weight to avoid all the health problems that being obese can cause, as people become older. I am not sure about you but I rarely see a fat person who is in their seventies or eighties. I am hoping to live until a ripe old age and enjoy my retirement.

I then wrote about the types of clothes that I wear. Basically I am not able to buy the clothes I really want to as they do not really suit a person of my build. There are times when I notice a person walking down the road and I think that they look impressive and that their clothes are nice; I then however realise that they are a lot thinner than me. The clothes may look impressive on them but would not look the same if I wore them.

I also wanted to lose weight in order for me to look more attractive to members of the opposite sex.

The last reason on my list was about my general level of fitness. I have always really enjoyed played footie or what the Americans call “soccer” and as a kid played in many teams including the one at school. I wrote about how I would love to regain my fitness so that I could participate in this and other sports.

Once I had written my list, I would then read it on regular occasions and it would help me to keep motivated. I am not saying it was an easy road, however I eventually managed to obtain a weight that I was happy with. I now have a lot more confidence in many areas of my life including work where I now offer Voucher Codes.

I hope this article proves to be an inspiration to many people; young and old.

People we meet and have to see on a regular basis can have a negative affect on your life and self-confidence, but only if you let them. Around two years ago I was speaking with a long term client of mine (Ian) who was having similar problems of his own. He had been very successful in business and had reached the level of director in the company where he worked, he had previously owned a composite doors company where he sold amongst other things composite front doors. We were discussing this very subject and he admitted that he had an over-aggressive boss who I think was the chairman of the company. I can not remember the chairmans name, however for the purpose of this article I will call him John.

This was the situation Ian described to me. John would e-mail him in the morning with a question asking why the north-west of the country had not been as profitable in the last quarter compared to its usual levels. He would then arrange a meeting with Ian for the late afternoon to discuss the reasons. Ian then seeked the help of his lower managers prior to writing his report and going to the meeting.

Ian was a person who had a slight speech impediment, known as stuttering. He would be able to talk fluently most of the time, however if he felt nervous or if he felt under pressure, he would then start having problems getting his words out and would stutter. He had tried on many occassions to find a way of how to stop stuttering but had never quite managed to do so. Ian also had words he thought of as difficult and would often avoid these type of words. Within the report he made sure that he only included words that he thought he would have no problem in saying; free from stuttering that is.

In the afternoon who would go and meet John and present his report to him. He stated that he would have no problem with his speech at this stage and that the presentation would be delivered smoothly and fluently.

On hearing the report, John would not make any comment and would instead basically just stare at Ian, slowly nodding his head up and down at the same time. Ian described this as making him feel very uncomfortable and was just praying for the silence to end and for his chairman to say something. The words from the chairman would not come and so to break the silence Ian would then continue speaking giving more reasons which were probably not correct and that were certainly not planned. These words were also not spoken fluently but with Ian struggling and stuttering.

I had a little think about what Ian had told me and felt angry at John.

I then advised the approach what I would take if I were in a similar situation. I advised Ian to end his presentation with a question, for example, this is what I believe are the reasons, however I would value your opinion as chairman of the company.

He can then nod and stare for as long as he likes, it is his turn to talk next and Ian can sit there comfortably and just be patient.

John has now changed career and is currently working in the jobs in foster care industry. He has told me that he has no such problems with the people that he is now working with.

Do you lack confidence? Would you like to find out ways in which you could increase your self-esteem and self-confidence? If you have answered either or both of these questions in the positive then this article may well be of interest to you.

Throughout my childhood and teenage years I was a person who had a real lack of self-belief. I have to say that in reality I did not like myself. I was extremely jealous and envious of other people and what they seemingly had in comparison to me. They seemingly had it so easy where as for me life was a constant struggle. What I needed was to some how gain confidence.

I had a stutter you see which did make life unbearable at times. I did eventually, at the age of twenty-two, manage to achieve fluency which of course was a great relief. I had however already spent the previous eighteen years struggling to cope with a stuttering or what is also known as stammering problem that virtually destroyed my entire confidence.

At the end of the day I realised that the grass is always greener and that I had to start to realise that I was one of the lucky ones. I had to stop being so hard on myself and at the same time work towards improving the areas of my life that I was not happy with.

I also had to stop stressing, panicking and worrying so much. My whole approach to life had to change; I was now going to start to think in a positive manner.

These were some massive changes that I was attempting to make to the way that I lived my life and I will not try and tell you that it was easy. In the end however the hard work and determination did pay off; I am now able to talk fluently with a new found confidence.

I hope that you will also be able to gain in confidence; I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

As a successful businessmen I am now involved in various projects including one which offers online guitar lessons for beginners. This is a great deal fun as the lessons are very beneficial and the feedback thus far has been very positive.