I'm not talking about something outside of your capabilities. I doubt that any of us could run a 4 minute mile or bench press 400 pounds.

What I'm talking about here is trying to do something within your capabilities. For instance, you join up with an online business then diligently follow instructions they give you on how to promote. Really give it your best shot.

But.....seems like things just aren't going right.

You're not getting near responses. And remember how literature you read before joining said you could make thousands of dollars every month?

And, oh yeah....remember how easy they said it was going to be? That was right after they hit you with all those testimonials from folks who were already raking it in!

The folks who were living in huge, expensive houses and were now laying on some beach in Bahamas with their laptops busily counting all money they were making.

What went wrong?

Is your mind telling you things like: "I must be doing something wrong." or, "I guess it works for some people, but not for me.".....along with a hundred other litanies all containing expressions of self-doubt and thoughts that you, yourself are failing for whatever reason.

Think about that for a minute.

And next time you go to place your ads or give a business presentation: Are you first confronted by these memories of past discouragements?

I felt somewhat inadequate in my reply to him and resolved to write about my own struggles to improve self-esteem in hopes that it will be helpful to others.

The dictionary says that esteem means, "to regard with respect; to prize, to appreciate. To recognize quality, significance, or magnitude of, to admire greatly; to value."

I know people who have too much confidence and self-pride, but I don't know ANYONE with too much self-esteem. Most people, in moments of profound honesty, will admit to a lack of self-esteem. They would like to feel better about themselves--more confident and capable--in short, to love themselves more.

It would probably be fair to say that most social problems are result--directly or indirectly--of someone's low self-concept.

Not too many years ago, I was going through a dark time in my life. I was broke--financially, personally, socially--even spiritually. In describing it to someone once, I said, "I had self-esteem of a dead rat." That might have been overstating it a bit but not much.

My life--and my confidence--is much better today. MUCH better.

So what changed? Was it outward circumstances? Did my environment change and with it my inner experience? No.

Somehow I knew that any changes would have to be from me. It would be an inner transformation that would eventually alter outward experience.

Some of things I did unconsciously. Others were done with deliberation.

First and foremost, I removed myself from people who had been particularly critical. By distancing myself from this criticism, I was able to gain a better perspective. I was perfectly capable of taking my own inventory and didn't need someone else pointing out my errors and keeping me focused on my shortcomings.

I immersed myself in good books--books of inspiration, books that increased my belief and books that gave me hope. And hope was severely lacking.