Source: tellerreport

By Fully Embracing Awkward Situations, You’ll Look Far More Confident Than Anyone

I’m going to let you in on a secret:

I’m going to let you in on a little secret I don’t talk about that much:

One of the greatest skills I ever learned was learning how to not be afraid of looking stupid.

It started a while back, after watching a TED Talk by Jia Jiang called “What I learned from 100 days of rejection.” (100% recommend it.)

This guy Jia realized how terrified he was of rejection — it had been dominating his life. He made the bold move to conquer his fear by placing himself in some of the most embarrassing, awkward situations he could think of.

His activities were devilishly clever. A few of my favorites:

• Request a free “burger refill” (eating his burger and asking for another one) at a restaurant
• Knock on a stranger’s door and ask to kick a soccer ball around in their backyard
• Ask strangers for compliments
• Ask to trim his own hair at a pet store
• Challenge a CEO to a staring contest
• “Borrow” a book from a Barnes & Noble bookstore