Do you BELIEVE in you?

It was Sunday morning my good friend Dawn Wiener, and I were having a conversation,and she asked me "Marques when do you feel you started to believe in yourself and your story?" Dawn and I met over LinkedIn a few years ago,and she attended one of academy’s  in Kansas City.   It was there that she said to me “Marques you have an amazing story and I feel people really could benefit from it if you market yourself the right way!”  For 30 straight months after I started my speaking career, I never got one paid speaking job.

It was when I started getting paid speaking jobs and testimonial letters, that I would try to sell myself by my credentials FIRST, and my story LAST. I did this because I did not believe in myself yet. Dawn and along with many others had told me many times that my story was very inspiring, however I just was not there,to fully believe in myself.

Growing up in a household with a single father who got sick with kidney failure at an early age and lost his job, I struggled to believe in myself.  My whole life I saw a man work so hard to accomplish so much, always to get his visions and goals crushed by the actions of others. Growing up I fought with issues of not believing in myself, my goals, and my vision! It was out of fear of having what had always happened to my father happen to me if I was vulnerable enough to put myself out there.

It was then in the early months of 2018 when my good friend Dawn got me connected with Mel Robbins, I was able to be a part of her series Kick-Ass with Mel, Chapter 3, and that is when  I had my breakthrough moment. I remember Mel saying to me "Marques you must lead with your story and then let your credentials follow," many people can say they have the same credentials, but nobody can say they have the same "Marques Ogden Story or Spoiled Milk Moment."

After I returned home from Boston and I started to lead my calls with my story, that is when my career began to truly soar.  I was already an accomplished speaker, with an excellent resume (clients like JP Morgan, The Home Depot, New York Life, Met Life, Siemens, Cisco, Net App, The Buffalo Bills,The NFL Player Engagement Dept. and many others), but the coaching session with Mel elevated me to another level.  Dawn said to me one day that she was starting to see a change in me, and that I was starting to believe in myself and it was showing in my work!

Many times people can tell you things but its not until you are truly ready to believe in yourself, will you be prepared to make the changes necessary to advance yourself and your vision.

Tips to Believing in Yourself...

1.Practice your craft daily

* what do you do daily to make sure you are mastering your craft

2. Hire a coach/mentor

* to help you weekly design your success plan/  Your Accountability Factor Game Plan

3.Accept constructive criticism

* allows you to see things we don't see about ourselves

4.Remember your Vision/WHY

* WHY did you want this? WHY did you take this leap of faith? WHY did you want to go down this path

5. Work on your self-confidence/Self Image

* exercising, meditation, networking groups, accountability partners

If you are not willing to believe in yourself, what makes anyone else want to believe in you?  Or if you are not willing to invest in yourself, do not expect others to invest in you either!

I challenge you to hire yourself a coach that is willing to help you find your breakthrough moment. You can ask people to help you Pro Bono, but that is on their time. When you invest in yourself, and hire a coach its on your time, and that coach is fully invested in you achieving your success as their client! 

Feel free to message me at marques@marquesogden.com to set up a free 1:1 call to get you started on my executive coaching program.