Bear Bryant's Confidence

In the winter of 1954, Paul “Bear” Bryant flew from Lexington, Ky., to Dallas, to meet with the Texas A&M board of directors at a hotel near the airport.

Secrecy was crucial as Bryant was a hot commodity in the college coaching world, having turned around the football programs at the University of Maryland and Kentucky.

His Kentucky team had finished the 1953 season 7-2-1, but Bryant was quietly looking for a larger challenge, and A&M wanted a new coach. In the meeting, Bryant was self-assured, confident and demanding.

How often have you been to a staff meeting for a presentation when people leaving the room quietly mention how cocky the speaker seemed? He/she wanted to show confidence, but instead came across as conceited and turned off the audience.

Confidence and conceit are two words that are often used interchangeably, but they have very different meanings.

"Confidence" comes from the Latin word "fiducia," which means faith or trust. It is a noun that refers to the state of being certain about something in the future. "Conceit" comes from the Latin word "concepit," which means to conceive or form an idea in one's mind. It is also a noun referring to excessive self-esteem or vanity.

In that Dallas meeting, Bryant was confident, not conceited, and understood with certainty how he would restore the A&M football program.

So how do we present ourselves in a confident light without being labeled conceited?

1. Before beginning your presentation, explain you're the difference between the two words, which then allows you to launch into your certainty of the future.

2. Don’t compare yourself with others and instead focus on your own strengths. Always mention a mistake you made in the past that transformed into a great learning experience.

3. Explain where your confidence comes from. Who did you learn it from and how did they impact our career?

4. Make eye contact with people and be fully present. Giving others your attention removes any conceited concerns.

5. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Be loose, free and know true confidence is birthed from within and not outside. Learning how to deepen your self-confidence is an important part of removing any notion of being conceited.

Bryant spent four years at A&M and delivered on his promise to turn its program around. He then went on to his alma mater, the University of Alabama, and won six National Championships.

The Bear was one confident man — not a conceited one.