Knight Moves - A chess player's guide to succeeding in life - Jacques de Villiers
The Knight
The Knight is your self esteem and self image. Show me someone whose life is out of whack and I'll show you someone whose self-esteem is low. Every day when you get up you don your armour to protect you against the negative forces that rail against you in your journey through life. In chess the Knight moves in an L-shape. Whilst this is a good thing in chess, it is not really a great thing in life. When you live life like an L, you miss out on opportunities that can move you forward? If your self esteem ensure that you live life in an L-shape, beware because you're short circuiting your success.
Imagine that you see someone that you like in a pub. You say to yourself, "I'm going to talk to introduce myself to that person". As you walk towards the person, your inner voice says, "You're too fat, too poor, too thin, too hideous ... why would that person want to meet you". Guess what you do? You veer left or right and miss the opportunity to connect. Isn't this what we do sometimes when opportunities are presented to us? We veer left or right because we don't believe that we are worthy of accepting that opportunity. Your self esteem has to be in the centre of your life. What happens outside is dictated by what happens inside you. Your Knight has to be front and centre.
In chess there's a saying that "a knight on the rim is dim". Knights have little power when they are on the sidelines of a chess board. Their true genius is revealed when they are in the centre of the board fighting for all they're worth. That's why you should have a strong Knight. Life is throwing a lot at you every day, isn't it? Every day your self esteem is on the line, isn't it? Whenever you're criticised, sworn at, pushed down by life, you need the Knight's protection. The Knight ensures that life's travails don't grind you down but rather shine you up like a diamond. So, how do you get a great self-esteem? Get real and take time for introspection. Find out who you are? Why you behave the way you do? Once you've done that ... deal with the stuff that's not serving you. Get rid of it and move forward.
Use the tools available to you - counseling, meditation, exercise and hypnosis.
Whatever it takes. But don't hang onto the baggage that's holding you back. Once you've dealt with your self esteem issues, know your stuff. Become good at your job, marriage, relationships, health. Find out as much as you can about your area of speciality. As Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is power." The more knowledge you have about your field of expertise, the more powerful you become and the more bullet proof your self esteem becomes. Of course, to have a great self esteem one needs to have a healthy value system, doesn't one. In comes the Bishop.
The business generator, Jacques de Villiers helps organisations make sense of sales and marketing for real return on investment. He is a keynote speaker, consultant and trainer focusing on sales training, sales management training and internet marketing.
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