Interesting how a simple word — brazen — can make us feel a certain way and elicit a sense of power, strength and confidence.

Being brazen means taking ownership and being unapologetic about our lives. It’s a powerful word that serves as an anchor for when we want to make big (or small) shifts in our lives and our careers.

When I use brazen, I don’t mean being bossy, controlling, rude or self-absorbed. I mean the choice to be brazen in a conscious way. Anytime we step into a place of certainty, confidence and boldness, it doesn’t equate to being cocky or rude. It’s a grounded choice to proceed with an intention and goal of certainty from an authentic place.

It’s a fine line between being assured, certain and bold from a conscious place and being those characteristics from a rigid, inflexible, close-minded place. Choose the former.

When it comes to how you want to live your life and navigate the waters of your work and career, which would you prefer: to be brazen about it or meek?

As with anything in life, being brazen or timid, confident or insecure, happy or sad are all choices. The beautiful thing about being human is that we have a choice in how we feel, what we think and how we choose to act.

Our choices really do dictate what our lives look like. Learning how to be direct and conscious about our choices — how we feel, what we think or believe and how we act — are the ingredients required to get the most out of our lives.

But what does being brazen mean in this day and age? How can it help us to stand out in a crowded world of amazing, talented entrepreneurial people? How can it make us feel happier or help us shift something that we’ve been trying to shift with little to no success?

Maybe we want to improve a relationship, but can’t find that missing ingredient. Perhaps we’ve struggled financially, and the solution eludes us. Maybe we’re searching for the perfect career or want to make our current career choice more empowering.

Choosing to approach any problem or issue you face with a focus of being brazen is creates an energy that can assist you far beyond what you imagine.

If we don’t make the choice to pursue our goals with confidence and boldness, we won’t get what we want. Our energy will scream “You don’t really want it,” or “I don’t believe you!” The choice to be brazen about what we want is the choice to succeed and own our lives.

Here are four quick tips to increasing your success in life and business by choosing to be brazen: (Click here to tweet this list.)

1. Clarity

Be clear about your goals, intentions and desires. Without clarity or a plan, there’s no point. It’s that old saying: fail to plan, plan to fail. Create a vision of the outcome you want and be detailed about it.

For example, if you have a big job interview, take time to get quiet, maybe meditate, and  come up with your ideal vision of how you want the interview to go. How will you feel? What will you be wearing? How do you respond and handle interview questions?

Create the ideal situation in your mind first, so you can create the reality. See and feel what you want before it happens.

2. Commitment

If you’re wishy-washy with what you want, it’s not going to manifest. Being committed is an essential component of getting what we want and where we want to be. And commitment is a choice.

When you want a clear path, a better job, more money or a better relationship, being committed to your path is essential. If you don’t commit, it’s not a big want or desire.

3. Consistency

Once you have a clear plan and vision in mind, make the choice to be consistent. Create a plan that keeps you accountable and on track with your goals and intentions.

4. Consciousness

Be conscious about what you want to create in your life and career. It’s often required to step into a larger and bigger place of ownership and accountability. Being conscious means being aware and noticing what’s working and what’s not. It means being clear about and committed to your goals. It’s being consistent at all times.

Making a conscious choice to live in alignment with the definition of brazen — bold and without shame — is a masterful way to approach your life. We can have all the information and “how-to” to lead the exact lives we desire, but if we don’t implement those steps, it’s a waste of time.

And it comes down to a choice. Our ability to choose is our ability to create lives we love — right down to our health, our wealth, our relationships and our success.

But most of us forget how powerful a little choice can be. We can choose how to feel, what to think and how to react to situations in our lives — and that’s our point of power.

It’s a choice to be brazen or not.

Carrie Jolie Dale is an author, choice strategist and manifesting ninja. She is living proof that anyone can find happiness, meaning and purpose in their life by mastering their choices. You can find Carrie at  www.carriedale.com, Twitter, and on Facebook.

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The post Choose to Be Brazen: Why Confidence at Work is the Key to Everything appeared first on Brazen Life.