Live Original (Sadie Robertson) by Sadie Robertson Read Free Book Online Page A

and strength can keep going and refuse to give up.

Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!
—Hebrews 10:35

CHAPTER FOUR
    Confidence Is Key
    H ave you ever met someone who is really smart or talented, but they act like they don’t know it or like they don’t believe in themselves? They walk around looking at the ground. They slump and slouch, they mumble, and they avoid other people. Often, the biggest problem these people have is that they lack confidence. They may be great students, athletes, or musicians, but if they do not have confidence, they don’t become everything they can be and they don’t inspire anyone else. Instead, they just go through life being above average in some areas, but not truly great.
    In this book, I try to offer a lot of encouragement about ways to live original and ways to live a good, happy life. Confidence is the key to actually being able to do all of these things. It’s the difference between “average” and “great.” I believe you can be great. It’s not always easy, but if you can develop a strong sense of confidence, you will take a huge step toward greatness.
    A former football player named Joe Namath says, “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” 6 I have not ever met Joe Namath, and Idon’t really know anything about him. But I like what he says about confidence, and I totally agree with him. I hope this chapter will encourage you to become a confident person so you can do amazing things with your life and have fun!
    SHE HAD CONFIDENCE
    One of my all-time favorite movies is The Sound of Music . I just love it. When I was in the fifth grade, in our middle school choir program, I sang a solo of one of the songs Maria sang in the movie. Ever since then, it has been “my” song and it’s a happy, upbeat tune called “I Have Confidence.”
    In the song, Maria is on her way to the Von Trapp family’s home for the first time. She knows she will work as the governess (like a nanny) for seven children, and she knows their father is a military man. But there is a lot she doesn’t know about her new job, so she is excited and scared at the same time. She also has questions and doubts about whether or not she will be good at being a governess.
    As the song goes on, Maria moves from being worried to figuring out what she will do to teach the children and to earn their respect. By the end of the song, she has a plan based on simply showing them she has confidence in herself. She knows that they will never respect her if she does not respect herself, so she decides to find in her heart the courage and confidence she needs. The song is like Maria’s personal pep talk. She starts with admitting that she is intimidated by her new job, but by the end, she is ready for it.
    I love the way Maria sings “I Have Confidence” because it shows us that reaching a point where we can really be confidentdoes not always happen quickly. To get to that place, we sometimes have to face our fears, think through what we need to do, tell ourselves to just get courageous, and take a step of faith—then believe it will work out well. That’s the way Maria found her confidence, and that’s how you and I find ours too.
    CONFIDENCE TAKES TIME
    In many ways, I was confident when I was little. In the video that shows my five-year-old self standing on the coffee table talking like a little preacher, I said, “If I become famous someday, I will not just remember about myself. I will remember God. Let’s give it up for G-o-d!” But when I was young, my confidence was like a roller coaster; sometimes it was high and sometimes it was low. I figured out at one point that if I let another person’s words or actions affect my confidence, I really was not confident at all. At that time, I did not know how to hold on to the confidence I did have and keep it strong, but I eventually learned.