BE A CON ARTIST
Ever wonder why some people have so much confidence? Chances are they don’t. Every human has self-doubt and insecurity. So what do people do to seem confident? It’s all a big con.
When we think of a con, we think scam, but con artist is actually an abrev for confidence artist. Coined ‘confidence’ not because they’re inherently confident themselves, but because they’ve learnt how to gain the confidence of others.
Maybe this is the navel-gazing reality we’ve needed. After hours of self-help books and Brené Brown talks, maybe all we need is a good lesson on how to become a con artist. So, I took a look at what the world’s most famous con artists can teach us.
MEET VICTOR
He sold the Eiffel Tower, twice, without ever owning the deed. How? He listened to what people were saying and told them exactly what they wanted to hear. Victor Lustig tells us to prove we’ve been listening. Listen, observe and get to know the person really well. Don’t interrupt, simply repeat what they said in your own words. People love it when you’re interested in them.
MEET FRANK
He wore a badge and flew around the world from the cockpit, without a license. More well known as Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, Frank Abagnale got himself a uniform and made like the real deal. What Frank teaches us is to dress like you own it.
MEET THE HATTON GARDEN THIEVES
Six elderly men walk into a safe deposit company, drill through a 50cm thick vault and take off with￡200 million worth of gems. They were caught, sure, but the treasure was never found. The heist wasn’t on a whim, it took months of planning and research to be prepared to pull it off.
MEET JORDAN
Ah Leo strikes again. This time in a film with the most amount of ‘f’ words used, ever (506 if you were wondering). The Wolf of Wall Street’s Jordan Belfort was a fraudster, put away for two years but came back laughing. He’s now making serious money as a motivational speaker. How does he do it? He’s relentlessly positive. He says be grateful, take control and look to solve, don’t wallow.
MASTER THE ART
You can’t become a confidence artist overnight; you have to learn it. It takes listening, dressing the part, lots of research and relentless positivity. We say a lot that ‘perception is reality’, and based on how we can convince others to perceive us, it’s true. But this also goes for how you think about yourself. Convince people to have confidence in you, and you might just start believing it yourself.