Confidence is the personal possession of no one; the person who has it learns it and goes

on learning. The most gifted individual on earth has to construct confidence in his gifts from the basis of faith and experience, like anybody else. The tools will differ from one person to the next, but the essential task is the same. Confidence and pose are available to us all according to our abilities and needs—not somebody elses—provided we utilize our gifts and expand them. One of the most rewarding aspects of confidence is that it sits gracefully on every age and level of life on children, men, women, the famous, the obscure, rich, poor, artist, executive, teenagers, the very old. And you can take it with you into old age. There is nothing more inspiring than an old person who maintains his good will, humor, and faith in himself, in others, in the future. Conversely, the root cause of old peoples despair is a feeling of not being wanted, of nothing to contribute, no more to conquer and become.