FBC – 125 – Magic happens when you believe in yourself

Magic happens when you believe in yourself.

Today we are going to talk about the benefits of believing in yourself. Why is it that most of us don't believe in ourselves and how it is penalizing us.

I really like to have this rule called a 10 X rule, which basically says that whatever time you think a task is going to take, just multiply that by 10. All right. And I think I'd forgotten about the rule because today I decided to build a new funnel, you know, like a bunch of videos and all that stuff. And I just assumed it was going to take me maybe like fifteen minutes and that's it. Well I had a bunch of videos to shoot and I was looking for the perfect set. Right.

Trying to find the perfect spot to start shooting the video. I went outside. It was too hot. I was sweating. Then I had to change. And then I was looking at the angles. But the light was bad and stuff. Eventually I found a really good spot with great light and I started recording. But then what happened? The battery died. I should have checked the dead battery, but the battery died. In the end, I was super happy with my performance.

I got to the phone to check what it looked like. And I see a message that says, your memory is full, bro. So basically after like six minutes, the whole thing stopped. It was really annoying. I said yesterday, you have to be resilient, man. You know, life is going to kick you in the face. That's what life is like. It was kicking me in the face where I could have stopped the thing. “Ah, no, that's it. I don't do it anymore”. But I was like, you know what?

After that third time, I think it got better and better and better. And I was like, dude, I mean, you've already spent an hour and a half doing this. Just take another half hour and just nail it. Right. Make sure there is enough battery space and everything. So I prepared. Everything went really well. And then I recorded again, and this time it worked. And yeah, it took me forever but I nailed it!

So a good lesson for me and I'm happy. Actually, I’m really happy because I think that on the fourth time it turned out better than the first. race. So it was a bit annoying. But, you know, long term, I have a better video, so I'll gladly take that. And again, the high spirits and your ability to be to bounce back and to be resilient is what's going to help you make it. And that's just a very good example. I know a lot of people will have just given up on it.

Magic happens when you believe in yourself.

So the subject for today was, you know, actually the inability for us to believe in ourselves. All right. And, you know, just trying to figure out where that inability comes from, because it's a serious problem for, a lot of people.

And again, this is not one dimensional. So you can be very confident in a specific area, but you're not confident in another. Right. So it's not like you don't believe in yourself or anything. You know, you can be an athlete and stuff and you believe in yourself when it comes to racquetball or whatever you're playing, lacrosse or whatever.

But for other areas, you're not, you know. And one thing that I observed and I lived through and the one thing I see when I talk to people is that the school systems don't actually teach you how to believe in yourself.

Because the system revolves around penalizing you if you do something wrong instead of praising you if you do something good. Right. And I think a good way for you to believe in yourself and try stuff is if you're encouraged to go and do this experiment, you know, oh, go out there and do it.

Maybe it might work. Why not? Right. Whereas the system is wired to basically make sure you don't make any mistakes. You're always afraid to make a mistake.

But not only does the school system, but also in the society itself. So for example, there are occasions where I talk to people and they're like, dude, what do you believe in? Do you believe in God? Do you believe in Buddha, or Jehovah? And I'm like, I'm not really. And people are like, well, you don't believe in anything. And I'm like, well, no.

What do you mean I don't believe in anything? I just don't believe in the same thing as you do. But I do believe in myself. I believe in myself and in mankind. Right. That's actually what I believe in. I believe in people. And I believe in myself. And the minute you say that, you believe in yourself. People think you're an arrogant bastard. That's what you are. People are like, how dare you? And I'm like, dude, if you don't believe in yourself, who's going to do it? Is it a crime to believe in yourself? I don't think it is. Right.

But somehow, this you society or whatever made sure that if you say that you believe in yourself, you will appear as a cocky, arrogant prick. You're going to be penalized for it. The minute you display confidence in your ability or anything, you get a lot of hate.

I met a girl a couple of years ago and she was like, oh, man, Connor lost yesterday. I was like, who the hell is Connor? She's said Connor McGregor. So I looked the guy up. And I hated the guy. He's like too cocky and too confident and all that stuff. And now that I'm shooting this episode, I realize that, I'm saying all society does this and society does that.

But I do the same thing. I hate the guy. And this is what we're brought up to do, is if someone is being too confident, we need to ostracize that person.

So the system is wired to doubt yourself and not boost you and give you all the confidence to go and do stuff. And I think it’s really sad. So me, business wise, I'm confident in my ability to tackle obstacles and be resilient. I know that I can do it right. So that's why I trust myself and my ability to go and do it. That's why I believe in myself.

So by believing in yourself, it doesn't mean that everything is going to work for you. All right. It doesn't mean that. It means that you are going to try. That's what it means. So you are going to try because you believe that you have a chance, a good chance or a slight chance of making it happen. And you're going for it.

If you don't try something, if you never try, then there is a guarantee right there. Nothing is guaranteed on this earth. Right. But there is one thing that I can guarantee you if you don't try something. I guarantee that it's not going to work. But if you try. It might happen, you know.

So me, I like the odds. The odds of it might happen. I like them better than if it was never going to happen. So that's the reason why I believe in myself, in my ability to think about the maybe it can happen and go for it regardless if it happens or not. My odds are still better than someone who will never try. All right. So I don't want you guys to be ashamed or scared to say that you do believe in yourself and to show it.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does believing in yourself unlock work you could not do before?

Belief raises the ceiling on what you are willing to attempt. Operators who believe they can charge $5,000 actually quote it, while those who do not stay stuck at $500 even with identical skills. The work is the same; the ceiling lifts only after belief does.

What is the 10x rule on time and effort?

Whatever you think a task will take, multiply by ten and plan accordingly. The estimate keeps you from despair at week three when a one-week project hits month two. Realistic time multiplication is what separates founders who finish hard projects from those who quit them.

How do you build belief in a hard project before there is proof?

Break the project into 20 micro-milestones and celebrate each one publicly. The chain of small completions builds the same neural reward as one large win. By milestone 12 the project has its own momentum and belief becomes evidence-based rather than aspirational.

What kills self-belief inside a long project?

Comparison and isolation. Working alone for six months while watching peers ship faster on social media corrodes belief regardless of your actual progress. The fix is a weekly call with two operators on similar timelines, where the comparison becomes useful rather than corrosive.

Related Reading

• FBC – 4 Part 1 – This is the story of my life: Success, Failure and The Hurdles.
• FBC – 3 – Escape your life of sacrifice! Don’t settle for less than your dream lifestyle.
• FBC – 8 – The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• Other really cool tips that will give you an unfair advantage

Further reading

• Martin's Substack: long-form essays on building a business that runs without you on Martin's Substack.
• Freedom by Choice Podcast: background interviews and freedom-business case studies on the Freedom by Choice Podcast.
• Harvard Business Review: research on solo and founder-led operations from Harvard Business Review.
• HubSpot Blog: sales and marketing benchmarks on the HubSpot Blog.