Tim Sanders wrote Love is the Killer App and Today We Are Rich. He was one of Mark Cuban’s first employees and Broadcast.com. Tim was also Chief Solutions Officer and Leadership Coach at Yahoo during their hey day.

Tim Sanders deals in the commodity of confidence. It flows from him like water spewing out of Chicago’s Grant Park fountain. I know. I saw him and heard him speak at this year’s re:create conference in Franklin, Tennessee.

Creativity is fed by confidence. Sanders recommends investing a couple of hours a day into building confidence. It starts with the proper mind set: get to instead of hope to. A woman with cancer demonstrated this by the attitude she took each day: “Today I get to…..beat cancer, get a chance to live, have another opportunity, be with those beautiful nurses who care for me…”

Sanders gave us a taste of his “principles of confidence.” They apply not only to creativity, but to most other areas of life:

Feed Your Mind Good Stuff. Put yourself on a “mind diet.” Don’t listen to or watch negative news or voices. Feed your mind good stuff. Just like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the first 45 minutes of each day is “breakfast for the brain” time. Get up every day and eat slow food for the mind: Read books. Contemplate them, take notes. Use this reading time to crowd gossip, jealousy, and negativity off the plate for the day.

Move the Conversation Forward. As you deal with people, focus conversations on solutions, not problems. Ask the questions: What have we got? What are our assets? Don’t fix blame. Make a list of assets! If someone wants to be the devil’s advocate realize that he or she is over-subscribed. The devil’s advocate doesn’t need you! The devil’s advocate is threatened in some way, shape, or form! Allowing the devil’s advocate to play that game is giving “permission to bully.” Instead of playing the devil’s advocate yourself, ask a question instead of criticizing. Answer questions with a sense of positivity. (And recognize that many of the things that bug you are you; often your problem is that you didn’t have the idea.) Beware of “The Sky Is Falling” Chicken Little’s in your organization. Stamp out that attitude. Challenge people: “Where are you coming from?” And don’t hire people who criticize their last boss. They will inevitably end up criticizing you.

Exercise Your Gratitude Muscle. Gratitude is not a feeling, it’s a muscle. Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” Fill up and infuse a sense of gratitude in your life. The word “gratitude” means “gracious attitude.” As a way of exercising it, give thanks today to two people who helped you in your work yesterday. Be thankful for people in your life who are helping you achieve your dreams. People help you either because they love you, or they are on board with the mission. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Champion the champions in your life. Be the opposite of the haters. Be appreciative for the people who contribute to your success. Then turn it around and help them.

Give to Be Rich. Find opportunities to be generous. Giving is a wonder drug. No ailment can withstand its healing power. When you help the helpless you believe in humanity even more. Be part of the solution instead of the problem. Good will is the original viral marketing. Respond to tragedy with generosity.

Prepare Your Self. Preparation will change everything. “The readers of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” Anything done well takes time. In fact, it takes 4 hours to get 1 our of creative work done. Rehearse writing before you write. Rehearse being creative. Do the prep and then give yourself time to let the idea incubate. When you’re in doubt, relive a successful experience. Your self-image defines how high you can fly. Store success at your front door. We store too much doubt, negative energy, problems at the front door. Remember the victory, the success. Relive it!

Be confident today. Be generous and thankful. Feed your mind, prepare, and move conversations forward.

Here’s a suggestion for today: think of a person who is helping you achieve your dreams. Get on your phone right now and send them a text telling them why you are thankful for that person in your life. Do it. Now.

In addition, tell a story in the comments below of a person who has been your champion.