Brain Hacks

visualise myself scoring goals or doing well,’ he once explained of his visualisation technique. ‘You’re trying to put yourself in that moment and trying to prepare yourself, to have a “memory” before the game.’

But visualisation is not just for artists, sports

Although they command huge salaries, have great pension funds, drive nice cars, live in big houses, they genuinely don’t believe they should be in the position they are in. And they are not the only ones.

Many of the world’s top ‘influencers’ and reality ‘stars’ have massive confidence issues. The majority of these figures have more problems than followers and definitely more problems than the ordinary Joe Soap.

eople inherit and gain positions, possessions and power based on bloodlines, favouritism, looks, education, religion or race.

Every single one of the athletes, businesspeople and entertainers I have worked with as a mind coach over the years has the same reaction when I reveal this simple fact to them. Invariably, they reply with a huge sigh of relief, ‘Oh my God, so it’s not just me!’

Sometimes things don’t go as well as you’d planned. We all find ourselves in situations where we feel out of our depth or that we don’t deserve to be there, but the thing you need to learn is that everybody feels like an impostor sometimes. The trick is to never give up and to keep doing the things you love until you realise you are as good as anybody else.’

I’ve learned from, and I currently mentor a couple of young Irish magicians, Aidan McCann and Daniel Cremin.

your wall, imagine yourself putting another brick into or on top of the wall. Add some mortar and smile internally because the person’s negativity is actually helping you build even greater confidence.

Slowly, over time, I realised the best reaction to people who knock you is no reaction at all. Give them and their thoughts no energy whatsoever. None. Zero. Zilch.

shaky first show and the lack of empathy from someone who had been there and bought the T-shirt, someone I aspired to be like, left me running really low on confidence for a long time after.