By Miranda Naiman, accidental entrepreneur, motivational speaker, member of the EO Tanzania chapter and founder of Empower, a Tanzanian human capital consultancy firm.

Being successful in life requires confidence. Succeeding as an entrepreneur takes confidence. How do we fuel the confidence that’s so essential to achieving our goals?

Are we born with an inherent capacity for confidence or uncertainty? While some children seemingly burst on to the world stage with great conviction, others draw their energy from within, often experiencing self-doubt. Nature certainly plays a crucial part in the origin of confidence, but it can also be nurtured.

You’ve probably heard, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” In fact, words do have the power to hurt, to make or break you. Kenyan writer and academic Ngugi wa Thiong’o wrote about the “barrel of a pen”—the equally destructive and redeeming power of words (both verbal and written). Indeed, one can recover from physical harm, but not necessarily from the words we absorb—particularly during our childhood.