Whenever you're dealing with new people, confidence is an important trait. Seeing that you're confident in yourself and carry yourself with pride affects how others see you – and how they treat you. At work, this might mean landing a deal someone less self-confident would have screwed up. Women can smell insecurity from a mile away, which is one of the main reasons they won't give a desperate guy the time of day. It sounds cliché, but confidence really can make the difference between success and failure.

If you've been studying dating programs or PUA (pickup artist) courses for a while, you've probably heard confidence hailed again and again as the wonder drug to get you dates. I won't go that far, but I will say that trying to talk to women without self-confidence is like showing up to a gunfight without any bullets. You might be saying and doing all the right things, but if she can see that you don't care about or believe in yourself enough to be confident, your words and actions won't make an impact.

One of the areas where most dating workshops and PUA programs go wrong is giving a guy a little too much confidence. You guys know what I'm talking about. We've all seen the guy in the shiny shirt at the nightclub, trying to strut like a peacock but basically just looking ridiculous. Don't be that guy. That kind of overconfidence just drives women further away, because it does one of two things: either it shows them that you're desperate, or it makes you look like a jerk. Contrary to popular belief, women don't like either. Keep your confidence in check and you'll get much better results.

What you're after is that cool, understated sense of confidence. Think Sean Connery as James Bond. Who was that guy trying to impress? Nobody....and women were all over him! The great thing about working with this kind of confidence is that it gets a woman's attention. Without even realizing it, she'll be intrigued. She'll want to get to know you better, and find out what you've got that makes you so self-assured.

Taking the time to work on your confidence level is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only will it help you get more dates (with just about any woman you want, I might add), but you'll also find it makes many other aspects of life easier. With a strong sense of self-confidence, you can stop second-guessing yourself and start living the life you deserve.