--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feeling confident - or pretending that…" description: "\"Feeling confident - or pretending that you feel confident - is necessary to reach for opportunities. It's a cliché, but opportunities are rarely offere..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/sheryl-sandberg-439_careers_feeling-confident-or-pretending-that-you_1766433.png" --- # Feeling confident - or pretending that you feel confident… ![“Feeling confident - or pretending that you feel confident - is necessary to reach for opportunities. It's a cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they're seized.” quote by Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/sheryl-sandberg-439_careers_feeling-confident-or-pretending-that-you_1766433.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/sheryl-sandberg-439_careers_feeling-confident-or-pretending-that-you_1766433.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/sheryl-sandberg-439_careers_feeling-confident-or-pretending-that-you_1766433.png) > “Feeling confident - or pretending that you feel confident - is necessary to reach for opportunities. It's a cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they're seized.” [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Projecting confidence, even if feigned, opens doors; confidence is a catalyst for seizing opportunities. **In simple terms:** Fake confidence can become real. Key Takeaway Act confident to create opportunities. Themes confidence opportunity leadership Mood inspirational practical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - job interviews - public speaking - networking events - entrepreneurship Key Concepts self‑efficacy risk‑taking Questions to Reflect On - When does confidence become arrogance? - How to balance authenticity with confidence? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to poor decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident/) [Confident Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident-necessary-1739658/) [Confident Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident-pretending-1739659/) [Feel Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-confident/) [Feeling Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-confident-570755/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I watch my own clips on YouTube. Just so I go into a game feeling confident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-foden/sometimes-i-watch-my-own-clips-on-youtube-just-so-i-go-into-a-game/) [Phil Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-foden/) > [What makes me feel most beautiful is feeling confident and sure of myself and knowing that I am worthy and enough and powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-brown/what-makes-me-feel-most-beautiful-is-feeling-confident-and-sure-of/) [Hannah Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-brown/) > [I feel more confident about what we're doing as a band and what we're trying to do as a band and the way we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hoon/i-feel-more-confident-about-what-we-re-doing-as-a-band-and-what-we-re/) [Shannon Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hoon/) > ['DWTS' really made me feel confident, and has given me a lot of just self-worth within myself and realizing that I don't need a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-burke/dwts-really-made-me-feel-confident-and-has-given-me-a-lot-of-just/) [Cheryl Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-burke/) > [I used to have really bad skin, which made me struggle to feel confident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher-lloyd/i-used-to-have-really-bad-skin-which-made-me-struggle-to-feel/) [Cher Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher-lloyd/) > [We should all feel confident in our intelligence. By the way, intelligence to me isn't just being book-smart or having a college degree; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabatha-coffey/we-should-all-feel-confident-in-our-intelligence-by-the-way/) [Tabatha Coffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabatha-coffey/) > [My mum always encouraged me that less is more, make-up wise. I think that's why I feel more confident when I have a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maia-mitchell/my-mum-always-encouraged-me-that-less-is-more-make-up-wise-i-think/) [Maia Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maia-mitchell/) > [“Hard to feel confident when you’re surrounded by horse-sized wolves. - Emmett Cullen”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/hard-to-feel-confident-when-you-re-surrounded-by-horse-sized-wolves/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [A Tom Ford three-piece makes you feel so confident, it's bananas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwyane-wade/a-tom-ford-three-piece-makes-you-feel-so-confident-it-s-bananas/) [Dwyane Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwyane-wade/) > [I always want black girls to feel confident in who they are, and in their skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-runway/i-always-want-black-girls-to-feel-confident-in-who-they-are-and-in/) [Bree Runway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-runway/) > [Acting was the place where I could be free and feel confident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-graynor/acting-was-the-place-where-i-could-be-free-and-feel-confident/) [Ari Graynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-graynor/) > [You have to feel confident. If you don't, then you're going to be hesitant and defensive, and there'll be a lot of things working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/you-have-to-feel-confident-if-you-don-t-then-you-re-going-to-be/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [I hope women feel confident with themselves and realize that we don't all have to look alike or be the same size to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-hope-women-feel-confident-with-themselves-and-realize-that-we-don-t/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I feel good with my slider a lot. When I'm far behind the count I use it ... so I feel confident with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ubaldo-jimenez/i-feel-good-with-my-slider-a-lot-when-i-m-far-behind-the-count-i-use/) [Ubaldo Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ubaldo-jimenez/) > [Every single pore - not on the men, but on the women - is scrutinized, so I am really grateful that I feel very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/every-single-pore-not-on-the-men-but-on-the-women-is-scrutinized-so-i/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) ## More by Sheryl Sandberg > [“Still, my argument was that if she was going to work for the next 30 years, what difference does "going back" 4 years really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/still-my-argument-was-that-if-she-was-going-to-work-for-the-next-30/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [ “\[Eric Schmidt\] explained that only one criterion that mattered when picking a job- fat growth. When companies grow quickly, there are more things to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/eric-schmidt-explained-that-only-one-criterion-that-mattered-when/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Go to a playground: Little girls get called 'bossy' all the time, a word that's almost never used for boys. 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Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“When I wrote Lean In, some people argued that I did not spend enough time writing about the difficulties women face when they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-wrote-lean-in-some-people-argued-that-i-did-not-spend-enough/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Survivor guilt is a thief of joy—yet another secondary loss from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/survivor-guilt-is-a-thief-of-joy-yet-another-secondary-loss-from-death/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I am a bigger-picture manager because I've lived through something that's a big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-am-a-bigger-picture-manager-because-i-ve-lived-through-something/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical, and performance-ori ented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/presenting-leadership-as-a-list-of-carefully-defined-qualities-like/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [So there's no such thing as work-life balance. There's work, and there's life, and there's no balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/so-there-s-no-such-thing-as-work-life-balance-there-s-work-and-there/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Men can comfortably claim credit for what they do as long as they don't veer into arrogance. 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My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? 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