Make It Happen: Live your best life

And if all else fails, fake it till you make it. Take a deep breath, and pretend to be hugely confident, and behave in the way a confident, self-assured person would. Act like you matter, like your opinions are worth listening to, and your presence anywhere will be welcomed and appreciated.

I’ve always been keen to persuade people to get out of their comfort zone from time to time and challenge themselves. Because, really, how comfortable is a ‘comfort zone’ if it’s actually doing you a disservice?

To me, ‘no’ might just mean I haven’t asked the right question, or asked it at the right time, or in the right way.

But Oprah is right on message all the time. ‘There are no mistakes,’ she told Harvard graduates in an address in 2013. ‘There really aren’t any . . . There’s no such thing as failing really because it’s just life trying to move you in another direction. You get just as much from your losses as you do from your victories.’

it’s important to demonstrate how much you like yourself by wearing your nicest, most flattering clothes all the time – not just saving them ‘for best’.

every ‘no’ you get today is just one less you’ll have to hear in the future. And it’s often a stepping stone to an eventual ‘yes’.

What are you good at, and what would you like to be better at? What do you enjoy doing? The best and most successful journeys start from a place of love. Accept that you’ll never be perfect, but just strive to be the best version of yourself.

It’s often more fun studying with a friend, so why not sign up for a course that might help you advance in your job, or have a different career,

Excuses are terribly seductive. They promise an end to hard work, failure and embarrassment. It’s important, however, to recognise that most people’s excuses come from a deep-seated fear of failure.