Believe in yourself

While this country was buzzing about Britain's Got Talent, a Spanish friend told me about a woman who appeared on a programme in Spain called Factor X. Silvia Padilla has no discernable singing talent and the song she wrote for herself, called Ponte el Cinturón or Put On Your Seatbelt, is not the greatest tune.

But Silvia became an overnight celebrity and made literally millions of euros from people downloading her song as a ringtone. The public loved Silvia perhaps not for the reasons she might have hoped but she was affectionately ridiculed all the way to the bank.

Ms Padilla is an excellent example of the point I've made several times: whatever happens, don't be embarrassed. Watch the video and compare how you feel during and after it with how you feel witnessing a performer suffering from nerves and embarrassment.

Ponte el Cinturón on YouTube

While I would generally advocate cultivating a level of self-awareness higher than that of Silvia Padilla, what we can learn from her is that, if you act confident and brazen it out, the worst that can happen is people will come away laughing rather than cringing. Look how into it the crowd is, singing along rather than trying to hide under the seats.

Confidence alone, then, can bring you national fame and wealth. If you've got good material as well, there will be no limit to what you can achieve.