But he could have just as easily applied his quote to the world of dating. It's a jungle out there, where the terror of rejection can be a traumatic intimidation factor when meeting someone new, while telegraphing that insecurity to your date could easily jeopardize your chances for a second meeting.
While confidence isn't an exclusive component to staging a successful date, it can be an important one, argues Chicago-based Patti Feinstein, self-described as America's Dating Coach who has counseled hundreds of clients and appeared on ABC, CBS and MSNBC.
"Confidence equals happiness, and happiness equals success," she says. "Not everybody has a lot of confidence in dating," she states. "Dating is a world of rejection, so it's very hard to get the confidence. It's more important to get the connection.
"But confidence is important, and you're not going to get it unless you try."
In her experience, Feinstein has found the fairer sex to be the most confident. "I would say women tend to be more confident than men," she confirms. "I have a ton of male clients, and they always have confidence issues.
"But I can take a guy who has no confidence, throw him into an activity, put him online, and he'll find love."
Which brings us to five surefire ways Feinstein recommends for boosting your ego:
Immerse Yourself in Something Passionate
"Throw yourself into something that you can get absolutely lost in," says Feinstein. "I'm not talking about books. I'm talking about activity, because then you're not thinking about it."
Being consumed with something that you love tends to shift your focus away from almighty you. That leaves less time to think about your own insecurities.
"When you're shining and doing something that makes you happy, that makes you approachable," she counsels.
Feinstein recalls one client who had always wanted to purchase a motorcycle but had denied himself the pleasure.
"I encouraged him to do it, and once he did, all of a sudden he started dating," she says. "I do think that happiness contributes to confidence."
Keep the Conversation Focused On Your Date
"Everybody's favorite subject is themselves, so you want to talk about the other person," says Feinstein. "It shows that you're genuinely interested. It also shows that you have a certain amount of confidence because you don't need to share all of your stuff on the first date. You know you have something to offer."
She says says that when it comes to the art of conversation, there are notable differences between men and women.
"Men don't talk -- they're visual. So for men, I would advise talk, ask open-ended questions and get it out there. Guys are so compartmentalized that it's very difficult to make conversation with them.
"Women have a tendency to talk too much, and that would show a lack of confidence. They over-analyze everything under the sun."
Tying in suggestion No. 1 -- a passionate interest -- also makes you a more engaging conversationalist for your potential date. Just don't be overconfident. "You don't want to do that, because it's a turn-off," notes Feinstein.