Confidence is key

Ey up,

I thought I’d give you a break from the fitness-related content and tell you a story about how I blagged my way into a country illegally, not once, but twice

First up: Prague, 2022

Flights were dirt cheap because of COVID. I found one for £30 and thought, why not?

But the problem was I only had one COVID jab, and to get into Prague, you needed all three

My third shot? Yeah, scheduled for the same day as my flight…

But whatever, I figured it’d update in the NHS app while I was in the air.

Guess what? It didn’t

I landed in Prague, and my app still showed one jab. At this point, most people would’ve freaked out.

But I remembered something I read on Reddit, a trick where you can use the same barcode twice. So, I took two screenshots of my one vaccination barcode, thinking, "Either I get in, or I don’t. What’s the difference?"

When the border agent asked for my vaccinations, I switched from the NHS app to my camera roll

First barcode? Scanned

I swiped to the next screenshot of the same barcode

Also scanned

I walked right through

I didn’t panic. I didn’t start sweating. I didn’t second-guess myself

I got away with it because of pure confidence

Second story, this one’s from New Zealand

I was flying out of Australia for a visa run, and I figured, "It’s just New Zealand, no big deal, right?"

Wrong

You need a visa. Not sure why I didn't clock that given every single other country I've been to outside of Europe needed one but hey

And when did I figure it out? On the train to Sydney airport. Yeah, solid move

So, I applied for the visa on the way, praying it would come through before I landed. Got to the airport, got on the plane, no one checked. Classic

But when I landed in Auckland, I was staring at border control with zero confirmation on my visa

And then I realised how I could play this

The border agent was definitely gay

And let’s just say, I know how to play that angle

So I turned on the charm, gave him the whole “scrolling through emails” routine, claiming my visa was in there somewhere (but obviously it wasn’t)

Then I remembered that Apple deletes your emails after a month, so I claimed I applied for my visa before then

I talked my way through it, kept the conversation light, and before I knew it, he said, “Don’t worry, I know you’ve got it. Go on through.”

A couple days later, the visa actually came through, but for that entire time, I was in New Zealand illegally

The point?

I didn’t panic. I didn’t get all worked up about what could go wrong. I just handled it, and confidence carried me the rest of the way

Confidence trumps everything

Confidence isn’t just about bluffing your way through border control. It’s about walking into any situation, whether it’s a gym you’ve never been to, a new job, or even a tough conversation, and owning it

You don’t have to know everything, but if you act like you do, people believe it

At the gym? Same rules apply

Don’t know how to use a machine? Act like you do, and then figure it out

Can’t hit all your reps? Don’t overthink it, just keep moving forward

Confidence is more valuable than anything else you bring to the table, and it’ll get you further than you ever thought possible

Cheers,

Sheep 🐏

P.S. If you’re ready to stop second-guessing yourself and take your fitness to the next level, my 1-on-1 coaching program is designed for exactly that. No more waiting around—get started today and start owning your workouts like you own everything else. Fill out this form, and let's get to work.