And above all things, never think that you’re not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning.

Asimov’s remark stresses self-assessment as a social force: confidence (or the lack of it) becomes a signal others read when deciding how seriously to take you. The first sentence warns against internalizing inadequacy; the second generalizes it into a principle of conduct (“A man should never think that”), reflecting a mid‑century ethos of self-reliance and professional assertiveness. The closing line—“people will take you at your own reckoning”—suggests that reputation is partly self-authored: how you present your worth shapes how others value your work, opportunities, and authority. It is less a claim that confidence replaces competence than that self-doubt can undercut competence in the eyes of others.