Champion Mindset: Building Confidence & Self-Esteem

Every day, our team is focused on how to help our audience and community reach their full potential in every part of their lives – personal and professional. Building confidence and self-esteem is one of the most essential requirements for success and below we’ve presented some of the conversations we’ve had around how to build confidence.

Lauren Satterfield

Building confidence has been a very intentional journey full of mentorship and self-discovery. From an early age, I knew I’d never be the loudest in the room. I can confidently say, that’s just not how I’m wired. Determined not to let the gift of gab and extroverted tendencies hold me back, I learned to cultivate other talents that allowed me to shine all the same. Read more>>

Stacyann Russell

There are two keys to me either staying in a high state of confidence or getting back to one quickly. The first is making sure I place my confidence in things that I have control over and that have a sure foundation. For me that largely evolves around my faith and my behaviors rather than outcomes. The other thing is keeping people around me who can remind me about who I am when I lose sight of that for myself. Read more>>

Samantha Hope Galler

Throughout my 15 year professional dance career, I built my confidence by staying resilient and trusting myself. I learned the hard way that presenting with low self-esteem limited my overall experiences in dance and limited my opportunities. As an artist, we must stay innovative and remain committed to growing artistically. I learned that confidence and an increase in self-esteem allowed me to perform fully and without limitations. Read more>>

Samantha Ingram

As a self-taught potter, my confidence and self-esteem did not magically appear over night. If anything, my confidence is something that actually birthed from fear and vulnerability. Like anybody, I have self-esteem issues and the last thing I ever wanted to do was see myself on video. However, I enjoy relaxing to videos of other potters and their approach to throwing certain forms so I knew that I would enjoy watching myself throw.  Read more>>

Kasey Burton

My confidence and self-esteem is all rooted in my identity that I have in Christ. When I was younger and I had realized that Jesus the most blameless and perfect person that has ever walked this earth had haters…. It made me really comfortable with the idea of not being liked by everyone. Read more>>

Jennifer Ho

My confidence and self esteem has come from learning that my mistakes are most often times the catapult to my next level of greatness. They are truly our greatest teachers. Once I learned to trust myself to handle the outcome of my choices, whether they be seen as positive or negative at the time, I could muster the bravery to act on what I wanted. Read more>>

 ilana Kohanchi

I was born in Russia and raised in the US. Coming from a Russian-Jewish background, that immigrant mentality was pervasive growing up. Besides creating a strong work ethic and “Push for what you want” mindset, that combined with my natural optimism, created this internal confidence. Read more>>

Miriam Chadwell

I have developed my confidence by actively and intentionally testing my risk tolerance. The more comfortable I am with taking risks, the more confidence I have when approaching new or challenging things. If I can look at something new and uncertain and have peace with the outcome no matter how it plays out it gives me a sense of certainty or ablity to show up fully in the moment of that challenge. Read more>>

Glenda Benevides

I think it all starts with truly understanding who you are, what brings you joy and inspires passion? Questioning what your core purpose is. I feel this is the best place to start. I Feel being in an inquisitive mindset in the way you walk through this world is key. We are all connected and touching each other in some way whether we think so or not. Read more>>

Rachel Williams

As a person who struggled with self doubt and confidence for much of my younger years, I realized, as an adult, that my confidence comes from my knowledge. The more I learned about the topics I was teaching, the more confident I felt in both my actual teaching, but also representing teachers as a whole. Read more>>

Annie Law

As a young faithful mom from Utah County, my confidence and self esteem relied upon the acceptance of others. Until the age of 40, I unconsciously allowed myself to function off of what someone else told me was best for me and my family. I was a good girl thru and thru and conformed in the name of acceptance. I was polite, kind, accommodating and generous to a fault. And I was my most brutal critic. Read more>>

Demetriah Smith

Betting on yourself every time! Remember, when you were little, your parents would say “Just be yourself!”. It has a different meaning when you’re older. When you were young you just wanted to fit in and be with the in-crowd. Now, it means if I am my true authentic self, I know everything that is meant for me will align as it should. Read more>>

Lindsay Shutt

I developed self esteem by doing esteemable things. I’m a person in recovery and I’ve learned that acts of service and kindness towards others helps everyone, including yourself. I find being honest with myself about my short comings and failures, as well as acknowledging the ways I have grown and experienced success in my life has helped ground me and understand who I am. Read more>>

Sarah Raw

I believe that self esteem and confidence are a skill, not something we are born with. I have read many books on just understanding what self esteem really is in the first place. Self Esteem by Caroline Myss and Worthy by Nancy Levin were both very helpful in properly defining self esteem and self worth for me. Read more>>

Siani Davis

I truly believed that my confidence and self-esteem were nurtured from a young age. Throughout my childhood, I recall my mother and grandmother consistently imparting positive affirmations about beauty and self-worth. This encouragement continued into my teenage years, although I faced challenges in asserting my autonomy over decisions regarding my hair, skin, and clothing. Read more>>

Yuxi Liu

The way to keep my confidence is to continue learning deeply in one field and making progress. In my opinion, a person is not confident in all aspects, only the real understanding can be truly confident. I am a designer. Before I learned art design, I was just a student full of passion and curiosity. Read more>>

D’Asia H.

Confidence and self-esteem, I believe, are constant work in progress. As we navigate through life, stepping into new environments and absorbing lessons, the journey of self-assurance is ongoing. My journey began in Connecticut, where, despite being in an urban setting, I consistently harbored a sense of destined greatness. Read more>>

Morgan English

Ironically having no confidence in myself at all created an air of misplaced delusion. When I “became” an artist I was not looking to be a great one or even a good one. I was just having fun. I had zero fear of rejection because of course I could be rejected. Read more>>

Tommy Vohs

It certainly isn’t easy to walk your own path. Expectations can restrict our natural inclinations and make us question many aspects of our life. Fortunately, I found out early on to think beyond what was presented and expected of me. I had a curiosity that needed to be fed but I realized that my family had no desire to nurture that hunger. I left home at 18, got an apartment and a job and had no direction or goals.  Read more>>

Pink Palace

We cultivated our confidence and self-esteem through continuous experimentation with our music. Embracing authenticity, we found strength in sharing the raw and genuine aspects of our personal lives through our lyrics, even when it felt intimidating. Stepping out of our comfort zone, we ventured into different genres, starting with lofi pop and expanding into the realms of pop, singer-songwriter, and alternative pop/rock.  Read more>>

Wayne Gassmann

I would say a lot of my confidence came from living outside of my comfort zone. Working in local news between 2 cities over 7 years, you have to be comfortable talking to strangers and usually about not-so-fun topics. You misspeak at the start a lot but trying over and over again you learn what puts people’s defenses up and lowers them. Read more>>

Woo Monáe

When you are molding into something new you need God’s people around you to uplift you in that part of your life. It can start in your younger years or when you’re older. For me my confidence and self-esteem was first built by my mom. She would always tell me how beautiful, smart, kind and all these other amazing things about myself. Like most kids you first believe that as a mother that that’s what she supposed to do.  Read more>>

Toyia Bryant

The source of my belief or value system and energy comes from within. I cultivate this system based on my personal life experiences versus what I have been taught or the perceptions of others. In being focused on self, I tend to reflect often. In that reflection I ponder about life’s greatest questions such as What is the meaning of life?  Read more>>

Lori Lofstrom

Part of my confidence has always been based in my personality that always approached life with the mentality that I’m right unless you can show me otherwise. It has served me well in my corporate career, however, I spent a lot of time not feeling quite good enough and a little uncomfortable in my own skin. Read more>>

Alicia Reimers

Abandonment early in life led me to believe that I wasn’t good enough as I was, that something was wrong with me, that I was unlovable. I began most truly developing my confidence and self-esteem in my late 20’s when I started coming to terms with the truth that I didn’t know myself. I knew the version of myself who tried to please everyone for fear of being rejected.  Read more>>

Noemi Fernandez

I developed my confidence and self-esteem by being deeply devoted to my self-discovery and personal growth journey. I’ve invested significant time and money processing, independently and with a therapist, my thoughts. I’ve spent a lot of time writing my thoughts and feeling my feelings. Writing has been an important tool in being able to understand myself and everything that goes with that (needs, values, boundaries, identity).  Read more>>

Deeptha Venkatesan

In attributing the foundation of this particular attribute of mine, I unequivocally acknowledge and extend full credit to the remarkable women in my family—my mother, her sisters (my aunts), and both of my grandmothers. Their collective influence has been a steadfast source of inspiration, shaping my perspective on life and instilling in me enduring qualities.

Shalonda Edwards

I developed my confidence and self esteem through failure. Finding myself in situations where I could not navigate as I wanted, do as I thought was best and, did not feel settled both in my personal and professional life allowed me to sit with why things were not going the way I wanted and be curious about what I wanted/ needed and what was lacking.  Read more>>

Dee Khasandi

I kept telling myself that these act just like a muscle. And to top it all, I quickly found out that no one actually cares. I don’t gain anything from lacking self-esteem but I have something to lose; be it opportunities, or even myself. Confidence allows me to get in rooms I would’ve talked myself out of, or thought I didn’t fit in. Confidence also stemmed from taking care of myself more. I look good, I feel good. Always been a mantra. Read more>>

Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

As a teenager, I had no self-esteem or confidence. I thought I was stupid and no one cared about me – I was suffering from my first bout of depression. As I aged, I began finding the things I enjoyed and was good at, which helped build my confidence. I was still dealing with depression and low self-esteem. In my mid-twenties, I went to therapy for the first time. It allowed me to combat the negative self-talk that bombarded me every day. Read more>>

Luis Colindres

I was always a shy person and still get shy under unexpected circumstances, but one of the things that helped me build confidence in regards to my art is to enjoy and be proud of my work. I fortunately discovered how to express myself in this way during my final semesters at Columbia College Chicago when our professors encouraged us to create things that we loved to create.  Read more>>

Sloane Simon

I landed my first regular gig in seventh grade, playing weekend nights in a rowdy pizza shop for $27, a fountain drink, and a slice. I have no idea what possessed me then to think I had something to offer a room full of people, but I am glad I got that awkwarndess out of the way early.  Read more>>

Kayla Stafford

Having young parents meant that I had to mature at a young age. I often assisted my parents in taking care of my siblings and managing the everyday tasks, which required me to become independent. Even as a child, I started doing things for myself to the best of my abilities. As I grew older, my responsibilities increased, and although it presented challenges, it instilled confidence in my ability to do things for myself.  Read more>>

Erick Gerson Rodriguez

I learned over the years that what brings me joy is being confident in my work and the things I love to do. It took some time to reassure myself that I’m good at what I do, without being snooty or feeling better than anybody else. In fact I can be very critical of myself but having confidence and telling yourlsef you’re worthy of all your successes and achievements. Read more>>

Gwen Simmons

I was a very introverted child and adolescent. I hesitated to speak up or speak my mind. At school or in public, I abhorred being in front of a group or having the attention of others. I was always aware of being different, of not fitting in anywhere. As a teenager, my interests in political issues and counterculture brought me at least briefly out of my shell somewhat. Read more>>

Barney Levitt

I’ve drawn and painted since I was old enough to scribble on my parents dining room walls. When I entered college as an art major, feedback from my art professors boosted my esteem. Post college, I still dabbled in the arts, but it wasn’t until I was accepted into the prestigious Copley Society of Art in Boston, that my art career took off. Being a juried member of this highly competitive organization really gave me the confidence I needed to move forward. Read more>>