BoldJourney is all about helping our audience and community level up by learning from the experiences of others. One of the most important topics we’ve been focused on sharing insights and lessons on is confidence building and self-esteem. Below, you’ll find some brilliant entrepreneurs and creatives sharing their perspectives and advice.

Meredith Parks

I have been performing since I was very little so building the confidence to pursue a creative career started when I was young. I have always had a love for entertaining, for being on stage, or behind a camera. My passion for performance helped tremendously in allowing myself to take risks and chase my dreams. My parents have always been extremely encouraging and I am so grateful to them for providing a wonderful foundation of support and positivity.  Read More>>

Jessica Bush

In the African American community, we often face colorism, and I’ve experienced my share of it. I was bullied and labeled as “ugly” by both family members and peers at school for having darker skin and not wearing the latest fashions. However, as a child, I found inspiration in fashion magazines, admiring confident women who exuded power. Read More>>

Julia Echols

My journey of developing confidence and self-esteem is undoubtedly rooted in my resilience, determination, and the incredible strength I’ve built over time. It likely came from a mix of experiences, challenges, and choices that shaped who I am today: Read More>>

Chloe Griffault

For me, confidence is a skill that takes practice to learn. I used to really have a lot of self-esteem issues, especially when I was just starting college. I was so worried about how other people perceived me. I went through the college audition process, which is so difficult for young actors. It’s one of your first times going out and auditioning for industry professionals, and what made it so hard for me was that there wasn’t any role or part I was going for, it was just myself.  Read More>>

Jordan Dunbar

Confidence and self-esteem were (and sometimes still are) things that I struggled with. I never really believed in myself, I never spoke up for myself, and it got so bad that I literally could not look myself in the mirror. The turning point for me in developing my self-confidence was really a push from my mom.  Read More>>

Becky Budhoo

How I Built My Confidence and Self-Esteem

Confidence isn’t something you’re simply born with—it’s something you build. My journey to self-confidence has been a process of growth, self-belief, and stepping outside of my comfort zone. Through dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to push past my fears, my confidence and self esteem have increased. Read More>>

Dawn Cox

I was incredibly fortunate to grow up in a loving and supportive family. My father instilled in me a strong belief in my own abilities, always reminding me that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. He emphasized that setbacks were not failures, but opportunities for growth. Read More>>

Susannah Foos

Confidence and self-esteem haven’t always come easily to me. In fact, they’ve been a lifelong work in progress. If I’m being honest, the journey started in a place of deep discomfort—a single moment etched in my memory when I was just 10 years old. A doctor, someone I was supposed to trust, looked at me and called me “chunky.” Read More>>

Aliyah Ramalho

1) My input to society
2)finances
3)satisfaction with own Appearance
4) Relationships Read More>>

Menen Nehneh

I developed my self confidence, and self esteem from being in places that dimmed my light.
I often realized that I would be in spaces that people did not truly want to see me shine. Enduring experiences like this lead me to feeling sorry, and tired for myself. I decided to not feel like that and changed the perspective on how I viewed myself. Moving forward I chose to be in spaces that celebrated, and adored me, all while ensuring I was a sacred space for myself as well. Read More>>

Dillon Baker

My confidence and self-esteem weren’t always what they are today. There were times in college where I doubted everything I was doing and couldn’t make up my mind. One of the big contributing factors that I believe helped propel me closer to being more confident was when I started to work on myself by working out.  Read More>>

Iyana Willis-gray

I really love this question because confidence and self-esteem are things I’ve struggled with since I was a little girl. As I got older, especially in middle and high school, it became even harder to feel confident when I didn’t always feel accepted for who I was. But over time, I realized that I didn’t need acceptance from others—I needed to accept myself. Read More>>

Lindsey Lerner

I learned early on that confidence isn’t something you achieve—it’s something you practice. At 15, I was shooting weddings and Bar Mitzvahs with just my camera and pure determination. Looking back, it’s wild that people trusted their most important moments to a teenager, but it taught me an invaluable lesson: when you show up prepared and genuine, people sense that authenticity, even if you’re secretly terrified. Read More>>

Sam Chassy

For much of my life, confidence and self-esteem were things I struggled to develop. Despite having the privilege of learning and working in incredible environments and with talented people in music, audio engineering, and life otherwise, I never really felt secure in myself. Most of that has stemmed from my struggles with addiction, which started when I was a kid and has been a constant battle ever since.  Read More>>

Chelsea Meagher

Whew, getting right to it! I grew up in an environment where I was one of extremely few that looked or acted like me. I had big curly hair, tanned skin, curvy shape, and I was always chatting or sharing my latest obsession. I couldn’t have been more opposite than the people around me. Read More>>

Ryan Heimbach

My self-esteem comes from seeing a project or a piece of art through to the end. It’s when I stop half way through or don’t attempt a piece at all I start doubting myself and everything can come to a halt. It also is helpful when I show some of my friends that are fellow artists my finished work to see how they see it to boost my confidence in the piece.  Read More>>

Hailey Stark

As a neurodivergent child, I encountered struggles regarding my self-esteem growing up. So naturally, I struggled making friends with my peers and was subject to bullying. One funny incident that happened when I was 16. Was I broke my face. Which ultimately led to me having to get stitches and looking like I got hit by a truck. This was an incredible blow to the my self-esteem and left scars on my face.  Read More>>

Elizabeth Dockery

I developed my confidence and self-esteem through experience. Working with diverse nationalities taught me how to overcome my shyness and step out of my comfort zone. When I worked in Thailand as an English teacher, I realized I could make a difference not just to others but also to myself. Read More>>

 Chris Adams

How did I develop my confidence and self-esteem? Whew, that’s a loaded question. Growing up I wasn’t the most handsome, most intelligent or most outgoing kid in the world. As a matter of fact, I was the fat kid growing up. That was always at the forefront of my self image and esteem. Read More>>

Darrel Heard

I grew up in a place where the struggle was real every single day, and I learned early on that where I come from is a part of me—it’s in my blood. But I also knew it wasn’t the whole story. Even in the toughest moments, I saw my roots as the foundation for my hustle and determination. I learned that confidence isn’t handed to you; you build it with every challenge you overcome and every small victory along the way. Read More>>

Breaja Morgan

How I developed my confidence and self-esteem is from my family. I always grew up with my family being my #1 confidence boost. They gave me my flowers in that area of my life which helped me grow into loving myself. Read More>>

Sara Mumbauer

If you would’ve told me ten years ago that I would be running a business on top of being a full-time teacher, I think I would’ve looked at you like you had eight heads. Growing up, I was not a yapper, or even a talker really. I was quiet, shy, and kept to myself. I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, and I was really anxious about what college would be like. Read More>>

Lisa Bradley

How Did I Develop Confidence and Self-Esteem?
I grew up as an energetic, happy, and optimistic kid. My parents were entrepreneurs, and from an early age, I saw the ups and downs of running your own business—the long hours, the sacrifices, and the rewards. They raised my sister and me to be self-sufficient and resourceful, instilling in us a sense of independence and determination.  Read More>>

Michael Kurkowski

One of the greatest practices I found in developing confidence is counting your daily wins. It’s so easy to keep focus on what is lacking in our lives, or the negative things that happened rather than the positive. In doing this, we forget about the good things, the small victories that we have everyday. Read More>>

David Allen Tracy

Growing up in the jungle of Panama, I was immersed in an extraordinary, cross-cultural environment from a young age. My parents ran a nonprofit organization that worked with indigenous tribes, and as a result, I was constantly exposed to diverse experiences and people from around the world Read More>>

Elissa Hall

I think many people believe that confidence comes from a strong sense of self, but I often feel it’s the opposite. I try to approach life with flexibility and a sense of curiosity. I don’t want to become too stuck in a fixed sense of identity or what I should be doing in my career, instead I have a core belief that I am capable of trying new things- that it’s ok to fail, but it’s important to try, and I approach my creative endeavors with a sincere desire to learn and connect with others. Read More>>

Connie Kercher

My confidence wasn’t born from motivation or interest – it’s built through consistent action. Every morning, I showed up to work on myself, especially on days when I didn’t feel like it. Each rep, each practice session, each small step to prepare the best I could laid another brick in my foundation. I had to learn how to manage me… all the different parts of me, to then be able to put myself on intentional paths to develop skills and strengths. Read More>>

Female Executives Of Texas

We’ve built our confidence and self-esteem through community, perseverance, and the recognition of our shared experiences as women of color. For us, confidence grows when we see ourselves reflected in spaces where we’ve historically been excluded. We have developed resilience by supporting one another, embracing mentorship, and creating safe, empowering environments like Female Executives of Texas. Read More>>

Courtney Armstrong

My journey in developing confidence and self-esteem began during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that timeframe, I was only a freshman in high school when the schools across the states closed, which initially seemed like a dream of a lifetime. Like many others my age, there was nothing but time on my hands to scroll on social media all day.  Read More>>

Joao Luis Martins Da Silva

Since i was a child, i have always been creative and liked talking to the elderly. I preferred to make friend with them and thats why i always learned the human side and respecting the others. This gave me a lot confidence and selfsteem to observe the good details in life. I think because i ve been around wisdom people i have impressive record of achievements as a entrepreneur provinding rehabilitation services to client with health issues in Brazil. Read More>>

Christina Vanlandingham

I developed my confidence and self-esteem by focusing on what I want in life and where I see myself. I stopped letting others thoughts and opinions matter or hold me back. I was a very shy kid growing up and dealt with my deal of bullies who laughed and joked about my body or my looks. Those mean comments created insecurities that I would beat myself up over. Read More>>

Olumide Lawal

My confidence and self-esteem are deeply rooted in knowing my identity in Christ. I’ve learned to see myself the way God sees me—fearfully and wonderfully made, loved unconditionally, and called for a purpose. I remind myself of scriptures like 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says I am a new creation in Christ, and Ephesians 2:10, which calls me God’s handiwork, created to do good works. Read More>>

Lola Reid Allin

Though I always had the big dream of flying through the sky like the clouds, I wasn’t always the confident woman I am today.

Despite my childhood desire to avoid a traditional female role, that same lonesome childhood had fostered a desperate need for unconditional love. Coupled with the crushing social pressure I felt to conform, I abandoned my dreams and at age 20, leapt into marriage and motherhood. Read More>>

Cierra Martinez

I developed my confidence and self-esteem by always staying true to myself and my beliefs. It’s hard when you constantly look outward to find a sense of confidence and self-esteem that I believe it needs to come from within. Everyone seems confident all the time and it can be hard to see that and follow it. I think the key is knowing that everyone has those moments where they don’t feel confident and have low self-esteem and that it isn’t just a problem you are dealing with alone. Read More>>

Darrell Day

The confidence that we exhibit in our business is rooted in the way we were raised… To work hard and to be proud of the work you’re doing. My wife does an excellent job making incredible ice cream and I do a pretty good job with all the live entertainment, the marketing, And overall connecting with our community. We have an excellent reputation in the community because we are proud of our business and how we serve our community. Read More>>

Mai Hernandez

3ways of going about this, 1- surrounding myself with doer’s, people I admire and respect, 2- knowledge, I become almost obsessed with a subject/skill/ or concept and I study it, research it, get continued education about it and practice it until I can understand it and deliver results. 3- fake it till you make it; this one doesn’t apply for everything But it some cases it helps! Also; not being afraid of failure, you learn, and get the experience which makes you grow! Read More>>

Laurie Hunt

To be honest, developing my confidence is an ever-evolving endeavor for me. When I first started in the art world 10+ years ago, I lacked the ability to trust my instincts and capabilities. I felt shaky interacting with people when they came into my art booth during a fair, I had a difficult time pricing my art work, and I felt unsure about opportunities if I they were beyond what I perceived to be my wheelhouse.  Read More>>

Aryn Landes

I know it’s cliche, but developing self-confidence doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes, I wonder if confidence is something I’ll ever truly master. But I do know over time, the voice of self-deprecation has gotten quieter. I think back to the sixteen-year-old version of myself who hated everything she made because she didn’t think it was quite good enough to be of value to anyone–even if that work won an award.  Read More>>

De’Marcos Blow

Throughout my life, I’ve had the opportunity to develop my confidence and self-esteem through various experiences and challenges. Growing up, I was a shy and introverted individual who struggled to express myself and assert my opinions. However, as I entered the military at a young age, I was thrust into a world of uncertainty and adversity that forced me to confront my fears and push beyond my comfort zone. Read More>>