It’s okay to be scared, often that’s a sign that you are pushing yourself towards greatness. However, it’s equally important to build up your confidence and we hope the conversations presented below can help provide some food for thought around how you can level up your confidence and self-esteem.

Anne C Bishop

I developed my confidence and self-esteem first through others believing I could do hard things.

I always knew I was smart enough, and I really needed some early intervention that supported me. This first came in HS with a biology teacher. Seeing beyond my blond hair (yes, dumb blond) was something that was said to me many times as a young person. This educator, I think just saw that I was easily distractable but I was not dumb and she invited me into her AP Biology class. Honestly, that changed everything. Read More>>

Dena Patton

Confidence and self-esteem were not things I was born with—they were built, layer by layer, year after year, through deliberate choices, failures, and victories.

First, I learned to trust myself. This was not an easy feat because, as a young girl, this was not a skill set I had. Like most teens, I doubted myself and didn’t have confidence or trust in myself. But I moved from Phoenix to New York City at age 21 and was determined to build my courage, confidence, and self-esteem. It starts with keeping your word to yourself daily.  Read More>>

Matheus Macedo

For a good chunk of my life, I truly hated myself. There was a time when I didn’t care what happened to me because I didn’t see any value in myself. The only thing I thought made me worthy was being there for others. My friends could always talk to me, or ask me for anything, and I would be there. I genuinely care for them, and have always loved being of service, but it wasn’t coming from the right place. It wasn’t coming from love, it was a desperation to be needed, wanted, to be shown my worth. Read More>>

Saint Chevelle

First of all, let me just say thank you for having me on again. I believe this is my third time giving you guys an interview, and a lot has transpired since the first time we met. I truly appreciate your continued support. Read More>>

Cheynen Holland

My confidence and self-esteem were shaped by the powerful presence of my mother and grandmother, Hilda. They both played a major role in teaching me self-worth, individuality, and strength.

My mother pushed me to be my own person and embrace my individuality. She encouraged me to make my own choices, from what I wore to how I expressed myself through fashion. She saw early on that I had an eye for creativity and style, allowing me to put my outfits together, choose my accessories, and develop my sense of expression. Read More>>

Steoh Neale

I started comedy at 23, and I had what you would call a “quiet confidence” which I often confused for none at all. I didn’t always feel funny. I would talk to people in my life who were shocked I was trying stand up comedy (maybe I wasn’t loud enough?!) and I always took those comments to heart at the beginning. Turns out…. you don’t even have to be funny!!! It took me a long time to realize that what most performers lack is perspective. Read More>>

Anaja D. Clayton

Growing up as an only child, having a high self esteem and strong confidence can go either way. Some would say I was very shy growing up with not much to say, and others would say I loved to be the center of attention. I would say both are correct. I have always had a vision of being seen, whether it’s on a tv screen, a billboard, or being known as the best in whatever career path I chose. As I grew older, experiencing life, realizing that not everyone had the same upbringing as me, I soon realized how important self esteem and confidence would be as I grew into the woman I am today. Read More>>

Emily Smith

When I was thirty something, the Lord invited me to explore my lack of confidence in Him. Over time, He pointed me to a moment in my childhood where someone called me “worthless” and I came into agreement with the lie. That lie gave life to more lies and I lived my life believing I was worthless, insufficient and unworthy. It wasn’t a conscious awareness until the Lord revealed it. Once He did, I could see clearly the ripple impact of that lie and how it lead to me trying to control all my circumstances and outcomes in an effort to hide how I felt inside–insufficient. I had no self-esteem or confidence in myself, or God.  Read More>>

Chet Beverly

I built my confidence and self-esteem from a young age through sports like football and track, along with my father’s encouragement that I could be anything I wanted to be. Read More>>

Jai Winter

I had to learn over the years that there is nothing in this life that can make me feel less of myself unless I allow it to. God created everyone in his own image, so who am I to dislike any part of me that he crafted? As a kid I was bullied so much because of my height and appearance. I was super short for my age and bald in my youth years. People would tease and call me “Little Bill” everyday of my life. Looking back on it, I definitely did look like little bill, but I learned to embrace it. Over the years I learned to love myself and the unique things about me. Read More>>

Jashaun Melton

I developed my confidence and self esteem through self love and surrounding myself by people I knew loved me for me. People don’t understand how much your environment can shape the way you go about things, and being around the right people can change your mood so much. Self love comes from finding out things that fit me. Coming into to the hair industry late can take a toll on confidence because most people are already set in with their stylists. With the help of friends and family they gave me the confidence to step out and try new things and one of them was starting my locs business. Read More>>

Jennifer Berg

Dine (Navajo) Women, or asdzáán in my native language, are known for their confidence. We are a matriarchal people, and I believe this is why the women of my tribe have the confidence that they do. We are seen as leaders and encouraged to be strong individuals. My great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother are all business owners. This, alongside an incredibly supportive father and husband, has set me up to lead confidently. Read More>>

Jiajia Wang

I am Jiajia Wang, founder of Dundu.n international, an nyc based fashion PR: event planning agency. Our client included Flowerknows, Halara, OQQ sports, Lacemade, etc.As a professional pr and fashion brand consultant, I have achieved many successful photo shootings, runway shows, co branding collaborations etc. the most confident part of each project are always first, when client agree to collaborate and give a positive comment of our plans second, when the project successfully finished. Read More>>

Maroc Price-bey

Confidence and Self Esteem comes from having a healthy self image of who you are and what you are capable of achieving in life.
It comes from early childhood of how you were raised and the information that was given to you about looking at people in the eye when you talked to them.
Learning to ride a bike or swimming as a youth were huge accomplishments. Read More>>

Stephanie Tishler

Confidence is something I’ve built over time through professional and
personal experience, resilience, and self-trust. I’ve learned that confidence
isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about trusting that you can figure things
out and using your network and resources. Stepping outside my comfort zone,
embracing failures as learning opportunities, and surrounding myself with
supportive, growth-oriented people and mentors, have all played a huge role. Read More>>

Tajera Lawkin

Self confidence is something that I continue to work on everyday. I have came a far way from the person I was in college 5 years ago, the person I was a year ago, or even the person I was yesterday. My self confidence has developed over the years by finding the time to truly learn how to love and appreciate myself. This came in the form of taking care of myself physically, mentally and emotionally.  Read More>>

Johane Ismond

How I Built My Confidence and Self-Esteem

For years, I struggled with depression, constantly seeking validation from others, believing that their approval defined my worth. But the truth was, I didn’t love myself—I didn’t even know how to. That realization was the turning point. Read More>>

Mandy Krickhahn

Honestly, it’s a constant work in progress. At first, I had to fake it ‘til I made it—like, “Yeah, I totally know what I’m doing!” while knowing I was immediately going to go home, Google, and figure it out. When I started my business, there were a lot of moments where I felt like I had no clue what was happening, but you can’t just give up because you don’t know everything, right? What really helped was finding people who got it. Read More>>

Tom Knight

Confidence and self-esteem aren’t things I was born with—they were forged through years of experience, self-discovery, and overcoming challenges in both my professional and personal life.

As a drummer, I’ve had the honor of playing with legendary artists like TLC, Monica, and Stevie Nicks. But early in my career, stepping onto big stages wasn’t always easy. The pressure to deliver at the highest level—where there’s no room for error—was intimidating. There were moments of self-doubt, but I learned that preparation is the antidote to fear. Read More>>

Deborah Young

First, I want to say that I really love this question, and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to interview me—thank you so much.

In terms of developing my confidence and self-esteem, it’s been a journey of learning and growth over the years. When I was younger, I often tried to fit into whatever mold others expected of me, wanting to feel like I was part of the “in crowd.” However, I found that this approach left me feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Read More>>

Brian Lange

Well it certainly waivers week to week or month to month, but I try to stay true to my sonic taste and use that as my North Star. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing so I try to lean on people I trust and admire to help guide me, all while listening to my gut instict. I try not to be afraid of making mistakes and give myself ample time without too much pressure to experiment and discover new things. Read More>>

Isabella Saunooke

Maybe I wasn’t born to be an artist because I have always been creating paintings and drawings, but because I have always noticed structures in my life and related them to my inner world. From a very young age, I was interested in my identity related to the identities of those around me. My dad’s cultural background was mysterious to me. I grew up knowing I was Cherokee but did not learn certain details until I was much older. He is an artist, and his tattoos and taste in music set a precedent for me early on. Read More>>

Bee Smith

This is definitely not something that happens overnight. I think it’s something you always have to work at daily and in this new world of social-media dominance, it definitely helps to be aware of what you are exposed to. Read More>>

Mahdi Dalton

From my accomplishment, and I gained my accomplishments from the lack of confidence and self-esteem growing up I always felt like I had to take things the hard way because good luck would never happen to me so when I got to a place of personal accomplishment, it gave me the confidence in the self-esteem because I remember how hard those things were and how I was able to come up with the resilience to get through those things and it basically gave me all the tools to believe that I can achieve and do anything I want so now I spend my life going after the goals that I Feel will give me personal sustenance in life Read More>>

Mason Lopez

I developed my confidence and self-esteem through my early experiences in the hospitality industry. Starting out as a busser and then moving on to serving and bartending taught me the importance of communication, teamwork, and adaptability. Being on the front lines of customer service, I learned how to remain calm under pressure and solve problems efficiently—all while maintaining a friendly and welcoming demeanor. Read More>>

Roxanne Simone Lord-marcelle

I developed confidence and self esteem from my faith in God. I believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Read More>>

Alexus “kleo” Lessears

I believe confidence is something that is built over time. Many factors contribute to it, such as the way your parents raised you, how they spoke life and confidence into you, and even how they embodied confidence themselves for their child to mimic. That was the first source of my confidence as a child. Having a beautician for a mother made it easy to receive constant reminders of how much confidence as a woman comes from embracing all parts of femininity—especially in how you think, speak, treat, and see yourself and anything or one that enters your presence. Read More>>

Jenedy Paige

People often ask me where my self confidence comes from, and honestly, I don’t have a lot of faith in myself. However, I have a lot of faith in my God, and if He’s going to work on a project with me, then I have all the faith in the world that it will work out. I started my art career journey with very little natural ability. As a senior in high school, sometimes I still just drew stick figures to get my point across. Well, you may be wondering, why did you decide to become an artist at all? Read More>>

Jonny Carter

I’m a big believer that confidence is a product of knowledge. I recognize that the more I know, the more I can learn the better prepared I will be. No matter what the scenario, no matter who is sitting across the table or across the conversation, the intrinsic self-belief is relentlessly supported by a base of awareness. Read More>>

Robert McMillan

It wasn’t so much of a thing but a series of events that established my confidence level. My first memorable experience was when I was twelve. My sister bought me a jacket and told me it looked good on me, and my friends said the same. I was a self-taught pole vaulter in high school and won the state championship. My father told me one day that I might be average after my first college semester grades tanked (too much beer), so I got a degree in physics.  Read More>>

Kane Crooks

This one has been a real ongoing struggle for me. I have found that it is a sort of phoenix-like foe which as much as you can cut it down, in the right conditions both internal and external, it will quickly rise again. To me there is a difference between confidence and self-esteem in both quality and practice. Read More>>

Jennifer Rose

I spent a lot of years feeling like a little kid at the adults table, unsure of myself in fear of not being taken seriously. It took a long time to get past this sense of insecurity and find confidence in my abilities. Surrounding myself with good and positive people as well as finding a spiritual practice has been pivotal to my build up. Read More>>

Jimmy Wienholz

That’s a complex question for me, especially as someone who deals with clinical depression. But when I step back and look at what I’ve accomplished, I do see validation. I have two multi-award-winning films and have had the privilege of interviewing over 500 guests from the entertainment industry on my podcast. Given the opportunities I’ve had, I believe I’ve done a good job, and I’m always striving to do even better. My confidence comes largely from the incredible support of my closest friends and family, who continue to encourage me on this journey. Read More>>

Kat Uribe

I gave myself all my confidence and self-esteem, and it definitely wasn’t overnight. Actually, I grew up with quite the opposite — riddled with fear and insecurity. Like, I had the confidence and knowledge that I was good at sports and could solve a hard math problem, but I had no ability to back myself up when it came to my perspectives and dreams. Read More>>

Klivian Hebach

I was my first client. Through self-knowledge, I learned to understand myself, my essence, and how to express that authentically through my personal image. My profession played a key role in this process because, before guiding others, I had to experience this transformation myself.

By discovering what truly represents me—my style, my colors, my body-type, face shape and how I want to be perceived—I built the confidence to communicate this clearly to others. This journey of self-awareness not only shaped my personal image but also strengthened my ability to help my clients do the same. Read More>>