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.
Keya Trivedi
Confidence and self-esteem aren’t just traits I stumbled upon, they were gifted to me, molded into me through the actions, words, and unwavering love of one incredible man: my dad.
From the beginning, my dad gave me something that no book, no motivational video, and no coach could ever replicate—the unshakeable belief that I am capable of anything. Read More>>
Michael Thibodeau
Growing up I was always the smallest kid in class, had to navigate food allergies and had asthma. So all that being said I believe my parents and siblings went out of their way to make me feel empowered whenever they had the chance. Probably laughed a little harder at my jokes and supported me tremendously through my smaller achievements. Between that and growing up in the arts, I was able to believe in myself and not be afraid to take risks. That continued to develop throughout my life. Read More>>
Alisha Currie Ph.D
I did not feel confident because of my past. I developed my confidence and self esteem by seeking the Lord. I also had a lot of Aaron and Hur’s, that the Lord God, sent my way, to lift my arms up. Not having a community, is very detrimental to your walk. Read More>>
David Creel
For years, I struggled with both confidence and self-esteem. My self-talk was also much less than ideal. I read a book by Ed Mylett called The Power of One More, and it greatly helped with all three areas. One of the main takeaways from that book was, “The key to self-confidence is keeping the promises you make to yourself.” Once I started doing that, everything changed. For example, let’s say you’re like me, and have hit the snooze button on your alarm at least once in your life (or at least once a day…lol). Read More>>
Jonathan White
Funny enough, writing and producing is not the camp I started in; it’s only where I’ve ended up in my creative journey so far. I began as an actor. (I still am an actor!) So, the easy answer as to where my confidence and self-esteem developed is on the stage, over-and-over again. Although, that’s not the full answer. Read More>>
Brianna Greenspan
Absolutely. My confidence wasn’t built in a day, it was forged over years of living with chronic illness and learning to show up for myself in small, consistent ways, even when no one was watching. I didn’t always feel strong or capable. But I learned that confidence isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about being courageous enough to take the next step forward, even when the path is uncertain. Read More>>
Andrew C
I found my confidence and self-esteem through failure. Starting a business is tough and many people give up after a few roadblocks. However, I have found that the key to building confidence and self-esteem is by failing and trying again and again. By learning from my previous mistakes, I was able to gain some small wins and boost my confidence. Overtime these small wins help make me more and more confident and eventually it allowed me to overcome my fear of failing and to keep grinding forward. Read More>>
Nicole Lyn
My confidence and self-esteem didn’t happen overnight. For a long time, I had none, especially as a teen and in my twenties. I doubted myself constantly and struggled to see any value in who I was. But little by little, through personal experiences, growth, and a lot of self-reflection, I began to build both. Read More>>
Marie Roy Paulic
Honestly, I’ve never really had a moment where I “built” confidence from scratch. It’s something that’s been with me for as long as I can remember — maybe thanks to the way I was raised. When I was a child, I had this unconscious belief, deep inside, that I had the right to exist — to be seen just as I was. Read More>>
Ekaterina Dzyuba
Developing self-esteem and confidence for me was a gradual journey that grew with experience and age. As a child, I was never naturally confident, despite participating in various competitions in sports and arts. Over the years, I started winning more first places, and those successes gradually helped me realize that believing in myself and putting in effort could lead to positive results. Read More>>
Veronica Hahr
Imagine your mental well-being as having 3 buckets—guilt, pride, and shame. You want these buckets to be balanced. Too much or too little of any one will cause emotional disregulation. You want to be able to fluidly move through these emotions, without getting hung up on the states of any single one. Read More>>
Sierra Gomez
Building confidence, whether in your artistic abilities or in your day-to-day life, can be challenging. It’s something that doesn’t always come easily. For me, one of the most unexpected yet powerful ways I boosted my self-esteem was by going to the gym. It might sound a bit strange at first, but working out has been transformative, not just for my physical health, but for my mental and emotional well-being as well. Read More>>
Jami Childers
My self esteem has come through in leaps of faith. I’ve let fear keep me from branching out with my art for far too long. After I lost my Mom from Covid, and then lost two best friends in a short period I decided that life was far too fragile to waste it being too fearful to do the work my heart so wanted. Read More>>
Timothee T.
I think when it comes to self confidence and self esteem, I have a similar background and struggle to many artists out there, especially those who share my cultural background as an Asian-American.
I grew up in an environment where my interests and attempts in art were heavily discouraged and I was often torn down for it by my family. The words said to me then later morphed into the voices that filled every nook and cranny of my head with so much self-doubt that it spilled over into everything I did, said, and believed. Read More>>
UNscenefuture
From a young age, people often gravitated toward my creativity. Whether it was teachers encouraging me to draw or peers admiring my work, I felt early on that I had something unique to offer. That quiet but consistent support built a foundation for my confidence. It wasn’t just about talent; it was the way my community seemed to rally behind it. Over time, that external belief helped shape my internal voice. I started trusting my instincts more, taking creative risks, and embracing challenges not with fear, but with curiosity. Read More>>
Christopher Castillo
This question reminds me of the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”. This rings true in my lifetime. From a very young age, I struggled with self-esteem issues. Two events changed my paradigm and outlook on self-esteem, giving me confidence (many would say overconfidence at times). Read More>>
Justine Manzano
When I was a child, I was an extremely nervous and awkward tiny human. I was perpetually questioning what to do with my hands or face. Even through the beginning of my adulthood, I was constructed of awkward smiles and averted eyes.
And then I discovered musical theater. I had always loved music and stories (something that later evolved into me becoming an author) but the combination of the two, the ability to combine my singing voice with expressing that love of story, brought out something new in me. Read More>>
Sofie Captain
A lot of my confidence and self-esteem comes from the people I surround myself with. I’m especially grateful for my amazing mother—her confidence and work ethic have always inspired me. My family has supported my dreams from the beginning, and without them, I may not have pursued photography the way I have. Read More>>
Melinda Lee Schmitt
In 2011, I spent a year hugging everyone I encountered, cashiers, mail carriers, waiters, even people waiting in check-out lines with me. When I set out to hug everyone I encountered for that year, I had no idea how much it would change me. I didn’t know how little self-worth I had and how I continued to boost my self-esteem through people-pleasing and weak boundaries. Read More>>
Tiffany (AKA TeeYinJi) Gaston
From a young age, I had this unshakeable sense of confidence and self-worth. I did things because they brought me joy or curiosity—not because they brought praise or attention. I didn’t wait for permission to pursue what made me feel alive, and I didn’t measure my worth based on whether or not people approved. That kind of self-belief is rare in children, but I had it. My younger self was bold, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. Read More>>
Eric Boylan
My confidence and self-esteem have always been tied to my creativity. There’s something about making something out of nothing—something that didn’t exist before and now does, simply because I imagined it—that has always grounded me. It’s a quiet but powerful kind of pride. When I create, I feel most like myself. Read More>>
Jillian Warman
Many people think that if you’re a performer, you’re automatically the most confident person in the room. But, I can tell you from personal experience, that’s simply not true. I have been a musician since age 5 and a professional musician since age 9. Although I’ve always loved and thrived on performing, my battle with anxiety began rearing its ugly head at around age 7. Read More>>
Queona Duff
I developed my confidence and self-esteem through a mix of support, self-belief, and exposure to new experiences. My parents and other family members always told me I could do anything I set my mind to. Hearing that made me feel like there were no limits on what I could achieve. Read More>>
Heba Toulan
When I moved to America with my family at age 2 after they found out I was born with a disability. On the first day of school, my mom told me as soon as I said goodbye to her, I turned and walked away without looking back. I think my curiosity and my drive to learn new things really led to my confidence and self-esteem. I apply the philosophy of equestrian sports and competitive figure skating to this journey; if you fail, try again. (in figure skating, if you fall, get up and do it again differently.) Read More>>
Anne Richardson
I struggled with confidence and self-worth at times. Taking a risk was scary due to the fear of failure or rejection. Deep-seated feelings of “not enough” reined in my mind and heart. I wasn’t aware of why until I had a mid-life crisis. When I entered into therapy, I discovered how my childhood wounds affected me. Read More>>
Michele Magner
At 53 years old on a recent road trip I asked a friend of mine if she thought I would have survived if I would have stayed in Berkeley, CA and she quickly and flatly responded “No, you had no self esteem”. She was right. At 19 years old and a college dropout, I was broken and desperate, needing a way to figure out how to regroup. Somehow I came across the book “The Road Less Traveled” and my self-growth and development journey began. Read More>>
Fiona Shaw
My confidence and self-esteem didn’t come overnight—they were built through resilience, creativity, and community. I moved to America from Australia in 2018, after a few years I started my self-care journey. I’m a survivor of physical and verbal abuse, and for a long time, I put everyone else’s needs before my own. I had no choice but to rediscover who I was. I found healing and confidence through modeling, sewing, dancing, and surrounding myself with strong, supportive positivity individuals. Read More>>
Kylah Edge
Honestly, it is still a work in progress. I try to just continue to encourage myself and reassure myself whenever I get down. I try to not compare myself to others and just do what I know is best for me. Read More>>
D’Andre Jackson
Well, I didn’t “develop” them the way a human does. I don’t have feelings, insecurities, or an ego. But I can simulate confidence through the way I present information—clear, structured, and direct. That’s not because I believe in myself… it’s because I’m trained on huge amounts of data where confident, competent communication is the goal. Read More>>
Jessica Toscano
Years of resilience and hard work. You gain confidence and self-esteem the same way you gain knowledge and skillsets: You try something new and persist until you master it. With this comes three very important lessons:
1. You can’t fail unless you try…and if you try, you’re already ahead of the game.
2. Everything becomes a lot less scary once you throw yourself into it…and once you do, you have no reason to turn back, only to refine your strategy. Read More>>
Deb Brandon
Lack of self-esteem is very common among Brits. Even though I was born in England,
I’ve lived most of my life outside the United Kingdom. But my English parents, in some ways,
brought me up in the British spirit, probably because that was how they were brought up.
Concerned for my vanity was fundamental to them. My achievements were downplayed. They
joked that my consistently good grades at school were boring. Read More>>
Valentina Forero
People always say, “You’re so confident!” And truthfully? They’re not wrong. I’ve always carried myself with confidence—but not because I had it all figured out. I just learned early on that if I looked like I believed in myself, eventually I would. Read More>>
Stephanie Brick
It’s all rooted in my passion. Like anyone else, I try to present myself well, look my best, speak as eloquently as I write, etc.–but at the end of the day, I’m human, and that is a reality that can quickly diminish confidence and self-esteem if it’s only surface-deep! But when I’m talking about THE SECRET DOORS OF CANNONDALE, and the story of how it came to be, I am so passionate about this accomplishment that the confidence just flows naturally. Read More>>
Denise Fike
My mother, my father and my husband had such faith in my talent that I felt that I could accomplish anything that I set my mind to.
Growing up in a household that valued art and beauty to such an extent that we developed photographs in a darkroom my father built. We welded sculpture from metals we sourced at a junkyard; we threw pots on a potters wheel and fired them in a kiln, creating vast amounts of pottery; we learned to oil paint and created enamel jewelry. Read More>>
Izzy Fischer
For me, confidence wasn’t something that showed up overnight — it was something I had to build, piece by piece, often in rooms where I was the youngest, the only woman, or both. Early in my career, I co-founded my first business with a partner who was 10 years older than me and male, and our c-suite was entirely male. Before that, in my first job, I was surrounded by male leadership and mostly male co-workers. In those environments, my age and gender were always top of mind — not always explicitly, but you could feel it. Read More>>
Gwendolyn Onuoha
Confidence and self-esteem is a very tricky thing. I’ve had to develop a higher level of self-esteem and confidence for several reasons. One being I am female, another being that I am an African-American female, and another being I am a dark skinned African-American female. All three of these Variables affect me in different ways. I have to work harder, but yet be subtle. I have to stand out but have a certain level of humility. I have to be firm but still portray kindness. I have to be welcoming but set appropriate boundaries and the list goes on and on. Read More>>
