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.
Natalie Dyer
I’ve built my confidence as a wedding and elopement photographer through preparation and a wide range of experience. I learned early on that I feel most grounded when I’m prepared, so I’ve built strong systems for communication, timelines, gear backups, and location planning. Having a plan, and a backup plan, helps me stay calm on wedding days. My experience also plays a big role. Read More>>
Jenna Lee Dillon
I can’t take credit for developing my confidence and self-esteem. My parents provided the foundation for that by empowering me to make decisions, giving me responsibility for my actions, and creating the space for me to make mistakes and learn from them. I developed self-reliance naturally through being in situations in which I had to rely on myself. Read More>>
Ashley Rouse
Developing my confidence and self-esteem has been a decade-long evolution, deeply shaped by my journey as an entrepreneur. Running a CPG jam company for eight years taught me that even on the days when you don’t feel confident, you often have to show up as if you are. Read More>>
Sabrina Shafer
I built confidence by walking straight into fear. Early in my career, I thought confidence was something people were born with. But I’ve learned that it’s something you build – one scary step at a time. That’s the heart of what I teach today through something I call Fear Forward: the idea that leaning into your fears is what allows you to grow. Read More>>
Varun Thirtha
I’ve learned that confidence doesn’t come from one big moment. It starts with doing one small thing really well, and then repeating it. For me, that began with writing. I started with simple one-page reflections about my travels or experiences. Those eventually grew into short stories, which became magazine features, and eventually a national best-selling book when I was 17. Read More>>
Joshua Lurie
Professional and social anxiety are different, but often overlap. In both cases, exposure can help to increase self-esteem. Professionally, the more I worked on my writing, released stories into the wild, and got feedback, the more I managed to refine my approach, improve the quality, and boost my confidence. Read More>>
Michael Colby
I think confidence is balancing between faking it and saying ‘fuck it’ I’m faking my confidence mostly. I’ll bet you money that most of the people in your life are too. I look confident outwardly because I find that, over time, my body tends to feel safer and calm down after I’ve given it some time in a new environment. Read More>>
Lina HAgstrom
I don’t think confidence is something you “achieve” once and then you’re done, it’s a lifelong practice. I still have moments where I don’t feel particularly confident, and on those days, I’ve learned that sometimes you just have to act confident and tell yourself that you’ve got this until your feelings catch up. Read More>>
Kyng Cylus
I developed my confidence and self-esteem over time by focusing on personal growth and self-awareness. I started by setting small, realistic goals for myself and celebrating each achievement, no matter how minor it seemed. I also learned to silence self-doubt by reminding myself of past successes and the value I bring to every situation. Read More>>
Paul Williams
That’s a great question. Growing up I was always fairly quiet, and very introverted as well. If I ever had to present a project, or speak in front of a crowd of people, I would always shake nervously, my palms would get sweaty, and I’d turn into a complete shell of myself. Read More>>
Penny Orloff
No one can ‘give’ you confidence or self-esteem. Developing confidence and self-esteem is an inside job. Having watched way too many Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies on TV with my mother, by the age of eight I had decided I would grow up to be in Show Business. I began writing and starring in little plays, enlisting other children in the neighborhood as my supporting cast. Read More>>
Andrea Williams
I developed confidence and self-esteem by removing the need of validation and a care for others opinions about me. I changed my mindset to become untouchable after surviving heartbreak and trauma. Surviving heartbreak and trauma taught me that no one is going to love me like I love me so why not take care of me and walk boldly in me. Read More>>
Rincy Mathew
I built my confidence the same way I built my life — from the inside out. Growing up as the youngest child and the only daughter in an immigrant family, I didn’t have a roadmap for choosing a path based on alignment rather than duty or performance. Read More>>
Jordan Ibekwe
Finding confidence and self-esteem was a journey. When I was in seventh grade, I was bullied quite a bit. Those moments made me feel insecure about who I was throughout middle school and into my first year of high school. However, I soon realized that the solution wasn’t listening to what people said about me; it was learning to love myself and my imperfections. Read More>>
Jo Anna Kloster
First of all I wish to thank you, Bold Journey, for this follow up opportunity to share with your readers how my journey has progressed. Developing confidence and self-esteem has been a journey. Building slowly over time. Decades, actually. And self-reflection has been the key. Through spiritual readings as well as professional development teacher trainings. Read More>>
Saya Hillman
I often get questions around how I’ve built the life I’ve built and the specific question, “Have you always been this way?” where “this” is usually connected to being confident, positive, gregarious, risk-taking, proactive, with a large network, and with direction. Absolutely not!, I haven’t always been this way. Read More>>
Kelsey Aloe
I try to recognize all of my achievements, regardless of their size—whether it be as tiny as going to the gym after a long day at work or as massive as my glute growth over the years. Celebrating my wins reminds me that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I can write an original song with my ukulele. Read More>>
Ashley Mitchell
My confidence was not something I stumbled into. It is something I built, layer by layer, through every season of my life. I grew up surrounded by women who knew how to turn struggle into softness and grit into grace. Watching them taught me early that confidence is not loud. It is lived. Read More>>
alana amore colvin
At some point I started to realize how uncomfortable I was living in the world for others. Acting, speaking, and carrying myself in a way that I thought might please others. It only resulted in failure or embarrassment and not one person on the planet was making any gesture to make me more comfortable in any space at any time. Read More>>
XINYU ZHANG
I built my confidence by constantly pushing myself to explore new things and step outside my comfort zone. Every new experience broadens my perspective and helps me feel more prepared to handle different situations. Trying new things also allows me to discover my limits — and often, I realize I can do much more than I thought. Read More>>
Ally Jedrzejek
Developing confidence and self-esteem took a lot of self reflection to recognize my fears then finding the courage to turn them into strengths. A lot of this development came from navigating my inner voice; which for much too long was far from positive, it was critical with high expectations resulting in major self doubt. Read More>>
Samy Gicherman
Confidence, for me, was never something loud or theatrical, it grew quietly, stitch by stitch, in the solitude of the atelier. I was raised in a world where craftsmanship was a form of discipline, almost a meditation. As a young boy in Caracas, I spent hours watching seamstresses transform fabric into poetry. Read More>>
Ben Adams
I developed my confidence and self esteem by doing hard things long before I felt ready. I did not grow up with a ton of natural confidence or a silver spoon. Everything I have today came from learning to show up, try again after I failed, and keep moving even when I was terrified. Read More>>
Triniti Rivera
I’ve developed, and continue to develop, self confidence through solo travel and putting my work and just myself out there. I’ve found that the more you push past the barriers of self limitation, you figure out where the negative thoughts come from. Typically they’re stemmed from fear and past experiences—really nothing rooted in who you are at all. Read More>>
Katryn Broadoak
I made a choice a few years ago to seriously commit to myself. I made a commitment to transparency and clarity with myself about my own emotional and physical needs. I decided not to let it matter to me whether another person was willing to meet those needs and I became committed to making sure they were met myself. Read More>>
Jacqui Lents
At age 19, my sister (age 18) and I planned a trip overseas to Germany. We did not speak the language. We’d never been abroad before. But we had a desire for adventure and, most importantly, two German friends and their families with whom we could stay and who would guide us in a foreign country. Read More>>
Maddie Coolidge
Coming from a unique but difficult and challenging upbringing as a child, my sense of self and worthiness were internally wounded, slashed with invisible scars. I had no idea (and am still learning) what it means to truly love and accept yourself. In my early 20s, I began a lifelong journey of deep inner work, tending to my broken heart. Read More>>
Faith Stanton
I’ve gained my confidence and self-esteem from many different parts of my life. They’ve come from the lessons I’ve learned, the support of loved ones, the work I’ve put into improving myself, and most importantly giving myself grace. I think giving yourself grace is essential for building confidence and self-esteem because it reminds you that you don’t have to be perfect, and that’s okay. Read More>>
Jenna Mara
I am the oldest daughter so I think naturally I am bound to have a good sense of confidence and self-esteem. I grew up playing sports and I think that played heavily into my confidence and self-esteem today. Read More>>
Mariah June
For me, confidence didn’t arrive in a single moment — it was something I had to rebuild from the inside out. The turning point came the day I looked at my life and my reflection and didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. It wasn’t just about the weight — though losing 45 pounds ended up being a huge part of my confidence journey. Read More>>
Treff Brock
Growing up, I did not consider myself confident. During elementary school, I began to shy away from being in front of people, talking about myself, sharing my opinions, and I developed a fear of embarrassment in social settings. I would do anything to suppress situations that could bring about embarrassment. Read More>>
DeAngelo Buggs
Growing up, I learned to build my confidence and self-esteem the hard way. I was the one people overlooked, the one who gave my best and delivered results, only to be pushed to the side or ignored when it mattered. I came from a place where everyone loved to ask but rarely gave, where taking was easy and pouring back into others was rare. Read More>>
Andrea Lenneman
I’ve always been fortunate to have a naturally strong sense of self-worth and to feel comfortable in my own skin. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my share of challenges. I see confidence and self-esteem as a muscle, you have to keep using it, stretching it, and strengthening it. Read More>>
Lindsay Young
The Girl With the Broken Smile is the story of how I learned to love the very thing I once wished I could hide. Read More>>
LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Through writing. At age 3, being horrified by bad poetry in mass-produced greeting cards, my aunt and I started our own handmade greeting card line. My aunt drew the pictures; I wrote the metrical verse. Our relatives praised our uniquely personalized cards and a formalist was born. Read More>>
Cleo Peng
I’ve built my confidence by allowing myself to be fully who I am, without shrinking or performing for anyone else. The more I showed up as my real self, in how I think, create, communicate, and move through the world the more grounded I felt. I also grew through learning new things and facing challenges instead of avoiding them. Read More>>
Olaolu Oladejo
A few years ago, I stepped into a role where I had to lead a project that was already behind schedule and full of frustrated stakeholders. It felt like walking into a room where the conversation had been going on for hours, and I was expected to immediately understand everything and fix it. At first, I questioned whether I could pull it off. Read More>>
Raw Asas
For me I learned as a kids that nobody cares about you more than you do. Wife/husband, kids, family or friends will never look at you the way you do so why not just organically be you 24/7. People are gonna talk about you rather you do good or bad so why worry about what people say. Read More>>
Manny Gonzalez
My confidence and self-esteem took my entire life to develop, and is still a work in progress. At a young age, I realized that the only thing I could ensure regarding tasks, projects, and skills, was how prepared I was for them. Read More>>
Catie McYeeeeeee
⸻ I’ve always been a confident person. My parents instilled that in me early on. I was a special, creative, talented kid, and as I grew into the adult I am now, I learned how to use those traits to build real confidence. That confidence translated into the way I speak, the way I move, and the way people connect with me. Read More>>
Dali Ma
My confidence developed less like a sudden revelation and more like a long philosophical experiment. At Oxford, I studied physics and philosophy, and both taught me something quietly transformative: uncertainty isn’t a threat — it’s the natural state of the world. Once you accept that, you stop waiting to feel ‘ready.’ Confidence, for me, grew from engaging with uncertainty rather than fleeing from it. Read More>>
