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.
Celieta Frost
As I was growing up all I knew was being a hermit crab. I was to myself, quiet, and very insecure. I was just trying to figure out who I was but the daunting thoughts of my insecurities made it hard me. Read more>>
Nathan Delva
Throughout the years of overcoming different obstacles , trials and tribulations I gain confidence. My self-esteem became a all time high once I started gaining more support from my customers and followers . I learned that consistency is the best practice for you. Read more>>
Keisha Edwards
Bringing my recent project to life has significantly contributed to the growth of my confidence and self-esteem. Taking a different path to getting it into the hands of young people required me to step out of my comfort zone. It challenged me to trust in my creative vision and believe that there could be alternative ways to achieve my dream. Stepping away from the norm means making bold decisions. Read more>>
Nephateria Covington
I developed my confidence and self-esteem from past experiences in my life. As a young girl growing up without her father being around, I felt like I didn’t have a choice but to gain confidence and depend on myself and no one else. I’ve been touched on as a child in certain areas that are inappropriate, I’ve been told that I wouldn’t be nothing in life So, all of those things that I’ve experienced made me the strong individual that I am today. Read more>>
Whitney White
As the saying goes, parents are your first teacher, and thankfully for me, my parents were certainly mine. As a result, my confidence and self-esteem began at home. From the black artwork that my mother decorated our house with to my father encouraging me at every track practice, my parents poured into me so that I too could be proud of who I am and stand firmly in believing that I can do anything. Their unconditional love and support for me is unmatched, and I am forever grateful. Read more>>
Amanda Burton
Growing up, I was a quiet girl, content to not say much, do my schoolwork and spend any waking minute of my free time reading. It was only when I entered high school that I started to develop a voice. Read more>>
CARMEN URIBE
Growing up as a first-generation American in the 80s posed significant challenges for me. At home, we only spoke Spanish, which made navigating school even more arduous, given the absence of ESL or bilingual programs. Moreover, I stood out from my classmates because I looked different, most of whom were either Asian or White, which made me feel like an outsider. Read more>>
Canaan Marshall
So, I call the flowers that I design with “my girls.” “My girls” never let me down and I’ve developed my skill around knowing what makes “my girls” pop and how to arrange them just right so that each one has its moment to shine! I pay careful attention to how the flowers react to me when I’m placing them and if they fit in certain places. Read more>>
Judy Griffin
I developed confidence and self-esteem over 40 years of business dealings. My confidence grew with the business outreach and services. Being a single parent motivated me to be creative and find new customers and develop products people can use and enjoy. Speaking locally and internationally I developed interest and humor, especially in longer speeches. Read more>>
Lutfy
Life has a way of making us second guess our purpose. Society has a way of making us second guess ourselves. Whether it’s our hair, clothes, car, lack there of, or even the friends we entertain, every portion of our lives are consistently observed and even scrutinized. I grew up in an overly critical household. Couple that with being bullied both on and offline and not to mention the general comparisons that we standardize against ourselves and those put on us, this all left me searching for my truest self. Read more>>
Amber Jordan
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by speaking life over myself, being self-aware, and by putting myself first. Growing up I was very insecure about the way I looked and being bullied by classmates didn’t help it either. What helped me overcome my insecurities was believing in myself and who God has called me to be. I would listen to “Get up Radio” on the way to school, join church activates, and say daily affirmations. Read more>>
Lashay Perkins
As a BBW woman in this day in age confidence and self esteem is the key to writing about plus size women especially in America. I love to write and it keeps me happy. My grandmother was a beautiful resilient Plus size woman who showed me that no matter what the world throws your way you stand firm on your beliefs and values. I write and help new writer gain confidence in this book industry yearly. Read more>>
Hayley Atwood
One of the biggest factors in developing confidence is to just take a step outside your comfort zone. We often want to stay in the parts of life that are safe, routine, comfortable, warm and cozy. We like to know what to expect. BUT…imagine the growth, opportunities, and relationships that flow into our lives when we start to break down our need to be in a cocoon. Read more>>
Carolyn Scott
To some degree, I’ve always been confident. As a child, I was never afraid to fail or put myself out there, in fact I was always a ham! I’d have to say that perhaps I can credit my parents for always being supportive of me but I do feel like there was always a fire in me to achieve the goals I set out for myself. I learned fairly quickly that the worst thing anyone can say is “no” and that never scared me. Read more>>
Tim Hall
Confidence and self-esteem stem from belief — belief in your abilities, your purpose, and, most importantly, in yourself. Our world often distracts us, directing our energy towards others and situations that offer no real benefit in our journey. This can lead to constant comparisons and the tendency to place others on a pedestal, eroding our own emotional well-being. Read more>>
Jamie West
Well I’m an only child so believe it or not but it kind of just grew with me as i discovered more and more of myself. Being alone i would talk to myself through the good and bad times and remind myself that everything will be ok and that i will get through whatever obstacle i was dealing with, and thats exactly what happened. Read more>>
Anabell Villanueva
Back in 2018, I was an expat in Brazil after years of dreaming and hard work to emigrate from my home country, Venezuela. As a Latina woman, you are often told that proving your value requires nothing less than hard work and education. This sentiment is echoed in the lyrics of Sharika’s song “El Jefe,” where she critiques society: “Mom always told me that studying assures a good future. I studied, and nothing happened—this is a tough life.” Read more>>
Terran Eaton
I will always believe I’m underrated. This is something that fueled me. The meek shall inherit the earth so it’s been a blessing. I’ve been supporting and lead in acting. But as a supporting actor/ day player I had to ride the train or bus ten hours to shoot on sets. I then perform in front of the camera utilizing the grit that I’ve cultivated. It’s not solely about what you believe it’s about execution. I have learned to be more steadfast honoring my acting gift. Read more>>
Stacy Gissal
Confidence was something I struggled with for a long time & it wasn’t until I discovered the difference between confidence & personal power that I could transform the relationship I had with myself in terms of confidence & self esteem, let me explain. Read more>>
Amanda Black
I didn’t start out confident. It took me until my senior year of high-school to finally audition for that musical. I never felt like I fit in anywhere I was. I moved around a lot as a kid, and I grew up very religious which made me feel like I was trying to force myself into a certain box. It wasn’t working out, I was inevitably still becoming my own person, and I didn’t like who I was becoming. Read more>>
Adele Hendricks
This is a very good question, one I hadn’t really contemplated before. I could easily point to my Mother who had Uber confidence in everything she attempted to do, Whether it be raising 5 children on a shoe string or making statewide famous Black walnut fudge. I could otherwise believe my position as the third child in a very different family lineup of individuals. Read more>>
Silja Rós
With time and a lot of self work. Whenever I’m struggling with my self-esteem I like to remind myself of the confidence I had as a young kid before life started to shape me. I’ve worked a lot with kids and there is nothing more beautiful than the pure confidence that they can have in themselves. I think we could think more like them, where there are no limitations. They believe anything is possible and that they can become anything they dream of without overthinking, as we adults often do. Read more>>
Kelly Romo
Oh man, I have been loving the concept of confidence lately – as somebody who historically struggles with it. I saw once in a euphoria episode, funny enough, that a character said ” the cool thing about confidence is that nobody knows if it’s real” and wow what a mantra I’ve adopted in my everyday life! Confidence is such a vague and vast concept that I feel like we as humans think we need to create or adopt it, or that we’re either born with it or not. Read more>>
De Andra Michélle KaLonna Maull
KaLonna: My confidence and self-esteem were developed at an early age within the comfort of my home. My mother created an atmosphere of love and support that allowed my siblings and I to be bold in anything we wanted to try because we always knew we had her support. My mother always encouraged my ideas, and she invested in my talents. If I was interested in something she would enroll me in it. Read more>>
Rivkah Leah Gelb
Over the years I have worked with some amazing fellow photographers and mental health professionals, and in each in their own way have helped me to be more objective about what I need to improve on and how well I am actually doing at a given task, challenge or skill. I learned the importance of positive self talk, giving myself opportunities to connect with other artists in my field who are positive and encouraging, and finding ways to share what I do know with others who want to learn. Read more>>
Empress Bey
Great question, so in 2016 I was diagnosed with lupus, which is an auto immune disease where the immune system attacks the organs. From 2016-2018 I spent some time learning what this meant for me mentally, physically, skin and hair wise. I experienced hair loss, skin issues, weight fluctuations and overall mental dysfunction. This all was one of the biggest reasons I decided to create a personal style for myself, so that no matter what I looked like my self esteem and confidence would shine. Read more>>
DeMarco Wilkinson
My confidence and self esteem comes from my mother. I am the youngest of her three sons and my dad past away when I was almost three years old. My mom was a very old fashioned woman so she never remarried. She always told us that she believed in mine husband and my father was her true sole mate. Growing, I’d face many tough challenges but she believed in no excuses. Read more>>
Julie Blouin
Growing up as an identical twin was a unique challenge that profoundly shaped my journey to self-confidence and self-esteem. From a young age, I struggled to find my identity in a world where I was constantly compared to my beautiful twin sister. As a teenager, it’s already a period of self-discovery and figuring out where you fit in, but being an identical twin made it even more complex. I often felt like I lacked individuality; most people simply referred to us as “the twins.” Read more>>
Crystal Willis
I remember praying to God on many occasions to teach me how to love myself. From childhood, through adolescence and my adulthood, I’ve struggled with self-esteem and confidence. For me, a lack of self-esteem and confidence stems from growing up walking on eggshells trying to please my parents, being bullied at school, and being sexually assaulted my freshman year of high school. This perfect storm led to years of co-dependency and insecurity that fed into all of my relationships and contributed to burnout. Read more>>
Shatara Clark
As a little girl from a small Alabama town, the level of confidence I have now consistently surprises me. I have to admit during elementary and middle school era, I did not have the highest self confidence, but my mom always made me feel good about myself. Around middle school I struggled with standardized testing and that truly brought my confidence down. Read more>>
Shawn Dykes
When asked about how I developed my self-confidence, I often think back to my journey as a freelance hairstylist and makeup artist. Over a span of 20 years in that field, I faced numerous challenges and learned a lot about myself and the industry. What truly built my confidence, however, was confronting my fear of failure head-on and simply taking action. By continuously pushing myself out of my comfort zone and ‘just doing it,’ I was able to cultivate a deep-seated belief in my abilities. Read more>>
Laura Donnelly
Sometimes low self esteem is the greatest driver. I grew up in an environment where I felt like I had to fight for or prove my value. I got good grades, performed in sports and tried to be a “good girl.” I even considered being a nun. I’m not sure if it was pressure as a Catholic, that aspiration to be “good” or the fierce independence they seemed to have. Read more>>
Christopher Summers
I developed my confidence and self esteem to do what I do from the experiences in life that I’ve had. Each experience shaped me and matured me to be the person that I am. Communication and relating to people as best as you can is key Read more>>
Shannon Jennings
This is a great question and something that I think about often because of the industry that I am a part of. I have always been drawn to confident, strong women and admired their endurance and tenacity. To me, confidence in a woman is absolutely stunning! That quality outshines beautiful hair or perfect makeup. Even as a young girl, I chose role models that were resilient women who pioneered change. Read more>>
Isoken Obaseki
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by embracing the things that I was teased about in my middle and high school years. I learned that the things I was teased about would never change so I had to make a conscious decision and embrace those things (my forehead size, skin tone and height). Fashion really helped bring out my confidence. I love putting together an outfit and finding different ways to accessorize the outfit. Read more>>
Justin Frazier
Receipts. I learned that confidence can only be truly felt when you have receipts. When I say receipts, I mean results. Michael Jordan can talk as bold as he does because he produced undeniable results. The same for a Kobe, a Beyonce, a Deion Sanders, and the list goes on. You don’t gain confidence or self-esteem just by saying you’re confident repeatedly – internally, you’ll never really believe it because even your soul knows there’s not much proof to back it. Read more>>
Trent Allen Davis
Understanding that confidence truly comes from within. No compliment from someone, amount of money, car or any material possessions can build confidence. That has to come from the light that is burning inside of you. Once I learned that, I was able to take the proper steps in becoming truly confident in myself, I may not always have the previously mentioned aspects that can be fleeting. I will always have and be me. Read more>>
Nicole Fiore
Ooh this is a great question and a topic that I feel very strongly about. I feel that confidence and self-esteem comes and goes in waves every day. We have to fight for it and that fight is often within ourselves. We all have great days, we have some bad days, and a whole lot in between. Read more>>
Maddie Britton
I am a firm believer that confidence and self-esteem are not meant to come naturally. Well, at least for me, they didn’t. For the vast majority of my life, I have battled with confidence and there were many times I was certain that it was simply something I would never be able to achieve. However, as I was facing this inner battle with myself, people were complimenting my confidence and telling me that my confidence was admirable. Read more>>
Yasir Alani
Certainly, developing my confidence and self-esteem has been a profound and evolving journey, influenced by a myriad of experiences and personal growth: Read more>>
