Building Blocks of Success: Confidence & Self Esteem

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.

Andrea Restivo

Developing confidence and self-esteem requires a combination of mindset shifts, self-reflection, and intentional actions. These are just a few steps that have helped me. • Identify your strengths: Recognize your positive qualities, skills, and accomplishments. Focus on these strengths and remind yourself of them often. Read more>>

Linda Bonnar

Having an eating disorder can completely destroy your confidence and self-esteem and that’s exactly what Anorexia did to me. I made three key changes in my life that helped me develop the confidence and self-esteem I have today: 1. I changed my story: As a young girl at the age of 11, I started to tell myself the story that if I was thinner I would be considered more beautiful and if I was more beautiful then I would be happier. Read more>>

Lisa Stryker

I was not confident for the first few decades of my life. I noticed it in others though. I thought they were just lucky to be born confident. That somehow I missed out on it. But my curiosity wouldn’t quit and I kept asking myself what makes someone confident? How can I be more confident? I slowly built up my confidence naturally by overcoming challenges. Read more>>

Jennifer Pierro

My Mom. She is my best friend and from a very young age and into adulthood, she would always tell me I was unique and there was nothing I couldn’t do, if I set my mind to it. Anything is possible. You never know unless you try. She is always by my side full of praise and support. Always lifting me up and full of positivity and strength. She has always encouraged me to take chances, follow my dreams and never let anyone clip my wings. I learned from the best!  Read more>>

Raven Ritrovato

I grew up in a family of creative people who didn’t necessarily see themselves that way. My mother had a talent for cake decoration, my sister had a beautiful singing voice, my father would sing and dance with me, and my brother had a diverse skill set that included singing, art, and writing. Many art forms intrigued me as a kid, and my hobbies jumped frequently as my mom always encouraged me to try new things.  Read more>>

Bailey York

It took me 20+ years to get out of my own way. From elementary to my early 20’s, I was bullied in school and at home. I used to believe I was bullied because I was overweight and unattractive. So I changed that, and yet the bullying continued. Now, as you get older, the bullying doesn’t stop, unfortunately. Read more>>

Jessica Clark

I started developing my confidence and self esteem when I stopped worrying about what other people thought about me. I can’t control other people, but I can control myself. So I control my thoughts as best as I can, and honestly, I like myself and I’m the one that gets to spend 24/7 with me so I focus more about what I think and improving myself each and every day. Read more>>

Alexus Pittman

I developed a strong sense of confidence in life because I learned early that if you don’t believe in yourself nobody will. I used to get teased and bullied a lot as a child so when I grew up I was determined that nobody could dim my light unless I allow it and that would never happen again. Read more>>

Essence Henderson

My confidence……like Rome wasn’t built in a day. As a young girl and even now as an adult there are times where I struggle to feel confident. Over the years I’ve learned first to always believe in MYSELF. My mom used to tell me, that it didn’t matter what I wanted to do, or who I wanted to be, as long as I aimed to be the absolute best at what I chose to do. Read more>>

Rebecca Li

As a child, my confidence blossomed through my passion for theatre arts, fueled by my parents’ unwavering support. Teen years brought growing pains, temporarily dimming that confidence. Now, in my twenties, my platform rejuvenates my self-assurance, inspiring self-love and encouraging others to embrace all facets of themselves. Read more>>

Tony Fuad

I built my confidence and self-esteem through a journey of self-discovery and personal challenges. Embracing my strengths and acknowledging accomplishments, no matter how small, contributed to a positive self-perception. Overcoming obstacles fostered resilience and a belief in my capabilities. Surrounding myself with supportive individuals and learning from setbacks enhanced my sense of worth. Continuous self-improvement and setting achievable goals allowed me to witness my growth, reinforcing my confidence. Read more>>

Candace Bridges

Confidence and self-esteem can be developed through setting and achieving goals, recognizing and celebrating accomplishments, practicing positive self-talk, building competence, seeking support from others, taking care of oneself, and challenging self-limiting beliefs. Read more>>

LD

I developed confidence and self-esteem from staying true to myself no matter who I am around. As an artist, it is very important that you are your biggest supporter because if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Read more>>

Trish MICHAEL

At age 40, I found myself ending a 20 year abusive relationship, with 3 kids. I was sick with my first breast cancer diagnosis, lost everything financially and found myself struggling on, literally, every level. What was worse, was my kids were struggling too. They were dealing with a shattered family, and dealing with self-worth and self-esteem issues themselves, often times feeling suicidal. Read more>>

Lauren Duvall

Honestly, it took me such a long time to develop my confidence and self-esteem. But one thing that I changed that helped me with my confidence, well actually a few things, was to be easier on myself. The other things I did that helped me with my confidence is to not compare my art to others. I try to look at the artists and different artwork as a source of inspiration.  Read more>>

Mikayla Chin

I’ll let you in on something: I grew up as the most unconfident person ever. I’m an introvert and was the most shy kid you’d meet. But then last year I turned 25, and it hit me, that I’m still here, on this beautiful planet, where I didn’t think I would make it past 22. So now that I’m on the other side of that mountain, I see that there are so many reasons to stay and believe in myself, and keep going and growing. I saw that I was just holding myself back from being what I always wanted to be. Read more>>

Thomas Edwards

Confidence and self-esteem, for me, were not inherent gifts but hard-earned treasures. Before telling the story, it’s important to speak to the difference between the two. Confidence is what I tell other people about myself. Self-esteem is what I say to myself about myself. My journey to developing these qualities was shaped by a blend of introspection, personal experience, the willingness, and the drive to become the man I knew I could be. Read more>>

Troy Hardy

By taking on challenges, work or personal, that are a little outside my comfort zone, or stretch out my skill sets. I wouldn’t go around yelling out that I’m a confident person, that’s just weird, but I do know that I’ve had the ability to figure things out from a very early age. I’m comfortable knowing that I can rely on that ability for myself, my friends and my clients. Read more>>

Emma LaRue

It’s taken me quite a while to feel confident with myself. Growing up I had extreme social anxiety but I luckily grew out of that! In college my teachers would always give me the note to “have confidence” and it was such a tough note to get as an 18 year old kid because I wasn’t exactly even sure what confidence really even meant. Read more>>

S. Kay Murphy

I’m glad you asked this question. Without going into a long history of my childhood trauma, let me just summarize by saying that, for their individual reasons, both of my parents resented me. I therefore grew up under the dark shadow of constant criticism and shaming. I am gender nonconforming, which added to my parents’ embarrassment and shame, so they passed those feelings on to me (in addition to shaming me for being shy and tenderhearted).  Read more>>

Michael Zampino

It all started when I was two-years old. My Mom put me in Tae Kwon Do. They usually don’t start kids until their three, but because I was big for my age and could talk pretty well, they let me start early. My Masters taught me about “Mind Focus” and “Body Focus” on top of being physically strong.  Read more>>

Karen Williams

To share how i developed confidence and self-esteem, I would first have to share how I lost it in the first place. I believe everyone of us was born with the confidence to do and be anything. But somewhere along the way life becomes unkind and robs us of that light we carry. Read more>>

MANUELA Proano

I stand here today, a beacon of confidence, but this wasn’t always the case. There was a time when I was entrenched in perfectionism. This might sound familiar: perfectionism often walks hand-in-hand with self-doubt, self-loathing, and imposter syndrome. That was me. Read more>>

Sal Cerda

I developed my confidence and self-esteem by accepting myself. I used to dislike who I was, had self-esteem issues, I was very shy and I felt like no matter what I did I could not change it. Then one day, I decided enough was enough and told myself that I was going to change my life and dictate my circumstances instead of letting my circumstances dictate where my life went. Read more>>

Tim Canfield

Developing my confidence and self-esteem is an ongoing process that will likely last a lifetime. I was scared of heights. Now I comfortably sit on ledges with nothing but 1,000s of feet below me. I had crippling social anxiety when I was younger. Now I take groups on photography tours and show my booth at art shows. I’ve come a long way and the biggest strides have come from following what lights me up the most. When I consistently follow my highest calling, I see my fears and anxieties drip away. Nerves still take hold at times, but they feel more and more like excitement rather than dread. Read more>>

Lesley Shelley

To be completely transparent, I work on this daily. The development of my confidence and self-esteem has been a journey marked by intentional efforts and self-discovery. I’ve made it a daily practice to affirm myself and redirect any destructive, negative, or doubtful thoughts that might arise. I realized that it is important for me to encourage myself despite what others might say or think and in spite of any challenge I may face. Understanding the impact of my beliefs on my capabilities has been a game-changer for me. Read more>>

Bekah Blagg

For me, confidence comes from knowledge! I learn a lot from previous projects but I also actively seek out additional education for the services I offer. I like to be able to explain the “why” behind the recommendations and advice I give to my clients. As long as I can do that, I have a really strong confidence in what I do. If I struggle with something, you can bet I will probably be certified in that topic by the end of the week – ha! Read more>>

LaKetta Caldwell

My journey towards self-confidence has been intricately woven with my sense of purpose. From the very beginning, I felt a deep calling to work with women, to illuminate the beauty of self-acceptance and the importance of loving the skin we’re in. It wasn’t just a profession; it was a passion, a mission to empower others to embrace their uniqueness and radiate with confidence. Read more>>

Michael Cantres

I developed my confidence, and self esteem, by looking in the mirror, and telling myself good things, like “I’m fabulous”, ever since my teenage years, which helped me throughout high school when I was dealing with “The Mean Girls”, and when I Say “The Mean Girls” – it’s gender, and umbrella neutral! Read more>>

Tajianna Okechukwu

I feel like it came with just knowing the very basic principle of “if you’re not confident in yourself, how can you expect others to be?”. You should radiate the energy you want to give back and it also sticks to others as well…giving confidence boosts to everyone in your reach. Read more>>