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.

Max Chenxi Cao

Overall, I believe my confidence and self-esteem stem from recognizing that what I do is meaningful—especially when it not only fulfills me but also benefits others. Reflecting back, the first time I genuinely felt confident was after I transferred schools in fifth grade. I got involved in various campus activities, contributing to the community and helping teachers and classmates, which earned me recognition and appreciation. Experiencing the joy of helping others left a lasting impression, and perhaps due to my young age at the time, I developed a tendency toward people-pleasing. Read more>>

Tina Nguyen

As a tattoo artist, I often felt overwhelmed by self-doubt as I compared my work to others. I decided to focus on my unique strengths instead of my insecurities. I set small goals to improve my shading techniques, celebrating every successful tattoo. Read more>>

Valentina Riabova

I believe that in terms of self esteem or as another question mentioned – so called imposter syndrome, my case went pretty easy. I have graduated from so many art schools that my education level didn’t allow me to feel imposter syndrome or feel less respected in the industry being a woman or a beginner. My confidence in my knowledge was helping with it directly Read more>>

Syi Lwin

I believe confidence is something that continues to grow. I still challenge myself to step outside my comfort zone and keep learning, which helps me maintain and strengthen my self-esteem. Read more>>

M’lynn Suwinski

Growing up I had quite poor confidence and self-esteem. I’m not exactly sure where it originated but I believe it was due to a mix of mental health struggles and the lack of information on how to actually be confident. In my mid teens I reached a point where I was horribly uncomfortable with myself, my skills, nearly everything about myself. I knew I needed a change. I read a book about gaining self confidence and decided to give the exercise within a shot. I was to stand in front of the mirror for one minute a day and tell myself what I loved and appreciated about, well, me. A whole minute?! This felt as if it went on for ten. I didn’t feel great initially, in fact it felt terrible. After a few weeks of consistency I began to grow to love myself so much more than before, to notice the beauty in what I found previously to be flaws of mine. At the same time I began to really lean into art, creating large scale chalk murals. It was the only time everything made sense and my thoughts were still. I felt so very in flow and so confident. Others had been telling me I was good for years but I slowly started to believe it myself. I learned to rely on validation from within rather than what I formerly relied on. To this day, my routines consist of large amounts of the day spent talking intentionally positive to myself, in front of the mirror, in the car, any time I can get it in. Some call it delusional but I have the utmost confidence in myself now, I know I can figure out anything I need to. Read more>>

Deja Wallace

Confidence, to me, is something we all have to nurture, teach, and grow over time. It’s not just a trait you’re born with but rather a trait that has to be actively cultivated, especially as life’s challenges shape you. As a kid, I was naturally confident and had a strong disposition. I remember teachers constantly writing on my report cards and complaining to my mom that I talked too much and distracted the class. I was never shy growing up—I was bold, sure of myself, and loved expressing that. Read more>>

 Johnny Larkin

I was born without the use of my left eye and bright red hair. Being one of the only kids in my school with bright red hair I felt different. It wasn’t until half way through middle school I realized my hair wasn’t what everyone was talking about. Everyone was talking about the fact that I kept trying to participate in school sports or after school activities that I was simply horrible at. I don’t have any peripheral vision or depth perception to shoot a basket or even hit a ball, but I was always willing to try. It was just around the time I got into high school that one of my friends that was good at all the sports he participated in asked me “why I kept trying”? This was the first time I had to think about why I always looked at everything as a challenge. Something I needed to learn and get better at practice until I wasn’t looked at differently. This one question from a friend made me stop and really look at myself I realized I wasn’t different I was just a kid that liked to play. I learned the most valuable lesson I still hold on to today. Perfection is achieved not when there’s anything else to be added but when there’s nothing else to take away. Confidence is just trying even if you fail, learning is never failure as long as you try. Read more>>

Angela Bonten

I think it took me a long time to overcome the doubt that you have in yourself when you are starting an art career.
One of the important things for me was not to compare myself to others but rather learn from my peers and support each other.
As my skill level grew my confidence level grew too.
After you sell a few things you get more sure of yourself, but I had to look at what I really wanted from my art. Read more>>

Ai Matsui Johnson

Building my self-confidence and self-esteem has been deeply rooted in the love I give to myself and the unwavering support from my parents. My name, Ai, meaning “love” in Japanese, serves as a constant reminder of their hope that I would embody both love and compassion. By embracing simplicity, balancing the highs and lows of life, and recognizing the impermanence of all things, I’ve learned to accept myself more fully. Although I faced self-doubt and challenging emotions during my youth, understanding the concepts of love and self-acceptance formed the foundation for my resilience and inner confidence. Read more>>

Sara Golden

A few years ago I watched a documentary called “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” about a Japanese sushi master who had focused solely on his craft over 9 (9!!) decades. At one point he’s asked how he got so good: “Time.” It’s a simple answer that says everything. Read more>>

Xiaoran Liu

I began learning the bamboo flute at age 11, choosing it myself out of a genuine passion for both the instrument and the art form. I believe that building confidence and self-worth starts with making your own choices and embracing the work you love. This creates a positive cycle, where enjoyment drives commitment. If someone doesn’t like their chosen field from the start, how could they expect it to foster confidence? Read more>>

Shuana Woodward

As a woman who was raised with Good Girl Conditioning, self-esteem was not something inherently within me. Rather, the regard and confidence I have for myself was a hard fought cultivation, grown of time, experience and rebellion. Read more>>

Alexandr Litvin

To answer this question, I’d like to start by mentioning that I’ve been working as a stylist for over 20 years, and this experience has had a significant impact on my self-esteem. Throughout my career, I’ve constantly faced growth and challenges, setting new goals for myself. I would say it all began with envisioning my goals, visualizing them, and then seeking inspiration in images and new places. This helped me understand what I wanted to achieve and to strive for something greater. Read more>>

Diana Haro

To be honest, I am still working on it. It’s something that I have always had difficulty with. I’m learning to embrace the complexity of who I am. There’s days when I feel very confident and there’s days when I don’t. It’s a mixture of comparing, self-doubt and procrastination. These are all very raw human emotions and I feel like we should validate them and then try to learn how to let go and not self loathe for too long. Doubt kills creation. We are ever evolving and we won’t stop till we die. We learn something new about ourselves everyday. It’s a process and we just gotta accept the neutrality of it. Read more>>

Anna Marie Witthohn

When you asked this question, my mother’s voice rang in my head. Growing up she’d always say to me “And how do we build self-esteem, Anna? It’s through doing esteemable things”. When I was young and insecure I’d get frustrated by this because what the heck are esteemable things? She’d say it like it was easy too but, when you feel down about yourself nothing is easy. Read more>>

Samantha Barela

I think a lot of people think that confidence and self esteem come from impressing others, but I’ve come to realize that it comes from impressing yourself. It’s not always from huge accomplishments either, it’s most often the small things. Getting out of bed early to go to the gym, preparing a nourishing meal, folding the laundry as soon as it’s dry. Taking care of myself by doing the little things has allowed me to accomplish big things, and both of those have led to self respect, high self esteem, and confidence. Read more>>

Chris Cheney

I feel like for me, I naturally struggle with self-doubt. However, through the years doing difficult things in life started to prove to myself that with the intelligent application of effort and perseverance, there have been a lot of obstacles that I started to see that I had overcome. Those things don’t have to be over the top. In the beginning, they can be simple steps – completing a difficult project at school, achieving a goal that stretches you a bit, etc. But over time, continue to stretch yourself and overcome. As you do, you build not only skills, but the confidence in your ability. Even failure in those tasks creates opportunity to learn, adjust, and overcome in the future. Don’t let the fears, failures, and doubts hold you back. Take those small steps to start to build your skills and confidence, and overcome. This doesn’t happen overnight though. However, with consistency, one day you will look back at the things that seemed like insurmountable tasks that used to fill you with self doubt, and they now seem commonplace because you have done those tasks enough times that they no longer are a big deal. Read more>>

Mari Haruno

I have always been good at a variety of things: I run fast, can play the Japanese drum, write beautifully, and do well in my studies. I believe I have managed to handle many things without any major issues since I was young. However, I don’t think I possess any exceptionally outstanding talent. But there is one thing I can boast about: my ability to “persevere.” Read more>>

Faizah Chowdhury

Most of my confidence and self esteem comes from being a dancer. I have danced and taught dancing for the last 15 years, and I think that is my peaceful, happy place because I’ve learned all different types of dancing from classical Indian to ballet to advanced hip hop, so I have a variety of things to choose from my skill set which helps me maintain my confidence when it comes to showing off something unique about myself! Otherwise, the rest is just state of mind and making sure you’re always thinking positively about yourself and your image. That’s the most important factor in my opinion. If you own what you are putting out there, no one can tell you otherwise. Read more>>

Trillyvango

I would say, I developed my confidence and self-esteem through practice and trial and error. It almost seems the opposite of the correct way to develop confidence, but I would just keep making verses and songs and seeing how people would react. And I found a way to say whatever I want to say in ways that were appealing to other people Read more>>

Patrick Stuver

I am fortunate that I was born with a go get um, wake up on the right side of the bed, tomorrow will for sure be better kind of attitude and outlook on life. Fortunate because the challenges I faced as a kid who moved from location to location roughly every three years presented a tableau of opportunity to explore the world of being the target of bullies and established groups of local kids. If I weren’t born with a “bright side” attitude I am sure my outlook on the world would have been much more bleak. So, I started with the raw goods but my mom really fertilized the field of self confidence ensuring I fully developed a healthy self esteem. Read more>>

Bailey Renée

Developing confidence and self-esteem has been a journey for me; it’s something I’ve actively cultivated rather than something that came naturally. A key way I’ve built this confidence is by showing up for myself, committing to my personal growth, and aligning my actions with my values, creating a strong foundation that supports my resilience and authenticity. Read more>>

Ace Diosa

I developed my confidence and self esteem through self love. When I was younger I absorbed everything the world through at me, the good and the bad. The bad left me feeling less than at times, but as I grew older I realized the bad was helping me delevop my character, and not so much as defining who I am as a whole. That realization changed my views and beliefs within my self. Others perception isn’t who I am. I am who I say I am, I am what I feel I am, I am the good I put into the world. I am Ace Diosa. Read more>>

Tiye Cochran

My confidence comes from my childhood. When I was a little girl, my Mom would tell me I could do anything because I was Tiye. If I was doubting myself she would say, “ You are Tiye, you can do it!”. I find myself repeating those words internally when I begin to falter. My family was very supportive and insistent that I carry myself with pride and confidence in any situation. I was very tall all throughout elementary school ( the boys didn’t catch up to me until 10th grade), so I would hunch over to seem smaller. My Grandmother would tell me to stand with my shoulders back and my head held high. Being told to do so used to annoy me as a young girl, but I had no idea that they were subtly instilling confidence and self-pride within me. Read more>>

Olyn Moon

It came from when I went into the military. It was hard for me to let anyone read anything of mine before that. I let one of my roommates read a story I was writing while in basic training and they wanted more of it. They even ended up drawing the cover of my first book I self-published because they like it so much. Read more>>