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.
Nancy Boyd
I believe that stories about fairies and baking cakes for loved ones are just as important as big stuffy dramas where men explore and the films win a billion oscars. Glitter, whimsy, and laughter have a place, and I don’t think it’s frivolous to enjoy it and it. Especially when the kinds of stories that are seen as “fluff” are often stories told by and about women. I used to think that I had to change the kind of storyteller I was to be heard. Then, going to graduate school at USC, I was told that my voice is what makes me a storyteller. Read more>>
Christine Ristaino
This is an interesting question for me because I have lived with low self-esteem for most of my life. I am the survivor of three traumas—childhood molestation, rape, and an attack in a parking lot. My reaction to violence is not unique. Most women who have been sexually abused, raped, or assaulted lose self-esteem. It took years for me to acknowledge I had low self-esteem, and I did so in my own time, long after I had spoken out loud about the violence I had experienced. Read more>>
Emy Tafelski
In 2017, my mom lost a 9 year battle with pancreatic cancer. I was 42 at the time and her loss absolutely shattered me. There was the normal “I’ve lost an important person” grief and then there was the feeling like I had lost my anchor to the world. It left me not knowing who I was in the world anymore. Like, my clothes were the same but nothing felt the same at all. I didn’t expect it to be like that. Read more>>
Shelby Lawson
Development of confidence and self esteem has definitely been a journey in itself. I am a woman of faith, born to a single Mom. My Mom was beyond her time in her thought process and how she’d speak to me and my sister. She would speak affirmations to us before it had a name. Read more>>
Noemy Santos Turpin
In my personal experience I learned that it’s all about mentality. Faking it till you make it at first since it takes talking to yourself with more generosity and not comparing to anyone else. You can be confident on the outside and still get a bit insecure in your mind but if you talk to yourself like you would to a sister or a friend with that same kind of love. Read more>>
Sean Birdsong
I developed my confidence and self-esteem at an early age from my family and coaches that I had. Read more>>
Aileen Rueda-DaCosta
At first, neither of these things came easy to me. Sometimes I look at my daughter and at how she is unabashedly herself. Kids are amazing like that. They have the superpower to be unafraid of the world and it’s unspoken rules. She never makes the big things more complicated than they should be. She can walk into a room and own it with confidence and grace. She looks at herself in the mirror and doesn’t see a single flaw. Read more>>
Teri Perkins
I developed confidence and self-esteem by not being afraid to try new things even with the risk of failure. “Developed” really is a great word for gaining confidence and self-esteem. I wasn’t born with them by any means. I try to live life in the moment, and this really helps me to see even the little victories in life. All of those little victories are what built confidence and self-esteem within me one building block at a time. Read more>>
Tyrone Betters
In my teenage years I had real low self-esteem and a lot of self doubt in who I was. It was tough at times due to the fact internally I felt alone even though I was surrounded family & friends that loved me. Read more>>
Carmela Tunzi
Confidence is knowing that you were going to be OK no matter what happens. It starts with taking action. It starts with seeing your goal and working backwards, taking the steps that you need to take in order to achieve your outcome. Read more>>
Michael Grecco
My self-esteem came from my career. Every step you take that is successful slowly builds your self-esteem. People can’t just tell you that you’re great; you must do it yourself to really learn that. When I took parenting classes, to be a better parent to my three children, the teacher made it very clear. Give your kids small tasks that they can be successful at. That will build their self-esteem slowly over time. Read more>>
Elizabeth Ward
When pursuing a career in music, confidence and self-esteem don’t always come easy. I gained the most confidence by ‘risking it’ and ‘going for it’. I would just throw myself on stage, on the microphone, into any opportunity I could grasp, and, slowly, the nerves started to fade. Read more>>
Ava Lee Rose
I would have to say that over the years I have developed a sense of knowing I am worthy and well trained despite how much rejection and challenges you face in the entertainment industry. No matter how many or Who may say NO to you, just know that the right yes is out there and will change your life as you know it. Read more>>
Shaun Jones
To be honest, I originally developed a great deal of confidence thanks to my first job, which actually was completely unrelated to the reptile business. I worked for FedEx for 10 years before I became who I am today. I took pride in making deliveries and bringing people the orders they needed, specifically for the University of Maryland, which we frequently made deliveries to. Read more>>
Diane Boden
At a foundational level, I believe my confidence and self-esteem developed at a young age. My parents gave me opportunities in which I could explore my independence: being dropped at a local art class, navigating the hallways by myself; establishing a “babysitters club”; going door-to-door selling magazines or girl scout cookies; going to movies by myself in the early teen years. All of these things are simple but lead to a confidence of being alone, taking risks and knowing I was capable. Read more>>
Akasha Searcey
It is often underestimated how these two aspects of self are so deeply intertwined within our human experience. I have personally studied myself for years and if there is one thing I have leaned that weaves the two assets together it is ACTION. Read more>>
Julian Crosson-Hill
I was a super shy and introverted child. I had terrible social anxiety, which affected how confident I felt. However, my mother was a stay-at-home mom who did a lot to help me feel more confident in my abilities. She used to tell me that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. She also said that you can’t achieve big if you don’t dream big. Read more>>
Yessi Sanchez
I used to be very, very insecure, even though I’ve spent a lot of time on stage growing up. I was always a shy kid, very sensitive; very emotional, but I always used to love to perform and when I was on stage I felt like that’s where I belong. As a teenager, I started to doubt myself and my performances more, and I didn’t perform for the fun of it anymore. Everything needed to be perfect, and I carried that with me until the last couple of years. Read more>>
Mahfam Braithwaite
My husband is my biggest cheerleader. He gives me confidence and acknowledges my strengths and talents. He reminds me of them ALL THE TIME. I try my best to practice positive self-talk and I try to avoid negative people in my life. My husband and I make time for our hobbies and try out some new things to find out what we are passionate about. Read more>>
Shanna Wilson
Whew… if I’m being 100% honest, there’s not one wedding or event that I don’t experience at least a bit of anxiety. When I first started out I wasn’t as confident as I am now. The positive feedback and love I get from my clients after a wedding is what continues to build my confidence within myself. To show up, execute and pull off a successful event regardless of what unexpected occurrences may have occurred is a huge boost. In many ways it gives off that, ” I got this!” Read more>>
Pynk Mo$cato
Developing my confidence was far from a solo task, it was really my father who instilled it in me from a young age, that I was “cute, smart and clean” or “CSC” as he called it. I was told to write it down and put it on the wall in my room where it stayed for the majority of my adolescence. Moving through the era of social media did make it a little more difficult to believe all the time though. Read more>>
Adam Lifto
I have cultivated confidence and self-esteem from the roots of authenticity. For years, especially during a time in my life where substance use and mental health disorders were firmly in the driver’s seat, I portrayed externally the way I would like to be perceived in the world, even though my internal and external worlds were not aligned and did not represent reality. Read more>>
Emily Rathbun
When starting and maintaining a business, confidence and a high self esteem isn’t optional. As a client, if your service provider is not confident in their work and abilities, it is obvious and a big turn off. At the beginning of my Esthetics journey, I struggled with confidence deeply, but one thing that holds true about confidence;no one can tell if its real or fake. Read more>>
Ebony Rice
I know it sounds cliché but, love yourself. Everything I do is for me, not for others. When I go out and get all dolled up, I’m doing it to make myself feel good. I don’t really care to impress anybody else. We’re all uniquely beautiful and we all have flaws so the sooner you embrace or change it, you can become more confident within yourself because we all have weakness but the strengths are what really makes us who we are. Read more>>
Hope Smashey
Confidence and self-esteem are important qualities for any individual to possess. For me personally, understanding a topic to the best of my ability allows me to be more confident. When I worked at a museum, I strove to understand the museum exhibits and prepared talking points about those exhibits; so, as I sold tickets at the front desk, people could become acquainted with the galleries they were about to see. Read more>>
Jeromy Rosa
It definitely took a long time for me to actually be fully confident in myself. I’ve had scars on my face since I was 5 because I got bit by a pitbull, and it definitely affected me with my self-esteem. I’ve learned to be more content with myself and my appearance as I’ve gotten older and I try my best to encourage others to be more confident in themselves as well. Read more>>
HILLARY LAUER
Developing confidence and self-esteem as an artist is a gradual process that involves a combination of self-awareness, practice, and mindset adjustments. Here are the things I’ve come to learn in my art career: Read more>>
Deborah Young
For many years, I harbored uncertainty about my inclination towards writing. In my younger years, my mother introduced me to a specialized writing class that engendered my passion for the art. This epiphanic experience transpired around the age of 11, and despite my youthful age, it significantly broadened my horizons to the realm of literary expression. Read more>>
Ethan Granger
As a Christian artist and worship leader confidence and our self-esteem is something that we have to guard against turning into pride. For me growing up I was always taught to be humble, “I wouldn’t be where I am today if he hadn’t guided me or even given me the talent in the first place”. However, that doesn’t mean that we are supposed to shy away from the stage and hide our face so we can point them towards Jesus. Read more>>
Haley Poinsette
I would say that much of my foundation of confidence & self – esteem comes from my environment growing up. My mom curated a space that allowed for me to truly be myself! When I was between the ages of about 5 to 9, I would make home videos of house tours, dance videos, & anything else my little mind wanted to create – she would cheer me on, she would hold the camera, she would just be a support to what made me feel fun & free. Read more>>
Makayla Selvik
I’ll rephrase the question so my answer is better fitting … Read more>>
Benjamin Meehan
I gradually built my confidence and self-esteem by setting achievable goals, acknowledging my accomplishments, and learning from my mistakes. I learned to take the negative feedback into building blocks to improve and take the positive ones as the encouragement needed for my next leap. Read more>>
