Champion Mindset: Building Confidence & Self-Esteem

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.

Quinn Smith

Well, this is tough because don’t we all have days where our self esteem hits a low? Mine has always fluctuated between “hell ya, I got this!” to “what the hell am I doing? this work I’m putting out sucks…” Read more>>

Zixiao Ye

Developing confidence and self-esteem is crucial, particularly for musicians and artists. Here are some strategies that have been instrumental in my journey: self-understanding is key, as understanding my strengths, weaknesses, and values has provided a solid foundation for building confidence.  Read more>>

Jenny Ribeiro

Confidence has taken a long time to come! In the opera business, we’re constantly told to stand out and be different, but then taught to sing like everybody else. My confidence has come from realizing that I have a voice and that I am my own artist. Read more>>

David Norwood

Confidence and self-esteem. Two sides of the same coin. That coin is called clarity. Clarity is my source code for self-esteem and confidence. When I have achieved clarity in; what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, where is “it” coming from, I have and endless supply of confidence which fuels my self-esteem. Read more>>

Angela Navalta

Growing up, I was extremely shy and lacked confidence, particularly in my physical appearance. This shyness stemmed from deep-seated doubts and fears about what others might think of me. However, my journey towards self-assurance began in college, where I was surrounded by confident and outspoken individuals. Read more>>

Miracle Hines

It’s definitely something I had since I was a child, I was taught that if you don’t believe in yourself who will?! I do say my affirmations too and remain consistent and confident with those words daily. Read more>>

Jason Campbell

Continuous development and the giving back to others. I’ve found a lot of benefit in continuing education of varying magnitudes, whether it was participating on my university’s Alumni Board of Directors and taking a leadership positions as the VP of Careers for graduating students, enrolling in Certificate Programs at Cornell for Hotel Real Estate and Asset Management, participating at industry conferences or attending the Culinary Institute of America for a boot camp. Read more>>

Natalie Micale

Developing confidence and self-esteem has been a journey deeply intertwined with my personal and professional life story, marked by struggles with ADHD, academic challenges, and significant health issues. My confidence began to take root when I was diagnosed with ADHD during college.  Read more>>

Mandy Penn

If you would have asked anyone 5 years ago they would have told you I was not confident and was very low on myself. I never did it for attention, I truly believed that was just who I was and who I would always be- fast forward two years from that and I embarked on a new found appreciation for what you tel yourself is what you believe. Read more>>

Robert Sibley

I embraced the goofiness within me. I’m a big guy and with that comes the inevitable fat jokes. i learned quickly that if i could laugh at myself the laughs of other could not affect me. So I would be the one to do the weird thing. i was the big guy who would take any moment to take of his shirt an do the truffle shuffle.  Read more>>

Annie Brown

I made a deliberate decision almost 20 years to find experiences that put me out of my comfort zone. I had been experiencing a deep depression and grief and wanted to be happy again. The only way I knew how to do that was to go back to things that made me happy-being creative, making art, dancing, living in the world again. Read more>>

Jarrod King

My confidence and self-esteem were borne from my creativity. I used to have zero of both, but through writing my books and creating podcasts, I was able to identify what was special about me and communicate that with the world. Once I gave myself permission to take up space in the world and supported myself with positive self-talk, I was able to go about making friends and creating the life I so desperately sought. Read more>>

Samiya Jakubowicz

Self-esteem was always a struggle for me as an adolescent. I always wanted to fit in and often was on the receiving end of bullying based on physical attributes/being an Indian kid in a predominately white community. I threw myself in dance growing up and worked hard to become good at it so I felt confident in something when most days at school stripped me my confidence. Read more>>

Pavel Ferreri

Self-esteem should come from within, it’s a kind of inner love that comes from the gratitude and appreciation of being alive and unique, and having the intelligence of being aware of it. It shouldn’t require the acceptance or approval of anyone, self-esteem happens within you, by you, for you. Read more>>

Dr. Leah Square

My confidence was developed at a very early age. My parents truly were patrons of the arts and made sure I had exposure to visual art, dance and singing. I loved to paint and draw, which ultimately laid the foundation for my career in beauty, By continuously learning and mastering my craft, I gained expertise that further bolstered my confidence. Read more>>

Caitlyn Scaggs

The development of my confidence and self-esteem has been the result of a variety of factors swirling together to result in who I am today and the concept of self that I have. First, I was fortunate to be raised in a loving and nurturing home in which my parents made me feel safe to learn, dream, and pursue goals. Read more>>

Trixie Torres

Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve learned that building confidence and self-esteem requires stepping out of my comfort zone and embracing discomfort. It’s only through consistent effort and imperfect action that I can achieve this. Read more>>

Joiya Dai Anderson

Honestly, I think I was born with it and I think most children are born with confidence and self-esteem. It’s the adults that kinda take it away from us because we aren’t suppose to have such high confidence at such a early age. I was fortunate enough that when I showed my confidence at 3 walking in a fashion show. Read more>>

Tim Salau

I developed my confidence and self-esteem from proving myself time and time again in business and in life. Even when I failed, i’ve picked myself back up. For example, when I was applying for an internship during my Master’s program, I received thousands of nos, but then Google said yes and in the summer of ‘2017, I interned at Google as a UX researcher on their accessibility product engineering team. Read more>>

Dayna Tames

I fostered this through continuous skill development, positive feedback from clients and colleagues, staying updated on industry trends, successfully overcoming challenges, networking with other professionals, and prioritizing self-care. Read more>>

Jasmine Jones

I wish I could say my confidence is something I was born with, but I would be lying. It was something I earned. I earned it because I’m still here. Being a fat kid growing up bullying definitely was something I dealt with on the regular,and I felt like I couldn’t catch a break. Everytime id start loving myself and my body. Someone would point out I was fat. Read more>>

Dr. Brittany McGeehan

Growing up I was told I was too much and needed to tone down who I was. Whether I was too loud, my clothes weren’t the right style, or more often than not, my opinion wasn’t what it “should” be, I internalized the message that I needed to fix who I was. That other people’s opinions of who I was mattered more than what I actually thought. Read more>>

Suzanne Wallach

I think that developing confidence and self-esteem comes from two things: working on yourself constantly and doing esteemable acts. In my case, and the case of my work life, it came through constantly bettering myself through consistent training in the field and my chosen modality of therapy and making sure that the team that works with me is the best trained in the field and also engaging in esteemable acts such as offering sliding scale therapy to people who otherwise could not afford our services, offering higher than average salary and benefits to our staff, Read more>>

Crystal Buckley

I developed confidence and self esteem after going through an abusive marriage that made me lost them. I Later came to realise i went through this so that i could speak on it first hand, and help others to be motivated to get out. Read more>>

Amy Shimshon-Santo

Confidence and self-esteem have not come easily for me, except, like Nora Zeale Hurston said, “I love myself when I am laughing.” Being able to get things done is not the same as simply feeling good about oneself. Achievement, for me, is not associated with self worth. Achievement is something you do. Self worth is how you feel about who you are. It has something to do with hope. Read more>>

Sevag Mahserejian

I take being at play seriously; and when I’m creating art, I’m at play. When you are busy running around in your imagination, you tend not to stop and reflect on whether you should set limits for yourself. It is this limitless approach to trying new things, diving into new mediums, and exploring various art forms that has continuously nourished my confidence as an artist.  Read more>>

Sophie Malahieude

Confidence and self-esteem find their roots in self-love. It’s not about vanity, but rather about appreciating who we are. For the longest time, fear ruled my life. I was afraid of not performing well at work, of not being a good mother, of not meeting others’ expectations. Read more>>

Esy Tadesse

It took me a considerable amount of time to truly acknowledge myself as a musician and have faith in my abilities. Even when others pointed out my talent and praised my performances, I was reluctant to believe them. However, at a certain point in my journey as a guitar player, I realized that no one is inherently skilled at playing the guitar; there is a learning curve for everyone. Read more>>

Tori Kubick

Confidence and self-esteem were definitely not innate, it was not something I was born with. It was one for the most difficult things for my to develop as a show woman and entrepreneur. That is because I find it immensely challenging to balance absolute narcissism and crippling self doubt… and to really go in for the kill.  Read more>>

Sergio Novoa

I developed my confidence and self-esteem by looking back at every hardship I’ve had and recognize I managed to move forward. I realized “hardships” are just markers along the way that allow me to recommit to my goals. Read more>>

Mark Christy

I believe my confidence and self esteem were products from many sources. My mother, learning to stumble to learn correctly, learning that better choices make a better future, instill promises made promises kept, be honest, be fair-right & just in all matters, love your neighbor as yourself (which means to the same level), continue to run a good race and improve upon yourself until the end. Read more>>

Jennifer Patten

Developing my confidence and self-esteem has been a journey that closely aligns with the growth of Ugly Dog Adventures. Initially, I found confidence through action. The more I immersed myself in dog training and pack walks, the more skilled and capable I felt. It’s all about stepping into challenges, even when they seem daunting. Read more>>

Quenia Tolentino

I’ve been developing my confidence and self-esteem through therapy, looking into my life and my past, and contemplating everything I’ve overcome and accomplished with dedication and hard work, and looking at that as evidence of my capabilities. Read more>>

Katrina Owens

Like most things, I truly believe that confidence and self-esteem are qualities that ebb and flow with time, and they may look quite different to us during different periods in our life. I say that because my parents often remind me that I was very shy as a child, a teacher of mine had even mentioned that I never spoke in class. Read more>>

Michael David Hammond

I have always been a husky person growing up and was always talked about cause I was the “fat kid”. I was watching TV and I seen John Candy and Chris Farley two guys who looked like me and everyone loved. So I seen their spark of confidence and just truly embraced myself. I looked in the mirror and said “I’m a fat boy but a sexy a** fat boy ya dig” Read more>>

Viktor Drago

Developing confidence and self-esteem has been a journey of self-discovery for me. Firstly, my athletic career, particularly as a three-time world champion in cross country, has played a significant role. The discipline, hard work, and resilience required to excel in sports have instilled in me a sense of accomplishment and belief in my abilities. Read more>>

Tempestt Harris

My confidence and self-esteem stem from recognizing my inherent worth in the eyes of God. I am more confident in God’s ability to elevate my life than in my own. My faith has instilled in me a deep sense of assurance and purpose.  Read more>>

Monaud Toussaint

I stutter when I talk and have conversations with others. I was always embarrassed to speak to an individual or stand up in front of a crowd to give a speech. I gained my confidence through music. When I write music I don’t stutter at all.  Read more>>

Tarun Parmar

It took me years to build my self-esteem and confidence. Through trial and error, I learned to believe in myself. My dream was always to become the best version of myself without comparing to others. As a photographer, I faced numerous failures, but I saw them as opportunities for growth. With each mistake, I learned and improved, gradually building my confidence and self-esteem. Read more>>

Diondra Shanai

I have to give all honor to Yahawashi! I know that I am apart of a chosen people, I was put on this Earth for a reason. I walk with my head held high knowing that I was set apart from others and I Shine in the darkest of times. Read more>>

Krish Nihalani

Developing confidence and self-esteem as a photographer—or in any field—is an ongoing journey, often shaped by experiences, introspection, and a willingness to learn and grow. Here’s a deeper dive into how those elements contribute: Read more>>

Rushan Jesani

Being in America placed me out of my comfort zone. In Mumbai, I had the privilege of not having to worry about anything. My father sent me here (America) because he wanted me to have a better life. Living in a new country alone made me feel vulnerable. My confidence was low, and I did not want to be here. however, There was no desire to give up. Read more>>

Asa Lecourbier

Confidence comes from self trust, your childhood, and gaining life experience. I was fortunate to be blessed with a great mother who gave me positive reinforcement through my self doubt. I remember watching Reading Rainbow, Word Girl and The Electric Company as a kid. Those shows planted a seed in me that showed me life is an adventure. Read more>>

Kelli McVay

I would say I definitely wasn’t the confident child. Quiet, people pleaser and want to fall into the crowd. Actually very different than the person I am today. I have always heard there are people, places and events that impact you in a huge way, some are good and some are bad. Read more>>