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.
Lindsay King
I truly believe this is a lifelong practice—and honestly quite a large topic to address briefly. One that I feel is so important to share though. As I’ve gotten older and embraced self-reflection and inner work, my self-esteem has grown much stronger. This strength has developed through life experiences that brought me to great emotional depths and complexities, teaching me priceless lessons, showing me I can handle more than I thought, and walk through the fire so to speak. Through mentors and different modalities, I’ve learned that I can trust my intuition and inner voice, which has been transformative for me. Read more>>
JJ Barrows
Honestly, I’m still working on developing my confidence, which in many ways I think is a good thing. I never want to assume I have reached a max capacity of confidence and no longer need to learn or develop a new skill set. That said, the confidence that I have developed along the way has just come from showing up, even when it was hard, and at the very least trying. When you realize you CAN in fact do something you were scared of or nervous to do, you gain confidence to try again and again, and eventually it becomes less scary, and over time you become proficient at it. As far as self-esteem goes, I learned to develop that the good old fashioned way… through lots of therapy. Read more>>
Mariam Martinez
Developing confidence and self-esteem has been a long journey of self love and self acceptance. Growing up as a Latina in a society that often imposes social expectations and places you in a box, you have to have the confidence to break free from it to truly find yourself. The first challenge I recall growing up was learning English, which became a large part of my identity and who I have become. Learning a new language required a lot of confidence and belief in myself to overcome the stages where people would laugh at my accent and where I needed to work harder than my peers to pass my classes which continued until I went to college. Being raised in Mexico then moving to the U.S at the age of 7 I was challenged with navigating a different culture and often felt the need to assimilate to fit in. I had to learn to become my biggest cheerleader and support system. I had to love the parts of myself that did not fit the “mold” and looked different than others. Read more>>
Christie Hines
My journey towards developing my confidence and self esteem began in 1989 at the age of 17. I had struggled with severe bullying in Jr. High School and I was extremely shy. If I had to speak in front of a group of people, I would turn beet red. For years, I had received flyers in the mail to enter the Miss Maine Teen USA Pageant. I was completely interested, but so scared to take that step. Finally, at age 17, I entered. I most likely came in last but I didn’t care. I had the best time, met some great girls, and realized that I enjoyed being on stage and competing. From there, I entered pageants year after year, winning in 1990 and representing Maine nationally. Through this, I gained confidence, communication skills, and friendships. Not only did I participate as a contestant, but for 22 years served as assistant to the director and contestant recruiter for a major Mrs. pageant system. My dream was to one day become a state director. That dream was realized in April 2021 when I was made a Maine pageant state director! I give 100% credit to my pageant involvement for who I am today. Read more>>
Denise Casey
A wise mentor once told me, “Often, you are the smartest person in the room. So, walk in knowing that fact.”
As a child, I had freckles, which made me a target for childhood jokes. This made me very insecure and really led me to become severely introverted. So, for most of my primary school years, I kept to myself and labeled myself as “shy.” Of course, these labels did not encourage high self-esteem and so I didn’t make many friends in school and wasn’t very popular in school either. Because of this, I decided to go to college where my cousin was enrolled so that I could have a familiar person on campus with me. Read more>>
Jilanne Pruitt
Doing extensive and still doing extensive therapy and inner work. Staying grateful for the things I have helps me remain confident. Accomplishing goals makes me feel confident. Accepting myself and mistakes I made in the past is a big confident booster. Also the will to want to be a better person helps my self esteem. Slowing down and taking my time. Developing my confidence is not about making what’s on the outside better. It’s about deep love and nourishing myself and holding myself accountable for my growth. Read more>>
Jana Blankenship
As a child I was very shy, which feels hard to believe now. I honestly attribute the shift to finding my own voice and not trying to be anyone but myself. When I was first out of college I worked as a tour guide in an amazing Himalayan art museum, The Rubin Museum of Art, which sadly just closed. I crafted tours of the museum for everyone from kids to seniors and I begun to gain my confidence in storytelling. I had studied Tibetan Buddhism and the art of the Himalayas in college so it felt really exciting to help bring to life for others something I felt so passionate about myself. I think that experience was really a breakthrough for me and instilled in me a confidence in myself and my abilities. I have really channeled this energy into my life and my work where I’m often taking risks without fear of failure. Now for my work I’m often on video or teaching groups and it really brings me such joy. Read more>>
Yara Estrada Lowe
I believe that confidence comes from doing, and self-esteem comes from believing in yourself. When you apply yourself and sharpen your skill set, you naturally become confident in what you set out to do. It’s sort of like studying for a test. If you study tirelessly, you’ll have the confidence that you might do pretty good on that test since the time and effort was put in.
With that said, I wouldn’t have achieved anything in life if didn’t believe in myself. I couldn’t have made this film, and I couldn’t have gained the experience in learning the art filmmaking over the years if I didn’t just go out there and do it. With an industry that always tell you “no” or that it “cannot be done”, your self-esteem has to be rock solid. Read more>>
Yuichiro Matthew Kazama
Still working on it. I grew up in Japan from 2-18 years old. For some reason I couldn’t develop any confidence to my self despite been a pretty good athlete. I came to the US with nothing. I didn’t speak any English. Feeling like an outsider was not great for my self-esteem. Rather than compare myself to others, I found that I was able to build confidence and self-esteem by setting small, attainable goals for myself. For example, I made myself devote 30 minutes out of each 24 hours to practice drumming. Over time, I became confident enough to play in front of an audience, which led to amazing opportunities to travel the world playing music. The confidence to open my own ramen shop came through many small steps as well. From making bowls for friends, to offering it one night a week in the sushi restaurant where I worked, to opening my own place. It was through these years of trial and error that I reached the point that I felt ready to strike out on my own. Read more>>
Caitlin Jane Gordon
I built my confidence and self-esteem by consistently keeping the promises I make to myself. Whether big or small, these commitments help me show up for myself and strengthen my inner self-trust. Each time I follow through, I reinforce the belief that I’m capable of achieving anything I dedicate my energy to.
I truly believe that we are shaped by our habits, and over time, those habits define who we are. By nurturing positive routines and staying true to my intentions, I continue to grow into the best version of myself. Read more>>
Mia Hanks
I am a survivor of narcissistic abuse. I married at a young age, and unbeknownst to me, my husband was a covert narcissist. Our lives revolved around him, exclusively. I learned early on that the only way to be happy was to make sure he was happy. I was responsible for his emotions, and if he had a bad day it must be my fault. I learned to walk on eggshells to ward off his child-like meltdowns, and I lived with sheer exhaustion for way too long. I remained in my marriage for 29 years and was conditioned from day one to rely on my abusive spouse. My confidence was chipped away little by little, day after day. I spent the majority of my marriage believing I was the problem and feeling unworthy, not good enough and disappointed with myself. After escaping my marriage it was time to rebuild my confidence and self esteem and this wasn’t an easy feat. I didn’t believe I could manage on my own. I believed that I didn’t have the skills needed to thrive and I questioned everything. I did not have confidence in my decision making skills and I continually second guessed myself. Read more>>
Danielle Bakic
At the age of 23, 14 years ago, I had a 2-year-old son. I remember sitting on the edge of our bed, having a conversation with my husband. He looked at me and said something that stuck with me: “I just wish you were a more confident person.” At the time, I had no idea what that even meant. I didn’t understand what it felt like to be confident, or how to become that person. Read more>>
Anastasia Temirkhan
Confidence and self-esteem, for me, have always been connected to curiosity and exploration. By allowing myself the freedom to experiment—whether through unconventional tools, materials, or ideas—I have learned to trust my instincts and embrace uncertainty. The act of creation itself builds confidence because it is a constant dialogue with the unknown.
Each project, even when it begins hesitantly, carries the potential to transform into something remarkable. Over time, this process has taught me to appreciate the uniqueness of my approach and the results it yields. Working with cultural and commercial institutions who value aesthetics has also reinforced my belief in my creative vision, as I see how my ideas resonate with others. Read more>>
Jayda James
I was not confident as a child. As a matter of fact, I was deathly afraid of speaking in front of an audience and I always felt invisible. As pitiful as that sounds, it has become a story that I share with women and youth today. Growing up, I always felt as though the insecurities I had and the challenges I faced were unique to only me. You could not have paid me to believe that classmates, peers, and friends were experiencing some of the same things; feelings of inadequacy, being unlovable, or low confidence. My journey has become one that others find hard to believe today. People are in awe when I stand in front of an audience and talk about how crippling that made me feel as a young person. They say, “No way!” when I talk about feeling ugly and never enough. Shockingly, I did take these negative feelings into my adult life, not because I did not have amazing people in my life who validated and affirmed me, but because I never shared these feelings and so no one ever knew. Read more>>
