Confidence can open doors and is at the heart of so many amazing success stories across industries and disciplines and so we’ve always been interested in learning how we can help our readers and community members increase their confidence and self-esteem. Below, you’ll find highlights of some of the great conversations we’ve had on this topic.
Chris Powerz
I used to deal with a lot of self-esteem issues as a teenager and in adolescence. My problems with confidence along with social anxiety drive me to isolation for a long time. I ended up having a lot of time to myself and with a few close friends, but I found real fulfillment from people who accepted me as I was. Read more>>
Jerico Olivari
Developing confidence and self-esteem is a complicated journey, you’ll find more often than not that taking steps backwards is part of going forward. While I’m still working on mine, I will argue that what has helped is offering to read or edit for friends, as well as joining groups with other writers. Comparing yourself to others can be scary, and frankly, useless if everyone has different styles or genre. Read more>>
Bret Cooley-Jones
Confidence and Self-esteem come from being comfortable and knowledgeable in what you do. I consider myself to be a person that tackles every obstacle thrown at me head on so when I am lacking in knowledge I have no problem reaching out for assistance within my peer or leadership group. The feedback I receive helps me boost my confidence and self-esteem. And I believe this has taught me that it is ok to make mistakes as we are all continuously learning and growing. Read more>>
Juliana Aguiar
In my industry there is a very strong military and hierarchical system. And I would say, even important from the point of view of organization and functionality.
But I was never very comfortable with it. Read more>>
Alfonso Martinez
Self-esteem and self-confidence fall in the same bundle— it’s all about feeling good about yourself and believing you are capable of accomplishing anything you set your mind to. Generally, there is many things that get in the way of that such as being too self-critical, likely by having critical and unsupportive people around you. In my personal life I had to set boundaries for myself to keep that from getting in the way of my goals. I’ve learned to ignore the noise around me and focus on my vision, because at the end of the day there is no one like you. Read more>>
Tsubasa Maruno
It took me a while to build confidence and self-esteem. Some people naturally possess those qualities, I think it has something to do with how they were raised, but I didn’t grow up with confidence and self-esteem. It is not unnecessarily a bad thing, though. Because it made me work harder than anyone else. For me, it helped to go to many shoots. I volunteered on projects to observe how other directors and DPs do things and saw them succeed and fail. Read more>>
Ida-May Hanson
In 2001 my husband, Ken & I travelled to Maui to renew our 10-year wedding vows. Our ceremony was performed by a woman and it was the first time I had ever heard of a woman being a wedding officiant. At the very moment she repronounced us Husband & Wife, on the beach at sunset, a man on the 10 or 12 floor of the hotel, blew a conch horn. All three of us standing there had goosebumps. Read more>>
LINDSEY SCOTT
My journey towards confidence and self-esteem wasn’t always smooth sailing. Growing up, I used to think that my outer appearance was the be-all and end-all. However, as I matured, I realized that my true beauty came from within. I began to embrace and celebrate my inner self, understanding that real confidence isn’t about faking it, but genuinely believing in my worth. Read more>>
RaSheem (Sheem One) Fowler
I was trained to be confident since my toddler days. Before I understood how confidence tipped the scales for me to ascend to a higher level of execution, my mother made me develop confidence like learning the A,B,C,`s. It was more than words of affirmation. It consisted of hugs, kisses, performance activities in our home and morality meter built with a key component, integrity. Read more>>
Arielle Fairley
My journey as a young woman in athletics was a battle against body shaming and societal beauty standards that tried to undermine my self-esteem. Overcoming these challenges required a combination of self-discovery, resilience, and self-care. As an athlete, I learned to appreciate my body for its strength and capabilities rather than conforming to unrealistic ideals. Surrounding myself with a supportive community, including coaches, teammates, and mentors, played a crucial role in boosting my confidence. Read more>>
Ray Chang
I think it’s a work-in-progress, and maybe it will always be a work-in-progress, but I use it to my benefit. Whenever I feel like I’m not reaching my potential or not feeling so great about myself, I try to take a step back, breathe, and be honest with myself. I think it’s becoming more acceptable to realize not everyone is built the same way and that it’s okay to admit you’re not feeling so confident about a part of you, but maybe I have value in other parts of myself that are worth identifying. Read more>>
Tina Rojas
Maintaining confidence and self-esteem is an art of balance, knowledge, putting yourself out there and maturity. Before I had sustainable confidence and self-esteem I needed to truly understand and know myself. To be honest this is one of my greatest strengths and weaknesses – finding a balance with confidence and humility amidst truly defining and knowing who I am, what works for me and what I want in life. I spent most of my twenties soul searching and making a lot of messy choices. Read more>>
A. Swain
The great thing about this is that Lipe and I (A. Swain) have the same mindset when it comes to confidence and self-esteem. Growing up, both of us had supportive parents. My parents told me basically two things. Stay out of trouble and make the effort to best in whatever you try to do. I feel like that little bit of broad advice was everything. Too much talking kids won’t listen. Read more>>
Courtney Warner
Well I’ve had a lot of experience over the years growing up in public schools and living in a suburb/ urban area, a lot of the kids in my area and at my school were extremely mean lol. Don’t get me wrong those parts of my years I would never change because they helped to develop my overall character, but experiences like bullying and certain abuses at home really take a toll on your mental and play a huge role in low self- esteem. Read more>>
Lucas Roelen
My confidence and esteem has mostly stemmed from my inherent pursuit to create good work. I truly believe in myself to push projects and ideas forward, especially if they are aimed at aiding and entertaining the general public. By pushing for such ideals, I have confidence and a high level of esteem because that is what it takes to make true change! Read more>>
Ana Fallon
As many young teens and young adults often do, I would worry about what my peers thought of me. When my so called friends would show signs of not caring about my safety or displaying risky behavior, I quickly learned to cut toxic people out of my life. My mother told me at a young age that “you teach people how to treat you”. If you let people walk all over you, then they will. Read more>>
Carson Findlay
I used to not be confident at all in myself. I would say what helped me gain my confidence the most is failing and not giving up. I realized that what matters is how you get back up not how you fail. Confidence and self esteem is a learned habit. Once you realize that those two traits are in your control, nobody else’s then you can do anything you put your mind too. Read more>>
Andrea Beardsley-Glover
Definitely through playing sports. I was born an athlete and sports always came naturally to me. Playing sports made me feel more confident because it was something that I knew I was good at and could see I was good at. Read more>>
Chris Bustamante
I develop my confidence by stacking up little wins on a daily basis, and eventually those little wins turn into major big wins. Those big wins are where I drive my confidence from and start to truly learn what I am capable of doing. Start by making your bed in the morning, going to the gym, or taking one step in the right direction towards building your business. Read more>>
Stephan Reese
My confidence really stems from the way I was brought up. My parents went out of their way to show my brother and me that we could tackle anything we set our minds to. They used to nudge us into what felt like some pretty unfair situations back then—like juggling multiple sports teams and attending art camps. Read more>>
Fabion 305
I started believing in myself more and more!! Started praying more and fueling myself with a reassurance from nature and the Most High. Before I knew it I was everywhere doing what I needed to do no matter who was there. I love be confident with my skills!! Read more>>
Jane Donahue
Confidence is deeply rooted in self-knowledge! Read more>>
Bridget Baker
This definitely came from tons of support from Andy! He doesn’t let much bother him, but I take every review and comment to heart. He had to really help me get past the “trolls” and realize that for every bad review there is 10 good ones. Im thankful that I have such an amazing cohost to keep me going. Read more>>
Cierra Lynn
Developing my confidence and self esteem required a lot of self work. Growing up, I was not always affirmed as a child. I was also teased for even being creative, being an artist and having my own sense of style. Read more>>
Brit Phelan
When I was 9 years old, my mother encouraged me to audition for a part in the school play. That year they were doing a musical adaptation of Dicken’s classic Oliver Twist, and I was extremely nervous about going out for a part. I was so anxious about auditioning in fact, that when it came time for me to sing for the director, I sang twinkle twinkle little star so quietly that no one could hear it. Read more>>
HUNCHO BRI
I didn’t always feel this good about myself, confidence isn’t something I just woke up with one day… I used to have very low self esteem and how I was able to build myself up was by dropping my bad habits.. I stopped settling for less, I stopped complaining about what I didn’t have or what I couldn’t do and started accepting my life for what it was, not what I felt it should be. Read more>>
Lisa Marie
I will say I feel like my confidence and self-esteem stemmed from being part of a family who are adamant on standing your ground, being a leader not a follower and never allowing what others say or think to be part of your focus from a young age. So as the years have gone on, i of course have lost it here and there as many do, but I revert back to myself what’s deterring me from that to remove it and progress in a positive manner. Read more>>
Shadayah Perry
When you first start out with any new endeavor, you need to be confident in yourself and your skills. In the beginning, things did not seem that great. I was struggling and learning. I failed time and time again, but I continued to learn from my failures and my mistakes. I also reached out to others for help including other bakers, friends and family. Over time, I came to understand and apply the “Power of Yet”. Read more>>
Tatiana Jamilah
Growing up I always felt different. As a first generation immigrant’s child I always felt like I was trying to figure out the American landscape and culture. I felt like I was on the outside of the circle trying to look in. I got bullied tremendously in middle school due to braces and nerdy demeanor. I felt like my love of books instead of socializing with my peers ostracized me. I often wondered how I could fit in without destroying myself and my values. Read more>>
Breanne Stewart
I developed confidence and self esteem when I finally realized my true worth. When I finally stopped comparing myself to other people that’s when everything started to change. Read more>>
Brittany Mangum
As a child I was super insecure and weird. I loved things every other girl my age didn’t. I realized when I was older that, that was my super power and my advantage over my competitors! I marketed my weirdness and my crazy ideas and became an overnight success. I worked harder than any other person around me. I took on tasks that were not easy and challenging! Read more>>
Jamal Ofori
My confidence has grown to be strong and it wasn’t always like this. I get my confidence and faith from within. Before I fell victim to thinking I had to stand next to something or someone to feel important, but now I do the opposite because I know true power comes from within. I learned from content online studying the people who have been the best in their field and seen how they operate. Read more>>
Nya Kumari
Developing confidence and self-esteem is a daily process. I have been through abusive relationships, torn down mentally and emotionally. I was neglected by my mother, which caused mental and emotional issues. Having confidence and self-esteem is built from within; you have to focus on the positive, trust in God, be kind to yourself, love yourself, take care of yourself and keep moving forward affirming yourself. Read more>>
Cali Floyd
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by not overthinking less and just doing it. Any time a task needs to be completed I used to overthink and procrastinate. Now, I just do it. After the task is completed there is a satisfaction, a feeling of success and completion. That alone boosts my self-esteem. Nine times out of ten I will say to myself, “that wasn’t too bad.” That encourages me to keep going and be confident in the moves I make. Read more>>
Yusuf Lewis
It most definitely started with my mom and dad. They always put me in environments when I was younger where the people around me were better. By doing that I had to adapt and by adapting the confidence was just there when I got into new environments. Lately as an entrepreneur I’m consistently going through these battles it feels like. Read more>>
Amara Smith
For most my life I struggled with social anxiety and stage fright. I was bullied a lot growing up, and was homeschooled through middle school and highschool. This caused me to be pretty shy and lack confidence. When I was around 13 I discovered cosplay and conventions. I started using it as an outlet that allowed me to meet like minded people, and share my art with. Read more>>
KRollin’
Growing up I struggled with confidence and self-esteem a lot. And when I say “a lot” , I really mean that It was one of my biggest struggles growing up. There were some high standards that I was held to, whether It was my grades or a fly-away sticking up on my head, I had to always present myself a certain way. That ended up being one of my greatest obstacles, and even to this day I have to continue to remind myself to break free from the results of my conditioning. Read more>>
Kurt Weston
As a sensitive and artistic young boy in grade school I was bullied. I went through years of harassment and being beat-up daily. My mother had been a refugee from World War II. She and her family had escaped first from the Nazi’s and then the Russians. They had to flee their native Lithuania and experienced the gruesome horrors of war as they fled. Read more>>
Cuzin Berto
developed my confidence and self-esteem the very first time that I stepped on stage to tell jokes. I suffered from panic attacks all my life and fear paralyzed me to the point to where I developed agoraphobia so I would avoid places, and avoid doing certain things because of my fear in getting a panic attacks. I always wanted to be a comedian but getting panic attacks kept me from stepping on a stage. Read more>>
Penny Haas
I developed confidence in practice and being. I’ve always been pretty self-aware, so that is key. There have been times that maybe I was uncertain about an outcome or response, but with practice I’ve been able to approach situations in a particular manner. Whether it’s a positive scenario or maybe something more challenging, I am able to take a step back, think, and then take action. Read more>>
Ricardo Franco
Life’s trials and tribulations . Facing situations that you might not see yourself winning or overcoming but through the confidence that grows through those same hurdles give you the confidence and raises your self esteem behind measure. Read more>>
Sable Breeze
This is of course something that I’m always working on, and it is very hard work at times. I think when it comes to music, performing as much as possible has helped me the most. Separating myself enough that I can learn from my mistakes without tearing myself down. When it comes to confidence in myself and the decisions I make, my faith in God has done the most to ease my anxiety. Read more>>
