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.
Stuart K Robinson
I have always been fascinated by how much of life we miss by fearing to attempt. We believe that courage eradicates all fear, allowing us to move forward in comfort, when in truth, courage and confidence involve moving ahead despite our fears. Using swimming as a metaphor, I decided rather than avoid the pool for fear of drowning, I would learn all I could to become a better lifeguard. Read more>>
Zeli Rodriguez
I’ve found that developing confidence and self-esteem is a gradual process that involves both internal reflection and external experiences. Firstly, I’ve learned to recognize and appreciate my strengths and unique qualities, understanding that everyone has their own set of talents and abilities. Read more>>
Luke Ralston
Experience. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past 15 years of video production, it’s that experience will give you the confidence you need to keep pursuing your passion. At some point, early on in my professional career, I realized that I need to continually push myself out of my comfort zone in order to really learn and grow in my field. Read more>>
Jenae Lien
I’m 35, and when I was in my early 20s, I remember feverishly writing two words on a piece of paper to manifest them. Those two words were “Articulate” and “Confident.” At the time, I felt I struggled to articulate myself or carry myself with confidence. Fresh out of college, I was unsure what to do with myself and needed a clear direction forward. Read more>>
Carmen Martinez
I would have to say I developed my confidence and self-esteem from modeling. I was always a shy person but modeling helped me become more bold, outspoken, and a confident individual. Being a model cannot make someone completely confident or all of a sudden have high self-esteem but it definitely helps you with the tools such as how to better communicate, teaches you poise, above all teaches you how to overcome rejection. Read more>>
Jesse Gonzales
Growing up in a single parent household taught me to appreciate, encourage, and respect others. No matter what challenges you face, always remember you’ll continue to grow and move forward. Being your bold and authentic self will give you confidence, especially knowing what you think about yourself is what’s important. Read more>>
Eliran Nargassi
Honestly, I wish I had an answer on how to do it, because I would apply it to myself. Confidence and self-esteem are the two things I would most like to improve myself. For me, authenticity and honesty are very helpful for my confidence and self-esteem. In my work and in other layers of my life, I give a lot of expression to emotion, to emotional intelligence, so I felt that these are the things that help me. Read more>>
Alli Creagh
I developed my confidence teaching by being put and putting myself in uncomfortable situations. When I first was learning to teach pilates, I couldn’t speak infront of a group of people. Even though I could teach a pilates flow in my sleep, as soon as I would step infront of a group of people I would start to have an absolute meltdown. Read more>>
Kevo Aregbe
I always thought confidence was normal. I’ve been a brave soul since I was a youth, and it took me to get older to realize, the reason I had so much confidence was my lack of parents in my life as a child. As sad as people made it seem, me not growing up with my parents made me more mature than my peers. Read more>>
Yang Sun
I am a dancer and choreographer now based in New York City. I started formal dance training very late compare to many of my colleagues in the field. Remembering my first dance intensive at age of 17, I was grouped with the 11 years old due to my lack of formal training. There had been years like this when I was pulled between my passion for dance and my insecurities in dance classes. Read more>>
Sophie Eastone
When I was a little girl I thought my older sister was perfect and I knew my brother was a star athlete. I was not quite sure where I belonged – until I joined theater. I dove head first into theater, doing as many productions as I possibly could. I fell in love with being on stage just as much as being off stage in the production side of things. Read more>>
Jasmine Jordan
Confidence now is something that I’ve always passed, even if I didn’t show it. Growing up, I was a quiet child with thick natural hair. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to speak, but I would generally allow others to share first. Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. As I grew older, I noticed my confidence was on one side. Read more>>
Alvin Lee Sealy
My confidence and self esteem is garnered from a place of recognizing the lack there of imposed within my upbringing. My parents worked a lot so they weren’t too present with regards to my athletic and scholastic activities, and most of my achievements weren’t reinforced with great praise; Read more>>
Tammy Eanes
It has taken me several years to work on my self esteem. I was over weight, depressed, and felt generally worth nothing after a move 5 years ago to the Washington DC area. I started with joining the gym and getting a personal trainer. The first couple of months were the hardest but I found it was something I could control vs. Read more>>
Erin Bradley
I’ve developed my confidence through failing often, being obsessed with learning, and by intentionally putting myself in the room with people that remind me of my future. When I first became self-employed in 2007, I was plagued with insecurity and self-doubt. I hated feeling salesy, had no idea what I was capable of, and often felt like an imposter. Read more>>
Kingdawud Burgess
I come from a place where many are not expected to be able to leave. A place where there is not many choices or resources. I always saw that as amazing. Being able to survive with the bare necessities and sometimes not even having bare necessities made me strong. Knowing my chances of making it in this World we already unequal made me super confident. Read more>>
Kathleen Tandy
Before I started my business I did a lot of thinking and writing about what I wanted my business to look like and what purpose my business was serving for my community. I think this helped set me on a path to feel confident about what I was offering and how to manifest the values that were important to me in the everyday functioning of my business. Read more>>
Ashley Ruiz
Confidence and high self-esteem have never come easy for me. Growing up I felt the only path to being confident was to find perfection. That is definitely a losing battle, and it actually had the reverse effect. Read more>>
carlie anne
I believe that confidence is a direct correlation of self-love and therefore tying into self-esteem. mac miller said “I saw a mountain across the horizon. I got there, it was just a pile of rocks. there was a point in my life where I felt so much shame, so much drudgery that I wouldn’t see my mountain. I couldn’t even conceptualize there would be a future and it felt black to look into my next day. Today I wake up happy to be alive. Read more>>
Cindy Horgan
The desire to understand confidence came from a place of not wanting to feel insecure anymore. I have always been sensitive, an empath, and a long-time procrastinator, which led to a lot of anxiety and feeling different and disconnected. My journey to self-confidence came through a variety of different people and experiences, each validating my uniqueness and fostering self-acceptance and a desire to pursue my own path. Read more>>
Maurice Buchanan
I tried to identify what my strengths were and once I felt confident in putting those strengths into practice from consistently working on them, I would try to utilize them in the best environments and situations available to me. I wasn’t as conscious about it then as I am now, but I knew the things I was able to participate in because of my strengths, made me feel more confident to get stronger and take on newer challenges. Read more>>
Lissa Ziranek
Confidence and self esteem have always been a challenge for me. I was a shy child, not often speaking up in class. I came out of my shell a little as I grew older but it wasn’t until I found success in my business (my third self-owned business) that I felt a full and complete inner confidence. Read more>>
Kym Nicole Oubre
I decided to build my confidence and self-esteem through my determination to change my life.
I grew up being teased about my coarse hair, my features and was frequently mistreated. I developed very low self-esteem, low self worth and zero confidence. Read more>>
Krisha Crosley
Education, Training and Practice. More knowledge one has on a subject the better educated decisions one will make about that subject. I educate myself over and over again on subjects so I can retain the information and apply it in my life easier. I love to train physically and mentally. I build confidence and self esteem this way and feel better about the life’s decisions I have to make. Read more>>
Jessica Woehler
What a good question. I believe that confidence is something that is continually developed through different experiences that life brings to us. I am someone who has struggled with a sense of confidence throughout my acting career, and the longer I am in the industry to more I have learned that that is the case for nearly everyone. Read more>>
Alessandra Aguirre
It has been a long process, not going to lie! I think confidence is something you need to build, and in order to get very confident in yourself, you just need to experience and have the desire to learn. As an artist, confidence is something I have struggled. Sometimes it’s hard to trust yourself on your craft because of all the variables that can influence the way you think about yourself. Read more>>
Earvee Cruz
I woke up one day and decided I wanted to be my best-self, and confidence was just a side-effect to me showing up for myself! I’m growing and learning to love myself everyday through these changes, one thing stays consistent, is the way I talk to myself. I keep my self-talk positive, encouraging, and loving. Confidence is a decision. Read more>>
Sagar Ghosh
Developing confidence and self-esteem has been a journey for me. I’ve found that it’s been a combination of self-reflection, personal growth, and overcoming challenges. One key aspect has been recognizing my strengths and accomplishments, which has helped me build a positive self-image. Read more>>
Nicholas Matarazzo
Building my confidence and self-esteem has been a transformative journey. It began with embracing self-acceptance, acknowledging my flaws, and appreciating my unique qualities. I set realistic, small goals and celebrated each success, which gradually built my confidence. Read more>>
JD Williams
When I was younger, my grandfather made me feel like I could do ANYTHING! He would tell me that whatever I put my mind to, I can do it! I’ve always thought very highly of myself. Whether if it was in a room full of people or by myself I’ve always thought that I was the best! Read more>>
Michelle Tholen
Developing my confidence and self-esteem is never-ending and will always be a life-long journey. Some of steps include; Time with my family, close friends and nurturing those relationships. Being kind to myself and others. Taking care of myself. Focusing on the positives and making sense of the negatives. Standing up for myself and others when someone is being mis-treated. Actively doing things I enjoy and trying something new. Read more>>
Veronica Olga Hernandez
My self esteem came from checking in with myself during challenges and achievements. The way I treated myself was always connected to my self worth. The measurement I gave myself was an example of how much of myself I shared. What I shared with the world was a reflection of the version of myself that I was connected with. Read more>>
Malcolm Hoover
I have the extraordinary fortune to be born into a Black power conscious family and raised in communities that believed in and invested heavily in the children. Having this foundation of being surrounded by love, invested in and believed in gave me a strong foundation. Read more>>
Casen Alesi
Honestly it’s something I still struggle with today. When I first started doing professional gigs and working as a performer my self esteem was so low I would talk down on myself every chance I got. That mindset isn’t right. vertime I’ve learned how to show confidence while being humble. Yes I am a performer and very blessed to be at the stage where I am in my career, but I’m a life long student and always open to improving myself not only as a performer but as an overall person. Read more>>
Jasenia Allen
Confidence and self-esteem aren’t things you find; they’re things you build. My journey to developing them has been filled with challenges, small victories, and moments of reflection. Here’s how I did it, step by step. Read more>>
Ezz-Eldin Hassan
Basically saw myself falling into the pit of “Hustle” and ” Grind’ culture and felt that if I didn’t do those things I’d lose everything I’d worked for..but in fact I was losing my family in the process and I just told myself the business will take care of itself or not..and I will be fine with either outcome and to take care of myself. Read more>>
Emilia Richeson-Valiente
I have really worked at it, and am still working on it! And sometimes I have just totally faked it, but it turns out that is also a way of working at it! I’m a pretty fearful person. Throughout my life, and definitely since childhood I have felt trapped by fear, anxiety, and worry. When I was a kid I sought to quell that fear by hiding a lot, which resulted in being very lonely. Read more>>
Hope Steinle
Developing my confidence and self-esteem is a continuous journey of self-love and self-acceptance for me. About five years ago I went through a big shift in beliefs of what I thought I had known to be true. I had to peel back layers of limiting beliefs that I had thought to be true about myself & the world for my whole life and I’ve been healing and growing since. Read more>>
