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.
Simone Atkins
These are 2 things I’m currently working on right now for myself. It can be really hard being confident if you’re always looking for outside validation. The way I’ve been able to build my own self up is by constantly creating my own ideas and following through with completing them. That’s allows me to push my self out of my comfort zones and believe in my own creativity. Read more>>
Megan Mccamey
Honestly, confidence and self-esteem can ebb and flow. But I believe deeply in the innate value of every individual and if we are willing, we will see that value in every person and in ourselves. Read more>>
Yinghua Lu
Developing confidence and self-esteem has been an evolving journey for me, shaped by personal experiences, mentorship, and a strong foundation in my craft. Starting out, my passion for footwear design grounded me, even through moments of self-doubt and challenge. At ArtCenter, I gained both skills and resilience, learning to push myself creatively and bring ideas to life. Each project and achievement, from my pass experience at ANTA and Adidas Originals, bolstered my confidence as I saw my designs come to life and receive positive feedback from peers, mentors, and global audiences. In my view, true self-confidence is built from both external encouragement and, most importantly, a genuine belief in yourself. Read more>>
Jay Heselschwerdt
Though time comes wisdom and with that wisdom comes the confidence and self-esteem to talk about and react with situations. If you are knowledgeable about a subject then you can speak with easy.. The more knowledge you have in the subject area and the related areas. They more natural your confidence comes. Read more>>
Bella Michele Milo
My confidence and self-esteem have been shaped by watching my strong mother lead, a combination of life experiences and from practicing Jiu Jitsu. From early training sessions to teaching and building She Devil Jiu Jitsu, I found that each step pushed me beyond my comfort zone. The lessons I’ve learned on the mats, such as resilience, discipline, and self-defense, have naturally transferred to my everyday life. The community of supportive, strong women around me has also played a significant role. We uplift one another, celebrate each other’s progress, and create an environment where growth is inevitable. Read more>>
Shadra Strickland
I was raised in Atlanta as an only child and developed a rich internal world by entertaining myself through reading, writing, and drawing. I was very tall for my age and stand at 6″3′ today, but being somewhat of an introvert, I rarely felt comfortable being seen. Over time, my mother and family helped develop my artistic gifts and talents, and my mother encouraged me to participate in many social activities at school. When I would say I was too shy to do something or I couldn’t, she and my grandmother would vehemently oppose the idea and push me to try. I failed many times, but continued to try and learn from my mistakes until I accomplished my goals. My mother was a gifted educator who also made me finish every project I started. I think that also shaped my confidence because I know now that the feeling of winning is directly tied to seeing something through to the end. Read more>>
Deniz Sehovic
Developing my confidence and self-esteem has been a journey, and it’s something I share a lot about on Instagram because it’s such a universal experience. For me, it began with recognizing my limiting beliefs, especially around money and success, and understanding how they were holding me back. I started focusing on mindset work—really questioning the stories I was telling myself and whether they were even true. Read more>>
Mitzi Perdue
If you see me today, possibly on YouTube or in person, you probably wouldn’t guess that when I was in my 20s and 30s, I was almost too shy to use the telephone, and entering a room full of strangers was something I almost couldn’t do. The idea of being on a stage, addressing them, was inconceivable. Read more>>
Myra Toribio
Growing up I have always been a “BIG” girl. My Mama said that at the age of 6 months I just blew up and I have stayed that way. In my household I was never treated differently so I did not really see my weight as a huge issue. I was active and I did not overeat as many people would have you believe overweight people do. It was as I was preparing for Junior High School and was really starting to notice boys that I realized that society did not see me as pretty. I was seen as a pretty fat girl. And boys did not like pretty fat girls. In my household my parents always made sure that I felt beautiful and I was just as good as anyone else. I remember from a very early age they instilled that into me, and if the only thing bad someone could say about me was that I was fat tell me something that I didn’t already know. I was raised to respect everyone and to treat others like I want to be treated. So for that reason I never saw myself any less pretty than anyone else because of my weight. Read more>>
Cady Hannah
I grew up feeling like confidence was something just out of reach. I was constantly comparing myself, always feeling “not enough,” and basing my self-worth on external factors. It’s interesting to look back now because I can see how much of that struggle was in my own mind. My turning point came after a period of big changes—a breakup, graduating college, and realizing I didn’t like the person I had become. I was tired of feeling inadequate, frustrated with how much I compared myself to others, and knew it was time to make a change. Read more>>
Diana Motta
Every time you attach yourself to external validation, titles and achievements you limit yourself. The biggest addiction people have nowadays is the addiction to external validation. Every time you define yourself by how many likes you got on social media you give your power away to external validation. It takes a deep connection and a serious effort to direct one’s power inwards. You must be able to rely on the connection with your own soul, which is your connection with the divine. Your connection with your soul is the most powerful and unbreakable source of self esteem. Your soul is unlimited and your soul is connected to your potential. Your inner strength and all your talents come from within. One needs to rely on the power that is inside. Read more>>
Alexander Benjamin
Throughout my life, I have faced a plethora of adversity and so much of it was due to me choosing to live my life authentically. This caused upset for many people and through years of bullying and misplaced aggression, I realised that people were threatened because I was challenging myself as to who I could be and what I could achieve. Read more>>
Kiara Alles-shah
I truly believed confidence was luck and I was just unlucky. When my acne was at its worst, I was so consumed by my lack of confidence that I wasn’t able to take accountability for my actions so, luck was the answer I had to settle for as to why I was so ‘different’ from everyone else I compared myself to. Read more>>
Kyle Trueblood
From failure. I think it’s rare to fail at the same thing in the same way twice. To me, that means you’re going to become inevitably better at whatever your craft is once going through failure or trial and error. Being honest about what I wanted to do with my life came easy but actually executing that plan was a rollercoaster. What do you do when an expert in the field you’re interested in, tells you that you can’t do it. How do you respond when an idol of yours or a teacher or an expert sees your work and tells you that your caliber will not support the result you want? This happened to me and oddly, a wave of relief came over me after this experience, which came very early in my career. Read more>>
Abayomi Idowu
As a digital artist, building my confidence and self-esteem has been an ongoing journey. For me, it started by embracing my unique style and trusting that my creative vision has value. Early on, I learned to see constructive criticism as a tool for growth rather than a reflection of my worth. Participating in art communities and sharing my work publicly helped too. Positive feedback, as well as support from mentors and peers, gave me the encouragement to push forward. Read more>>
Luis Guerrero
Over the years developing my artistic voice, there has been many works that I have learned from. At first I would be hard on myself if I made mistakes, those same mistakes now inspire new ideas, or styles in which I create in my art works. When I paint now, I approach my work in a head space where mistakes cannot be made, just new challenges and perspectives to learn from. It is less intimidating to make artwork when you feel like you cannot fail. Read more>>
Leslye Rivera
The development of my self-confidence and self-esteem has been thanks to valuing my creativity and trusting in the power of art. I am an art therapist and the ability to express my emotions through art and being aware of being an authentic woman has helped me to be happy and accept myself as I am. Read more>>
Otishka Ferguson
From age 6, I spent most of my free time in a beauty salon. My late uncle Drew worked for a salon before starting his salon. Spending this much time in a woman-centric business taught me how to be a woman, shaped my perspective on some of the challenges I might face in my womanhood journey, and fostered in me a passion for working alongside women entrepreneurs. Read more>>
Marco Lorenzetto
Nurturing confidence and self-esteem has been a profound journey of self-discovery, where self-love and the courage to truly know myself have played essential roles. Confidence and self-love are deeply connected, each reinforcing the other as we commit to embracing who we are. This path, though rarely straightforward, reveals profound truths about our essence and purpose. Read more>>
Otesha Mcghee
My confidence and self-esteem come from a deep commitment to self-awareness. I spent a lot of time getting to know who I truly am outside of the roles, degrees, and titles the world placed on me. Some practical ways I have done this include various personality and career exploration assessments, journaling rants, and cognitive behavioral therapy. The more time I invested in caring for my mental well-being, the more confident I became. Read more>>
Vladimir Danilov
An example for me is my father and mother, who have been doing school photography all their lives. I’ve seen them working day and night. I saw them walking towards their goal. Despite everything is difficult. Even before the widespread popularity of Photoshop, I saw my father working with chemicals for developing film every day. I saw my mother every evening after work and almost until the morning doing manual retouching on printed photos, using toothpicks and felt-tip pens, pinpointing skin defects of schoolchildren and teachers. Of course, when Photoshop appeared, it became much easier and faster to work, but the experience that they went through and which I observed gave me great motivation. Read more>>
Vladimir Danilov
An example for me is my father and mother, who have been doing school photography all their lives. I’ve seen them working day and night. I saw them walking towards their goal. Despite everything is difficult. Even before the widespread popularity of Photoshop, I saw my father working with chemicals for developing film every day. I saw my mother every evening after work and almost until the morning doing manual retouching on printed photos, using toothpicks and felt-tip pens, pinpointing skin defects of schoolchildren and teachers. Of course, when Photoshop appeared, it became much easier and faster to work, but the experience that they went through and which I observed gave me great motivation. Read more>>
Julia Anne Adams
I had many people in my life that helped me overcome the self doubt and struggle with the lack of self confidence. They being my parents, siblings, other family and friends. I also was blessed to have an amazing art teacher early on to help build me up and guide me through some of the big changes that come with the journey of really knowing where you fit in the art world. Read more>>
Lwoki Loki
One moment that truly stands out in the development of my confidence and self-esteem happened early in my career when I was working as a wardrobe stylist. I had the opportunity to assist on a high-profile project with a major brand. It was an exciting opportunity, but also incredibly nerve-wracking. I was surrounded by established professionals with years of experience, and I felt the weight of not only performing well but also standing out in a crowd of experts. Read more>>
William Volkmann
Being born with a disability, in my case Cerebral Palsy, to make it in society you must have an extraordinary amount of confidence and self-esteem. Society tends to knock people down with a disability, a generalized stigma. I learned this from an early age, I walked unusually way, and my mother would take me to the malls, and people would stare at a 6-year-old kid. My mother instilled in me that I was not the problem they were. When I was the first student with an intellectual or developmental disability to enter a New Jersey public school after the ADA was passed, many barriers remained, it would be up to me to break those barriers and stigmas. My parents sued the township we lived in, my mother built me up with the confidence and self-esteem to do it. Read more>>
Diamond Slaughter
My confidence was always a battle, especially with being bullied for so many years. I found myself hating every little detail about myself because someone pointed it out in a negative way. You have to realize that everybody is born different, we were born to stand out, and don’t always have to fit into the box that society considers acceptable. It’s a process to start loving yourself especially nowadays where social media has deemed certain qualities as acceptable and others unacceptable. You have to be your biggest fan when no one else is I am proud to be a black woman who is plus size, who is queer, who is me. You are loved and you’re not alone with your insecurities we are human after all. Read more>>
Kimberly Blair
We all face challenges, make discoveries, and celebrate wins each day. Building confidence and self-esteem is a personal journey, and for me, it started with years of confronting Imposter Syndrome head-on. Rather than quieting or avoiding it, I began exploring why I sometimes felt like I didn’t belong in certain rooms or conversations. This depth work led me to a concept known as “owning your shadow”—embracing that hidden part of yourself that you might keep locked away for fear of not feeling worthy or valued. When we constantly project a polished version of ourselves, it creates a disconnect with who we really are and leads to deep dissatisfaction. Read more>>
Na’taya Rutledge
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by 1. going through the struggles of being in relationships with men. I have always known that men only wanted me for what I could do for them physically and sexually but even in knowing that I still gave them access to me because there was always a void I was trying to fill with thinking that if a man would just want to be with me then I could feel wanted and worthy especially dealing with “Daddy Issues”. A lot of men that I had come in contact with was never interested in me for who I was as a person, as a women, and even as a mother. I have always put my worth in the thoughts of a man and when they didn’t want me after getting what they wanted or not getting what they wanted I often had felt like something was wrong with me and even going as far as thinking that I wasn’t pretty enough for a man to actually want to be with me. Read more>>
Ayodeji Otuyelu
My favorite quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” has always boosted my confidence. As a queer filmmaker living in New York City, I long to see on-screen stories that celebrate the joy of my community, but these narratives are rarely represented. Read more>>
Dalia Van Lom
Confidence is something people often compliment me on, but let me tell you—I wasn’t always this way. Growing up, confidence didn’t come naturally to me. It was something I had to learn, practice, and develop over time. Read more>>
Lisa Maki
My parents used to tell me that at the early age of two, mom or dad would put me on top of the table, and I would start singing. I also remember how, as a child, I would walk up to my classmates and be the first one to introduce myself. While others have stage freight, I’ve always had no qualms about public speaking. Read more>>
Currie Gossett
As a kid, I was always the tallest one in my class. Always at the back of the line on picture day, and always thought to be older than I really was. Because of that, I was thrown into leadership roles at a pretty young age. My teachers asked me to help in the classroom, I was encouraged to play sports and run for student council. I could have easily shrunk down to a smaller size, slumping to fit in with my peers, but the message that I continually received growing up was that tall is beautiful, and that I had won the genetic lottery. Thinking back, this was pivotal in my self confidence, and in how I viewed my worth and self-esteem. Read more>>
Jianye Zou
I believe that building strong and healthy self-confidence and self-esteem begins with efforts made in childhood. Looking back on my youth, I believe the first person who planted the seed of confidence in my heart was my mom. When she realized that her marriage had been a total mistake, she made the decisive choice to divorce and raise me on her own. She did it pretty well absolutely. Rather than staying at home, she courageously reentered the workforce and gradually built her own business. You need to know that in the early 2000s Asian society, divorced women often faced ridicule and cold indifference from others. It took far more effort than she could have ever imagined, but she never gave up and ultimately built a stable family that provided both emotional and financial support for me and herself. Read more>>
Creamatic
I develop my confidence by facing my fears. Every time I perform or drop new music , it’s always a nervous feeling and 9/10 people react positive. My self esteem just went along with it. Read more>>
Demetric Bond
I’ve always been sure of myself since I was a very young child this confidence came from my mother’s belief in me though we were poor my mother said something to me one day that changed my life we were watching a movie and the bad guys held a kid for ransom of a million dollars I looked at my mom and asked her would you pay 1 million dollars to get me back she looked at me and said your more valuable then all the money in the world to me and she meant it . And I never stopped believing it. Read more>>
Alberto Perez
I feel I developed it because of dropshipping. My interest in dropshipping began in my junior year of high school, a period when I felt I had little choice but to pursue this path. As I dedicated myself to building my dropshipping business, my academic performance suffered significantly. However, I recognized that this venture was my best opportunity for success, which prompted me to take numerous risks. Through this experience, I learned the importance of embracing risk in life. I realized that failure is a part of the journey, but ultimately, these challenges can lead to meaningful rewards. Read more>>
Ehrich Van Lowe
When I was a kid I was afraid of everything. Seriously. You know the old saying “afraid of his own shadow?” I’m sure that was me. But here’s the thing, my brother (older by one year) wasn’t afraid of anything. We grew up in the South Bronx. It was tough back then. The neighborhood was chock full of thugs and bullies. I was afraid of getting picked on. My brother welcomed dangerous people to mess with him. And because he walked around with this swagger, very few people messed with him, and those that did got the crap beat out of them. I admired my brother’s tenacity. Read more>>
Kennedy Sherman
I developed my confidence and self-esteem through a combination of intentional growth, self-acceptance, and pursuing goals that were meaningful to me. As a young woman, I faced both internal and external pressures about who I ‘should’ be. Rather than letting those define me, I learned to set my own standards and values, which helped me stay grounded. Read more>>
Herbert Ascherman, Jr.
I graduated college and took a position as a Middle School Instructor. Two years later I was fired because I had major issues with bureaucracy. I joined my father in his business. 11 months later I was fired because I had major issues with bureaucracy. Read more>>
Matt Carson
I developed (and still am developing) my confidence and self-esteem by having it challenged a ton throughout my career so far. It’s highly imperative as an artist in any capacity to believe that what you are doing has potential, merit, and meaning. This has been the biggest hurdle I’ve struggled to overcome in finding my place in the industry, and it’s something I still struggle with on a project to project basis. Read more>>
Tess Perez
My whole childhood I’ve been extremely shy. Growing up as a twin I’ve never had to speak up for myself. However I was passionate by music. My sister had told me if I wanted a career in music, I needed to learn to perform. And so I did. Scared as I may have been, I performed at every school show, I performed in weddings, at 14 years old I had been chosen to perform at the opening of the Lausanne 7th art festival in-front of thousands of people. For some reason big crowds were less scary than my everyday life. But I was still shy and felt I didn’t deserve to call myself a singer. It wasn’t until I moved to New York and embarked on a musical theatre journey that I really started to grow into the performer I’ve always wanted to be. Read more>>
Rohan Das
I came here to be the best and to dominate this new age of cinema. My journey toward confidence and self-esteem was a deliberate, sometimes difficult path, but each step strengthened my belief in myself and my vision. From a young age, I was drawn to storytelling, whether through debating, writing essays, or visualizing complex narratives. if you got to be the best you have to beat the best at every possible thing, I needed to build the resilience, skill, and presence that true leaders possess. Read more>>
Wuqiong Shang
As an industrial designer, experience is one of your greatest assets. You gain it continually through project development, across various areas such as design, engineering, and even marketing. Each experience deepens your understanding of the process and strengthens your decision-making skills. Don’t worry about making mistakes or asking questions early on; they’re part of the journey. Over time, as you accumulate more experience, your confidence naturally grows. Read more>>
