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.
Noel McKinnon
Confidence doesn’t come from perfection,it comes from practice. From a young age, I remember begging my friends to let me do their hair and makeup. Back then, there was no social media to guide me. I collected fashion magazines, studied the trends, and recreated them on anyone who would sit still long enough. With each attempt, I got a little better, a little braver. Read More>>
Andrew K. Clark
Confidence doesn’t come naturally to most people, and it certainly doesn’t for me. I find my confidence in being utterly prepared for whatever the task or challenge might be. Sort of like: do your homework and you won’t be worried about the test. This manifests for me as a writer in that if I am giving a reading of my work, I will practice the reading over and over until it feels very natural for me. If I am giving a talk I do a lot of preparation on the topic and I literally record myself discussing important aspects of it. This may be overkill for a lot of people but for me it takes the anxiety out of the moment and yes, increases my confidence. Read More>>
Madame Starlet
Tons and tons of trial error and experimenting. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to stay in my own lane & do my own thing. I’ve always been the type to gravitate towards going outside the box and experiment with things that I feel are interesting. With doing that, it created a bit of fearlessness within me. It made me so secure in myself! I really believe in not following the crowds and just doing your own thing because it truly creates this space of security within yourself. It’s lovely. Read More>>
South Asian Wedding DJ
South Asian Wedding DJ – Indian DJ – Our confidence comes from preparation and experience. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with amazing clients and performing at all types of events — from intimate gatherings to large celebrations. Every single one has taught us something, and we bring those lessons into every new booking. Read More>>
CJ Walley
Generally speaking, due to being bullied a lot when younger, I have always suffered with low self-esteem, so to enter into such an ego-centric world, full of seemingly confident people, was intimidating to say the least, and I questioned if I had what it takes to work in film.
The early years were tough because, oddly enough, that’s where the criticism of my work was at its most brutal and opinionated. It didn’t matter if the feedback was free or paid for, peer or professional; it all cut deep and had me concluding that I was a hack. Read More>>
Leah
Growing up in a small town in Ohio, I took a bold leap by moving alone to Pittsburgh in the fall of 2012 to pursue photography at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. That initial step into an unfamiliar city was pivotal, it demanded courage and ignited a deep belief in myself.
My artistic journey has been shaped by a profound connection to stories, songs, films, poems, and scripture; all are sources that have sparked unexplainable self-assurance within me. As I engage broader creative communities and collaborate with other artists, each project reinforces my confidence. Read More>>
Manali
I’ve always been a big advocate of being your own biggest fan, when people see how you treat yourself, they treat you accordingly.
Confidence and self-esteem is something that develops over time, so it took me years of telling myself I could for me to then start doing it and reflecting that in other areas of my life. Read More>>
Trevor Joseph
For me confidence is subjective to time. As an independent artist, I wear a lot of different hats. There’s times when I’m creating music where I’ll be making my beats, writing my songs, recording the same verse 100 times to make sure I like my delivery, mixing and mastering my songs where I listen while adjusting the same 5 seconds of a song because I want to EQ it perfectly. For those times I am my worst critic, doubling down every move I make, and second guessing my creative choices. Read More>>
Liang Dong
When it comes to self-confidence, my life has been a long journey of change.
As a child, I wasn’t confident at all. Being the youngest in my family, I relied heavily on my parents and brothers, and I felt there was nothing I could do better than others.
That changed when I went to another city for college. For the first time, I had to handle everything on my own—shooting films, managing relationships—and I achieved some success. Read More>>
Mariana McWilliams
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by starting my business at 12 years old and stepping outside of my comfort zone. At first, I was nervous to talk to customers, but every event, every sale, and every conversation made me a little braver. Writing my first children’s book, Mari’s Big Idea, showed me the power of sharing my story and believing in my voice. I learned that mistakes are just lessons, and each challenge is an opportunity to grow. My family’s encouragement, the support of my community, and the joy of inspiring other young entrepreneurs have helped me believe in myself—and that belief keeps getting stronger every day. Read More>>
Jackie Quinones
Confidence and self-esteem are definitely ongoing journeys for me. I’m not always feeling 100%, and like everyone, I have my insecurities and flaws. But I’ve found that building confidence starts with being honest with myself about where I am, even when it’s uncomfortable. That naturally carries over into how I show up with and for others. When I lean in authentically like that, things begin to align. Not through force, but with a sense of ease. Read More>>
Drea Kattan
As the eldest daughter, I struggled for years with constantly feeling like I had to meet everyone else’s expectations of me: be the perfect daughter, the straight-A student who goes to the right school with the impressive engineering major… likeable but not superficial, successful but humble… It was a 24/7 effort to be “ON”. Until my junior year of college, when I got mono. And suddenly, I couldn’t even get out of bed to go to class much less exceed expectation. Read More>>
Annie Lalla
I was so shy in my new high school I would sit in the girl’s bathroom and hide on a toilet during lunch., because I was too scared to to walk into the lunchroom and have no friends to sit beside.
Confidence and self-esteem were not online yet.
It wasn’t until my parents put me into a Tony Robbins workshop and a Bob Proctor seminar that I realized you could consciously change your attitude, choose your mindset & program your unconscious mind. There I learned to take charge of my thoughts and build a designer state by directing my attention to beliefs that were empowering rather than disempowering. Read More>>
Miki
So many people may say I am confident and have high self-esteem because I have succeeded or I can do stuff better. In fact, I would say, I am confident because I have tried a lot and also failed a lot as well, and I know failing is not the end of the world.
My internship in Africa was about to be canceled a day before departure, but it was not at the end of the world. I started online English tutor business and didn’t run the business well, but it was not at the end of the world. I was grinding to take my real estate business off but had long struggle, but it was not at the end of the world. Read More>>
Randy Lehrman
Growing up in LA basically forces you to develop confidence whether you want to or not—kind of like how traffic forces you to find inner peace while contemplating why your Waze just added 30 minutes to your drive. I learned early on that being on stage was my way for me to be “on.” I was pretty chill as a kid when I wasn’t performing, but when I was, I was ALWAYS in character. I lit up. As I got older, I started to understand how to summon that power to bringing light to my conversations, my friendships, and my networking skills. Now most importantly, I bring that light to planning outstanding events for all of my clients and their families. Read More>>
Zoë Routh
I was born with a large birthmark on my left cheek. My mother, worried for me, lay me in the cot with the birthmark hidden. My grandmother discovered what had been happening and she berated my mother saying, “Penny, don’t you hide that child from the world!” Since that moment, my mother was an avid proponent for me—being seen, taking risks, being unstoppable. She has been a cheerleader and positive promoter all my life. The early messages from my grandmother and mother to be bold, to explore have stayed with me. Read More>>
Nicole Fae
It’s been a journey—one that didn’t begin with confidence. I was never the loudest in the room. I didn’t walk in with unshakable belief in myself. I was the person behind the scenes, helping others feel beautiful and empowered, while quietly trying to figure out what that meant for me.
Over time, through the work I’ve done as a makeup artist and educator, I began to see something deeper. The way a woman carries herself after a transformation—when she sees herself with new eyes—is incredibly powerful. Helping others feel confident gave me the foundation to begin building my own. Read More>>
Lorette C. Luzajic
A sense of purpose goes a long way toward navigating the ups and downs and the obstacles that one encounters along the way. When you believe that what you are doing is important or has meaning, faltering and failing only give you more incentive to figure it all out. For whatever reason, when it comes to growing as a writer and artist, I feel I “have to” or “have no choice” and so nothing can really stand in the way of that for long. It has been a very rocky road, like snakes and ladders, or the Pilgrim’s Progress, so sometimes things have felt impossible. Read More>>
Mary Louise Scott
That’s a very question. I feel like that developed early in my childhood/young adulthood. Growing up I didn’t have a good upbringing. It seemed like every time I wanted to do something I was always told it wouldn’t happen. There was never any support from my family members. There was so much negativity around me. I knew that I needed to work harder and to ignore those who were negative. This had actually what gave me the drive, motivation and confidence that I needed. I began to work harder and feed off their negativity in a positive way. Read More>>
Sakiesha Phillips
I grew up not liking how I look. I was told while growing up how ugly and stupid I was . I was even told by family. I been physical abuse , sexually abuse by a family member. I been call all names like an ape and more. I had my first son thinking I was in love because he told me he love me but the whole relationship wasn’t good for me . Then my second son I thought I want to be marry because I thought I was in love . Going to therapy now I found out I was just looking for love for anybody because I didn’t never get it from my parents. Read More>>
Jessica Haizman
I spent my entire adolescence comparing myself to other girls and never feeling like I measured up. Not fun enough, athletic enough, pretty enough, funny enough, smart enough. It wasn’t until I met my college best friend who was one of the most positive encouraging people I have ever met. By the end of my college experience I went from having no self confidence, to being very secure in who I am. It’s crazy how much a single person can change your life. Read More>>
Michael Vater
Growing up, I was often put into situations where I would not know others. As a youth, I attended summer programs both at Dickinson College and Franklin and Marshall University in the summers and I would be attending these programs with hundreds of other youths from across the country. I learned at a young age how to assimilate and develop such confidence. As I attended High School, I soon spent my summers at programs at Duke University. Again, I did not know anyone at any of these programs but developed relationships and confidence surrounded by other brilliant minds. Read More>>
Jennifer Shaw
I maintain my confidence and self-esteem by reminding myself that there will always be haters—and they often speak the loudest. Instead of trying to appease everyone, I focus on writing from the heart and staying true to myself, knowing some readers will connect deeply with my work while others may dismiss it—and that’s okay. What truly matters is my personal growth as an author. When I come across reviews that offer thoughtful, actionable critique—whether glowing or harsh—I give those the most weight, because they are the fuel that makes me a stronger writer. Read More>>
Diana Rojas
Through GOD himself for sure. Knowing that I am his masterpiece so I started looking at myself as just that daily. Confidence comes from within, I prioritize my mental, physical, and spiritual health every single day. I am in the beauty industry so i always try to look great when I step out but we have to remember that what matters is how YOU feel inside and it will naturally show from the outside. I always say “when you look good, you feel good”. I love being in an industry where I am able to do that for my clients from facials to a simple eyebrow wax its a form of self care and seeing my clients leave so confident truly warms my heart! Read More>>
