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.
Jennifer Arnspiger
Honestly, I developed it after a series of deeply traumatic events through writing, more specifically, by giving my body voice on my page. Read More>>
April Lauren
My confidence and self-esteem developed through a steady progression of real-world experience, responsibility, and leadership over the past 25 years has been what has aided me in my own business. I began my career in the restaurant industry as a teenager, which played a critical role in helping me overcome shyness and assertiveness. Read More>>
Anthony James
From realizing that confidence and self-esteem come from being a good human being, and not the usual places we think we’ll find them. Read More>>
Femi Kuye
The best way to stay confident is to trust yourself and trust God in every situation no matter how bad it gets. For me personally, I have a very confident mother and father and while looking up to them I inherited a lot of there actions in situations where I needed confidence. Read More>>
Gabriel Kirk
Developing confidence and self-esteem has not been easy. I’ve had quite a few ebbs and flows over the years. There have been times in the past where I was brimming with confidence only to have circumstances knock me over and place my head down where my feet were previously! Nevertheless, I’ve learned a thing or two about confidence and self-esteem over the years. Read More>>
Jay Cancel
I’m trying to love myself today.’ That was a sentence that I used to be deeply familiar with. Always trying, and somehow always failing. At this time, I have the incredible blessing of a community who speaks love and life into me with no expectations, but as a teenager I didn’t. Read More>>
Sherrionn
Honestly, I’m just now stepping into and owning who I am. On the outside looking in I was always perceived as this bold ,loud, fearless personality. However, confidence & self-esteem has always been a struggle for me. I’ve learned that not everyone will express how great you are and will become. At times I’ve always felt the need to dim my light for others. Read More>>
Tara Fox
Well I didn’t wake up confident.. I built it. My confidence and self-esteem were forged from a painful past, lots of trial and error, and a medical journey that taught me one thing above all else.. Is that time is precious. Read More>>
Danelle Von Visger
In December 2019, at the age of 33, I left my nearly 15-year marriage. I spent the first five months on my sister’s couch before moving out on my own for the first time in May 2020, during the height of the pandemic. It was like starting out in an entirely new world, and now I was on my own. Read More>>
saismaran vummadi
My confidence didn’t come from a single moment; it grew through trial, discomfort, and learning. Early on, I often questioned whether I was “qualified enough” or experienced enough to speak up or lead, especially when working on prevention-related topics that carry real weight. Read More>>
Ifeoluwa Olowofela
Growing up, I was a very shy person, quite less confident actually….. I was subject to bullying severally because of that, however, my mum assisted me to find my voice and my confidence. Read More>>
Cadden McArthur
When I first knew that I wanted to enter a creative field like acting/voice acting, I had no idea how to do it. A high school-aged Cadden was faced with a kind of analysis paralysis that comes with know what you want to do & what you’re inspired by, but feeling stuck in trying to find out HOW to do it. Read More>>
Lance Wamaitha
Confidence, for me, is as a lack of fear of other people having negative opinions on me. So, I got over that fear the same way anyone gets over any fear: by confronting it head on. When I was younger (specifically throughout middle school) I went years without having any actual close friends. Read More>>
Boo
Growing up, I was a timid and meek child. I wouldn’t speak unless spoken to and would often remove myself from gatherings because they made me anxious. It worsened when I attended a new school, where I barely knew anyone. I’d rarely see my friends and was often alone. Read More>>
Jada Gardner
I’ve always had a natural confidence in myself, even before I had all the skills or experience. I trusted my ability to figure things out, try new things, and grow into whatever I committed to. Because of that, I never felt the need to compare myself to coworkers or people who were further along. I understood that everyone’s path looks different. Read More>>
Kaylee Durst
I feel that a big part of building my confidence and self-esteem in terms of acting in this current film was the support system I had while filming. When I first got asked by Christian to do the first film (RMH15), I was genuinely surprised. I have only acted in very small parts in elementary school. Read More>>
Michael mohr
I was always a cocky kid. But cocky isn’t the same as confident. I found confidence through getting sober, working the 12-steps, doing therapy, getting into meditation, and, for the first time in my life, being with what is actually here in this exact moment. Read More>>
Wladimir Sorin
Deep down I always knew I was gonna make it, you know? I’ve just got this belief that whatever I really want, I’ll figure out a way to get it. Some people call me stubborn, I call it confidence. Read More>>
Sabrina Guler
I didn’t develop confidence by believing in myself. I developed it by going through moments where I had no safety net and realizing I could still stand on my own. For a long time, my self-esteem was tied to external proof. Titles. Momentum. Other people’s approval. When things looked good from the outside, I felt confident. When they didn’t, I questioned my worth. Read More>>
Maggie Davis
Imagine for a moment that you have accepted a new and exciting job. You have no experience whatsoever, but you will be trained as you go. A week later you find yourself holding onto someone’s tongue with gauze as it fights against your shaking fingers. Read More>>
Ryver Kirk
Teaching yoga can be an extremely humbling experience, especially when you are first starting out. Through teaching, I have learned that I am not for everyone—and that is totally okay. Knowing and embodying this gives me the freedom to show up authentically and confidently. Read More>>
Savauna Sage
For me, self-esteem started with an internal recalibration. I had to redefine how I saw myself — not as a role, title, or output — but as a whole being. I teach something called Body-Temple Awareness, which recognizes that our mind, body, spirit, and emotions operate as one intelligent system. Read More>>
brookelin barnhill
My confidence didn’t come from “figuring it all out” or finally feeling fearless – it came from learning how to stay with myself through discomfort. For a long time, I tied my worth to performance, productivity, and how well I was perceived by others. Through my own healing journey – including breathwork, movement, somatic practices, and deep self-inquiry – I began rebuilding trust with myself. Read More>>
Yi-Yu (Elle) Wu
My confidence and self-esteem were not something I was born with. Growing up in an Asian family environment, I was exposed to a more critical style of education, which often emphasized what was not good enough rather than what was already achieved. Read More>>
Samantha Paul
I developed my confidence by doing theater in high school. It was the main thing that boosted my self-esteem and helped me come out of my shell. I attribute a lot of my current success to my acting experience. Read More>>
Sabra Saint Sin
My self-confidence comes from many years of overcoming imposter syndrome. When you create and present yourself in the rawest form on stage is basically an act of letting the audience watch you fall in love with yourself. Read More>>
Sheena Schield
I was born with an I will prove you wrong attitude. I was born in Greeley Colorado and raised in the Christian church. I went to school at the same place we attended church. My entire life up until 9th grade was the same home, family, friends every single day with a few vacations and adventures in between. Read More>>
Lakeshia Johnson
Building my confidence came from mastering my craft and serving my community with pride. Despite systematic disparities in Black-Owned businesses, I learned my worth through client trust, resilience, and creating a space where black is beautiful, culture flourishes, and professionalism is fully respected. Talent was only part of the equation, while community became everything. Read More>>
Gemma Castro
I developed my confidence by slowly keeping my promises to myself. I developed my self-esteem by treating myself with care and listening to myself without judgment. Read More>>
Farouq Gidado
I grew up thinking confidence was something you were either born with or without. So I always assumed if you were born without, then you were out of luck. I slowly learned just like most things it’s a learned trait. Read More>>
Tawanna Shantelle Cullen
My confidence and self-esteem didn’t come from a childhood full of compliments. In my house, compliments were earned, and let’s just say I wasn’t exactly collecting them like trophies. My mother was a single parent who grew up during the Civil Rights Era, and survival shaped the way she raised me. Read More>>
Kelsey Williams
My confidence didn’t come from one moment, it came from experience. Showing up consistently, creating even when I wasn’t fully confident yet, and seeing the results over time built my self-esteem. I learned to trust myself by doing the work, making mistakes, and realizing I didn’t need to be perfect to be worthy or successful. I think confidence comes from knowing yourself. Read More>>
TJ
Repetition raised my confidence, but faith in my ideas even the ones I hated built my self-esteem. Read More>>
Dante Jones
My confidence and self esteem comes from being raised by my father. Being the oldest of 7 total kids. Had no choice but to be confident and stand behind anything I said. I am very confident when it comes to this detail business because no matter what, they are not me. Read More>>
Mirj Gschwind
As a child, I was extremely shy and quiet. School was especially difficult for me, and I struggled academically without understanding why. Later in life, I realized that I have dyslexia, which explains why learning often felt so overwhelming. At the time, no one recognized it, and as a result, I withdrew even more and became increasingly silent. Read More>>
Isiah Barnes
That’s actually a wonderful question for a couple different reasons. I think self esteem/self confidence is a key piece to success or excellence in any field you’re in. Most people have belief in themselves, and if we can work on us, anything is possible. Firstly just to answer the question…Long and short answer would be my mother. My mom always insisted I could do anything! Read More>>
Pete Palazzolo
My confidance came from preparing and my self-esteem from putting out the best possable products.
I have found if prepaired for the situation you will have the confidence needed to suceed. Especialy when the other party is not prepaired. Being prepaired is key to confidence. Read More>>
Whitney Lee
For a long time, other people saw confidence in me before I ever recognized it in myself. I would often hear that others admired my confidence, while internally I questioned whether I actually possessed it. Read More>>
Aundra Williams
My confidence developed as I became rooted in who God created me to be, not who I thought I needed to become to succeed in business. Read More>>
