It’s okay to be scared, often that’s a sign that you are pushing yourself towards greatness. However, it’s equally important to build up your confidence and we hope the conversations presented below can help provide some food for thought around how you can level up your confidence and self-esteem.
Mak KliFF
I grew up in an era where confidence and self esteem was in the air. Hip Hop and black television in the nineties and early two thousands was all about ownership and being the flyest version of you possible. My parents were hard working people who never let me go without. I just always knew how to control the controllable’s and let God handle the rest. Read more>>
Charles Chudabala
My mother asks me this question all the time. Hahaha. Being the middle child and the only actor in my immediate family, I have always been the extrovert and social butterfly as far back as I could remember. Whether it was planning skits to perform for my family or performing in school plays, I loved being seen, and entertaining others. Read more>>
Audrey Wang
This has been a long journey, but I finally realized that my self-worth isn’t determined by being flawless, but rather by how I handle setbacks. It’s easy to get caught up in the desire for immediate success, but the process itself is as valuable, if not more so. This change in perspective allowed me to take pride in my commitment and hard work, irrespective of the immediate outcomes. Read more>>
JUSTIN AVERY
I developed my confidence and self-esteem from a young age, thanks to my strong, supportive, and encouraging family. My mother played a significant role in instilling in me and my siblings the ability to make informed decisions and to have confidence in our choices. She validated my abilities early on, making me realize that I was intelligent and capable of achieving anything I set my mind to. This support has been constant throughout my life. Read more>>
Jessica Bader
Many believe that confidence and self-esteem is something that people are born with. I believe that confidence and self-esteem are more a muscle that needs consistent work to stay strong. Confidence is gained through practice. And, not perfect practice, the kind of practice that puts us in a place where failure is inevitable but the opportunity to rise is readily available. The more reps we get of this the more confident we become in our ability to overcome and square off with challenges that we are faced with. Read more>>
Mackenzie Harlan
It has been a journey with highs and lows but what has helped us as a band is remembering that our sound is unique. We are our own band with a sound that only we can create and that is special. We do not need to compare ourselves to other bands, every band is one its own walk with an individual story to tell and to press into ourselves as much as we can. Read more>>
Abigail Hewitt
From enduring a painfully shy childhood to embracing my power and standing boldly today, my creative pursuits have played a significant role in shaping my self-perception and transforming my life. I was bullied throughout my school years for being different and that also had a negative effect on my self-confidence and esteem. Engaging in various artistic endeavors became my sanctuary- a place where I could express myself without fear or judgement hence my business name ‘The Sanctuary Design Studio’. Read more>>
MaryEllen Dorey
My confidence and self-esteem have been hard won. I have worked on them from the time I was a young adult in my teens and 20’s. Read more>>
Cara Haltiwanger
Over time and with experience and by making many mistakes! I believe the more you do what it is that you want to do, your confidence grows along with your experiences, no matte if they are good or bad experiences. I also believe that leaning in to who you truly are, will naturally lead you to be more confident. Taking the time to get to know yourself, will build confidence. Read more>>
Luna Aura
I think confidence is just like anything else in life in that it takes a tremendous amount of practice. Some people are born with natural confidence (or are raised to be confident people), but for the most part it is something you learn through self-love and understanding. I didn’t find my confidence until I was well into adulthood, and what helped me get there was being kind and patient with myself. Read more>>
Donna Foreman
For me, developing confidence and self-esteem has been quite a journey. Growing up in a farming community of German Catholics, there was not much sharing of emotions or encouragement. It was more a philosophy of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and getting the job done. Read more>>
Emily Ulibarri
I think a better phrasing of the question may be ‘how do you continue to develop confidence and self-esteem?’ To me it is a continual process, in the same way that I consider myself a continual student. I get bored if I’m not doing something challenging or working to simplify, improve or create something. Read more>>
Justine Burdette
I fall down a lot! Literally and figuratively. Read more>>
Dr. Jaya McSharma
Years of therapy and failing over and over again. You have to know yourself and believe in yourself. My therapist Laura asked me, “What do you wish your dad would say to you?” and I answered, “That he sees me, that he recognises my heart and talent for filmmaking and storytelling and understands why it’s important to me. Read more>>
JB Nicole
I developed confidence and self-esteem through many of things such as self-love/self-care, continuously educating myself to reach my max potential, consistency in my craft; anything that will allow me to grow as an individual. Read more>>
Dolce Guevara
I think the self esteem of an artist is a very fluctuating thing. I think self esteem can be like that for most people. But for an artist, or someone that dedicates their life to a craft, you can develop a certain way of constantly and almost instantly looking for mistakes everywhere. So you do that to yourself a lot, even if you’re not trying to do it. So you end up for sure being your biggest critic. Read more>>
Erin McGinnis
I’m happy you asked this question. I believe there is a big difference between confidence and self-esteem. Confidence relies on external validation, while self-esteem is an internal sense of self-worth. Read more>>
Alylah Divine
In my early youth I was very shy and unsure of myself. I wasn’t very confident in who I was or how I looked. It didn’t help that I was chubby and kids can be cruel. I was bullied by a few of my peers for a couple years. I never entertained the bs! Read more>>
Alison Pothier and Jules Williams
Individually and together as a couple, developing our confidence and self-esteem required us to do our inner work’. It still does. Read more>>
Joseph Crapanzano
Life is like a recipe without all the ingrediants listed. As you begin to follow the recipe, remember that making mistakes is part of the learning process and it’s okay to ask for help if you need it. I Always celebrate successes, no matter how small they are. I never let past mistakes in reflect on my future optimism. Read more>>
Asia Jones
This is a great question because I struggled with this for so long as many of us have. But it took a lot of unlearning old belief systems and breaking the negative thought patterns I learned from my youth and upbringing. So it started with me learning myself and why I’d respond/react the way I did in different types of scenarios. Read more>>
Kalynn Fuller
The moment I gained my confidence and self-esteem was the moment I accepted that I will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Read more>>
DENYC (Denise Poole)
The way I was raised was quite different and it really shaped me as an adult. I grew up in a very small Christian private school where I was engulfed in arts and religion. I spent my childhood performing on stage and playing make-believe. I did not grow up with social media, I did not read magazines, and I didn’t have many friends or watch much TV. Read more>>
Darryl DeShawn
“In my journey towards finding confidence and self-esteem, I discovered the power of never giving up on myself. Despite facing doubts and skeptics along the way, I chose to fight back and believe in my abilities. This unwavering belief became the foundation of my strength. I learned that self-confidence is not something that can be given, but rather something that is built through resilience and self-belief. Read more>>
Ashleigh Bivins
As a child, my parents always encouraged me. I was always the smartest, the prettiest, and the kid who could do anything- according to them. Whenever I had any doubts I’d think back to my childhood and remember the confidence that was instilled Read more>>
Josh Mills
I’ve been working in real estate since 2004, licensed in both Texas and California, so my confidence comes with experience. In addition, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the entertainment industry. Whether you’re working in physical production, acting, development or even distribution; confidence is an important ingredient towards your receipt for success. Read more>>
Bryan Leigh Smith
My voyage to unshakable self-assuredness has been an exhilarating dance through life’s rhythm and rhyme. From a young age, my heart found its place in the studio and on the dance floor. There, in the world of dance, I discovered the secret recipe for building a robust self-esteem – a heady cocktail of challenge and the chance to shine. Read more>>
Laquesha Ford-Mcquay
I haven’t always been confident. From as early as I can remember, my identity self worth and character have always been attacked. Starting with the question of if I even deserved to be born. My amazing Mother was pregnant with me at a young age in a time when it was deemed very shameful shunned and beyond unacceptable. Read more>>
Deepspawn Logic
Confidence and self-esteem are something that I continue to work on, on a daily basis. Music producing, being an artist and hosting my own platform to support independent artists is all a new endeavor for me that started in 2020. In the beginning my confidence and self-esteem were extremely low as I was battling a bout of depression after a few personal losses. Read more>>
Yoli Ray
To answer this question, I believe we need to clarify the difference between confidence and self-esteem. So often I hear them used interchangeably but they are quite different. Confidence is your belief in your ability to do something. You may be confident in your knowledge of accounting or confident in your ability as an athlete, yet have low self-esteem. Read more>>
Catherine Lara
I truly would have never thought that i’d gravitate towards answering this question first because I definitely, for 27 years of my life, never thought I’d ever “be confident”. I was the teen who refused to do a cello solo ensemble because too many eyes would be on me and “I’d only mess up”. Read more>>
Colin Wright
There’s something very liberating about surviving failure: it’s a friendlier version of a near-death experience, but has a similar impact on one’s sense of oneself. Read more>>
Karen Ahaus
Confidence in my work as an artist was a slow and long journey. I was a hobby clay artist off and on for 15 years while teaching full time and raising 3 kids with my amazing husband. When we moved from Missouri to Texas in 2011, I was able to make the leap to having my own home studio and beginning to sell my work. The last studio teacher I had in Missouri said, “I really think you are ready to sell your work.” That little boost help give me the confidence to try. Read more>>
Kameilla Chambers
For one, I stop being my biggest critic and I finally accept the person God designed me to be. For so many years, I worried about how someone would accept me so I made sure not to shine so bright. I cared way too much of what other’s thought of me. My pastor reminds me often that God’s word says “[We} are fearfully and wonderfully made” and “that it is okay to walk in our light”. Read more>>
Andrina Brogden
I still struggle with self-confidence, like anyone – but I’ve figured out a couple of tricks to help myself get back on track. Read more>>
Enzo Langston
My Family instilled confidence in me at a very young age, always pumping me to express myself whether it be dancing singing or just feeling fly! So much that it came off a little strong. Not realizing when and how to tone it down at that age. My family made me who I am today! Read more>>
Nicole Perrault
Building confidence is one of the hardest things to do as most of us know. I’m still continuing to build my confidence but have come such a long way. I was bullied in elementary school and it was one of the hardest things as a child. It lasted for years and to be honest it just really sucked, I had my best friend Reiley who was so supportive and positive in my life. We have been friends for 29 years (wild right) . Read more>>
Eduardo Harris
The further along I get in life I realize how lucky I am. My parents have been together for 40+ years and have always been our security when things got hard growing up. That affects you as a child growing up more than you know. My mother is from Mexico and came over here when she was 20 and met my dad. Read more>>
Roya Adjory
Developing confidence and self esteem has been and still is a process of many many years . One of the key contributors I have to say has been all about self inquiry . In my mid 20’s I was lucky and fortunate enough to meet people who led me on doing a two weekend course called The Forum which was life altering . Read more>>
Ryan Crean
My parents always installed in me at a young age I can do anything I put my mind to. If I wanted something all I had to do was work for it. Then as I got older and put that mind set to the test and, it always paid off. Read more>>
Lani Fox
I am so passionate about the confections I create at Rosemallow Artisanal (www.rosemallow.com) and believe in the company so much. Sometimes, for me, that belief only extends to the product and not myself/my voice and I’m working on changing that. Creating Rosemallow Artisanal has been my revolution and a transformative personal journey. Read more>>
Precious Stevens
So, building my confidence was a journey. It really took off when I started building my amazing tribe. Knowing I had their support gave me the boost I needed to show up fiercely in my marketplace. Being in a super niched industry that had little to no acknowledgment was scary. Read more>>
Brydric Wright
At an early age, I was definitely bullied in school for being overweight, but those moments never made me feel low enough to lose my confidence. Was I sad, yes, mad – of course, but there is always a new day ahead if we decide to live it. Read more>>
