We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cristie Norman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Cristie, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I always keep my promises to other people. If I say I’m going to call someone back later, I make sure that I do. If I say I’m going to be somewhere at a certain time, I’m there early. Keeping promises you make to others was the first step for me in developing my confidence.
The second step was to practice keeping the promises I made to myself. If I tell myself I’m going to get something done that day, I make sure it gets done. Whenever I keep a promise I’ve made to myself (big or small), I feel like I’m saying “You are worthy of this life and deserve everything that you have created.”
I start by setting small, manageable goals, then when I’m ready to tackle a big project I create “by when” deadlines for each subtask. This creates a sense of urgency and keeps me moving along toward the bigger picture.
Creating mini deadlines for each individual item has always been really effective for me. Even though I am on the computer all the time, I really prefer tracking my personal goals on paper. There’s something about handwriting a list that feels so much more intimate and personal than if I was typing it.
Every day I accomplish something that I set out to do, I build my confidence little by little.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I co-founded the United Sommeliers Foundation in 2020 and we have been able to distribute over 1.3M to sommeliers (aka wine professionals) in need due to circumstances beyond their control. Whether it was the pandemic, medical emergencies, wildfires, tornados, earthquakes, or other disasters, we have been able to support sommeliers in all 50 States.
I also created The Online Wine Course for beginners, which has helped thousands of people learn about wine in a completely digital, driver’s-ed course style learning tool with worksheets, quizzes, and a final exam.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
- Carving your own path and not being pressured into doing things the same way as everyone else. Start by imagining your vision of the world and your success. For me, success means having freedom and flexibility. Build your business or your life around the vision you see and don’t pay attention to how other people are doing things.
- Perseverance. I try to never give up when things get hard. Sometimes a few things need to be adjusted, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw away the entire idea. When life gets difficult, we often want to escape. You have to discern between a challenge that needs to be solved and what is truly not good for you.
- Requesting support, and not being afraid to ask for help when I need it. The more you do it, the easier it is. Asking for help allows other people to build a relationship with you. I’m also always trying to give back whenever I can to put good back in the world.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I believe that in order to have a breakthrough (or a shift in processes/procedures), you need to have some type of breakdown in order to get there. When there is a perceived problem or potential bottleneck, I can get very creative and find awesome solutions.
I’ve trained my mind to think of being flooded with work as an opportunity to create a solution. Do I get overwhelmed? Absolutely. I once got 2,000 emails and DM’s in a day, without anyone to support managing it. I cried for a few minutes, then got up and found a way out. It’s okay to feel like everything is too much, but it’s how you fix the problem that counts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theonlinewinecourse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cristienorman_somm/
Image Credits
Dominick Aznavour Miranda Ahearn Wade Vandervort Hector Sandoval
