We recently connected with Tammy Takaishi and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tammy, 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?
Confidence and self-esteem developed easier in some areas of my life than in others due to a myriad of factors. In my career as a board certified-music therapist I was fortunate to have educators and mentors who helped me develop my skills and talents in such a nurturing way that the confidence and self-esteem blossomed in ways I never expected. I wouldn’t be the person I am in this field without a few particular amazing people. That guidance bleeds over into other areas of life as well. It’s powerful when people believe in us and see us for what we can become. But when we actually put in the work to become that and more along with believing in ourselves? That’s a beautiful thing! I am so so glad I was able to see that in myself several years ago and run with it. It was always there, that steadfast belief, but sometimes I had to remind myself, as we all do, on tough days, and in hard seasons.
Things are great now, but building self-esteem outside of my career is a different story. Growing up I struggled with the fact that I never quite fit in, but I also didn’t quite stand out. I loved being myself, but when I was a teenager I was still trying to find who I was and sometimes that isn’t “cool”, or people just don’t get it, and when people don’t get it, it’s hard not to feel less than, or wonder why I’m home alone on the weekends, or wonder why I’m being picked on and bullied. I never wanted to be cool, I just wanted people to accept me for who I was. I strove then, and always strive now to be my authentic self; I can’t be anything other than me. I’m proud of forging my own path for that, even in my younger years. For example, one year for Halloween I dressed up as a Glade Plug-In, completed with being scented! I LOVED having out of the box ideas, being myself, and going against the grain.
Long story short, developing my personal confidence and self-esteem came from a strong desire to shine on as myself, and make the world a better place.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a board certified-music therapist and I absolutely love it! But, in my spare time, I run a top-rated arts interview podcast, entitled Creative Peacemeal. It is a huge passion project of mine, and it’s been a joy to see it blossom and grow over the years! I am excited for what’s to come, and all of the amazing guests lined up. As of press time, I’m booked out until April of 2026 with guests, and that’s almost hard to conceptualize. I’m incredibly grateful for all the listeners, guests, and people who make the podcast what it is.
What makes it special to me is I get to learn and share amazing works and artists, and hopefully inspire others to live a more creative life, and find their joy, find their spark. In terms of what’s new, we’ll be launching a Patreon soon, and my operations manager and I are exploring ways to make the podcast even more accessible across the board. So, those are some new things coming up in that arena. I’ve also been invited to be on several other podcasts, so looking forward to those coming out soon too!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I remember this question from an earlier interview, but I love the opportunity to dig deeper. We can always come back to questions time and again and have different, or deeper answers depending on where we are in our lives. Before I’d answered about compassion, patience, and listening, which are still true. But for right now, I want to focus on resilience, acceptance, and boundaries. Resilience got me out of some precarious situations, and gave me the strength to pursue my dreams. Acceptance in this case is about growth; accepting who I was during moments of difficulty and giving myself grace, and accepting others for who they were, not who I assumed or thought they were. And boundaries, well, I learned a while ago that one of the greatest forms of love, both self-love, and love towards others are setting and respecting boundaries. As I learn and grow as a human, both older and hopefully wiser, I discover it’s easier to set and respect boundaries than in my younger years. And that makes life so much smoother and there’s no drama.
Advice for people early in their journey about these facets? All of these have a core component and that’s being true to oneself. If you’re not true to who you are, then it’s harder to build resilience, to stick to your values, to accept yourself and others, and to set and respect boundaries.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I would actually continue to do everything I’m doing right now. I am incredibly grateful to be living my best life, working where I want to work in my field with the incredible team, podcasting, spending time with loved ones, and exploring and enjoying my soul-town.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.creativepeacemeal.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creative_peacemeal_podcast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativepeacemealpod/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@creativepeacemealpodcast
Image Credits
Tammy Takaishi
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