How to Develop Confidence

Posted on: Oct 02, 2019

Wondering how to develop confidence? Get ready for a breakthrough thanks to episode 14 of She Made it with Jennifer Joplin.

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” 
— Marissa Mayer Former CEO of Yahoo

Confidence. Do you have it?

My answer: On a good day, yes! On a bad day, no. 

As a professional actress, I spent twenty years of my life standing in lines, waiting to audition for roles that in all likelihood I wouldn’t get.

While this was nerve-wracking and soul-sucking, I also knew two things:

  1. Exercising my “no muscle” (getting used to being told no) would get me closer to a “yes.”
  2. If I chose to act confident, even if I felt terrified, I would perform better.

Eventually, I practiced this enough that something incredible happened: I actually started to feel confident.

I now realize that confidence is the delineator between success and failure. It’s the difference between staying down and getting up; between letting a “no” define you or refine you, and believing that you’re lacking and believing you’re enough. 

So: How can you find confidence even when rejection feels imminent? And how can manufacture confidence you don’t have yet and “fake it till you make it?”

I know we all could use a confidence boost (no matter how much we’ve worked on it!) which is why I was so excited to sit down with my friend, actress Jen Joplin for today’s episode of She Made It.

Here’s a little preview of the kind of wisdom you’ll hear in this episode: 

“When you hear the voice in your head that says ‘You’re faking it. You don’t deserve to be here,’ That’s the very moment that you’ve got to take a great big step forward rather than taking a step back.”

(If you’re wondering how the heck to do that, listen to the episode!)

Jen’s groundedness has always inspired me—ever since we were in acting school together—and I’m so excited for you to be inspired by her too. She will help confidence feel totally authentic and attainable for you.

Listen to her story to hear how to develop confidence, along with: 

  • Secrets to being easy to work with and multiplying your opportunities
  • How Jen responded when someone told her she should quit acting (this is inspiring) 
  • How Jen’s childhood self taught her what confidence really means
  • How to be a better listener
  • How she got to the height of her success—decades into her acting career! 
  • How Jen gained the confidence to write a one-woman show about her life (which by the way, was received with rave reviews!)
  • Why nervousness is a good thing and how to use it to your advantage

You really won’t want to miss this. You can find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.