Move Forward Confidently, You’ve Got This 

She walks into the room and all eyes focus on her. She’s wearing a pink suit—the exact suit you swore in the department store no one could ever pull off. She confidently sweeps past 10-15 clusters of people, saying hello, and you wonder, “Does she know everyone in the room?”

You wish you had that her confidence! Looking down at your unassuming gray suit, you hope you blend into the background so no one will notice that primal fear has you sweating profusely.

When you are afraid or lack confidence, your body naturally responds with physical and mental cues to protect you from danger. Your body tenses, your hands sweat, your mouth gets dry, and the hormones like adrenaline coursing through your body seem to addle your brain momentarily.

Breathe deeply to temporarily quiet the fight or flight mechanism that takes over when you feel threatened. Next, consider what that woman has that you don’t—yet.

We all want to be that woman, she’s the one who owns her confidence. She moves confidently even in obscenely high heels, her voice never cracks when she presents in meetings, and she never has a sheen of perspiration on her forehead. Why? Because she practiced being confident and faked it until it became as natural as breathing.

Even the most powerful among women have off days. If today feels a bit more like “hiding under the covers” kind of day than an “I can take on anything” kind of day, tell yourself, “I got this.” Breathe deeply, and let it fan the flames of confidence within. Just to be sure that you feel more powerful and confident, this diverse group of exceptional women offer their words of wisdom.

Bold
Make bold choices and make mistakes. It’s all those things that add up to the person you become. – Angelina Jolie

Responsible
I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good. – Oprah Winfrey

Empowered
Giving women education, work, the ability to control their own income, inherit and own property, benefits the society. If a woman is empowered, her children and her family will be better off. If families prosper, the village prospers, and eventually so does the whole country. – Isabel Allende

Adventurous
I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them. – Elizabeth Taylor

Talented
No one can arrive from being talented alone, work transforms talent into genius. – Anna Pavlova

Happy
Independence is happiness. – Susan B. Anthony

Energetic
One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am. – Michelle Obama

Fabulous
It’s not about how skinny you are or how much money or how many diamonds you have – that’s the fluff that people sometimes look at as being the main thing. It’s about understanding that the things that make you fabulous are all inside of you. – Kimora Lee Simmons

Ready
Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it. – Julie Andrews

Enough
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. – Melody Beattie

Engaged
Patience doesn’t mean making a pact with the devil of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations. It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the process that’s unfolding, rather than ripping open a budding flower or demanding a caterpillar hurry up and get that chrysalis stage over with. – Sharon Saltzberg

Learn
Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from. – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

You
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Purchase the pink suit if it makes you happy. Let your six foot frame walk tall in the stilettos. You are enough. You are fabulous. You are talented. You are ready. Now, be bold.