Every year, I choose a word.
This year, my word is action.
Not clarity. Not alignment. Not vision.
Action.
Because the importance of taking action has never been clearer to me. If you want to know how to build confidence, you have to understand this first: confidence isn’t built by thinking about what you want to do. It’s built by doing it.
Taking action isn’t just part of the process. It is the process. Taking action builds confidence in ways mindset work alone simply can’t.
And I’ve lived that truth in a very real way this year.
Why Taking Action Builds Confidence
Most people believe confidence comes first.
They tell themselves:
“Once I feel ready, I’ll start.”
“Once I’m more confident, I’ll speak up.”
“Once I believe in myself, I’ll finally launch the thing.”
But that’s backwards.
Confidence doesn’t show up before action. It grows because of action. The importance of taking action is that it creates proof. When you take action, you gather evidence. When you gather evidence, you build belief. And belief is what turns into confidence.
That’s what confidence through action really means. It’s earned. It’s reinforced. It’s strengthened every time you move instead of hesitate.
And nothing illustrated that more clearly to me than this past book launch.
The Reality Behind Becoming a USA Today Bestselling Author
When my new book, Real Confidence: A Simple Guide to Go from Unsure to Unshakeable, made the USA Today Best Seller list, it was an incredible moment.
It was validating. It was exciting. It was something I had worked toward for years.
But here’s what people don’t see.
Becoming a USA Today bestselling author wasn’t just about writing a great book. Writing was the foundation, yes. But writing alone doesn’t create visibility. And without visibility, even the best work sits unnoticed.
With my first book, I truly believed, “If you write it, they will come.”
They won’t.
You can write the best book on the planet, but if nobody knows it exists, nobody’s going to buy it. That lesson alone taught me the importance of taking action in a way nothing else could.
This time, I approached it differently.
What Taking Action Actually Looked Like
Taking action meant messaging and calling people I know and asking them to buy the book. It meant asking them to share it. It meant sending emails, following up, and clearly saying, “Will you support this?”
That’s not always comfortable.
As women especially, we’re often taught not to sell. We don’t want to feel pushy. We don’t want to take up too much space. We hope people will notice our hard work and automatically rally around it.
Hope isn’t a strategy.
So I took action.
I went on over 200 podcasts to talk about the book and the message. Not five. Not ten. Over 200 conversations where I showed up, shared the framework, answered questions, and made the ask.
I hosted a large launch event. I’m hosting another one in Nashville this week. I didn’t wait for something to happen. I created momentum.
That’s what taking action builds confidence looks like in real life. It’s consistent. It’s intentional. It’s uncomfortable at times. And it works.
The Marketing Truth Most People Ignore
This applies far beyond books.
You can have the best idea, the best product, the best message, or the best skill set. But if you don’t tell people about it, it won’t grow.
Marketing and selling aren’t dirty words. They’re bridges between your work and the people it’s meant to serve. Yet so many people shrink at this stage. They overthink; They hesitate; They wait.
That waiting keeps them stuck.
The importance of taking action is that it interrupts that pattern. It forces movement; It creates visibility; It builds resilience.
Every time I hit send on a message asking someone to support the book, I was practicing what I teach. I was choosing action over self doubt. I was choosing visibility over shrinking. And that choice, repeated consistently, builds confidence faster than positive thinking ever could.
Taking Action Before You Feel Ready
There were moments I wondered if it would work.
Moments I questioned whether I was asking too much. Moments I worried about being ignored. When you’re putting yourself out there that publicly, doubt has a voice.
But I took action anyway.
Not because every ask turned into a yes. It didn’t. Some people didn’t respond. Some said no. That’s part of it.
But every time I acted despite the discomfort, I strengthened something inside myself.
I proved I was willing to stand behind my work; I proved I was willing to risk being seen; I proved I believed in the message enough to promote it boldly.
That’s how to build confidence. Not by eliminating doubt, but by moving forward with it.
Confidence through action isn’t about feeling fearless. It’s about building evidence that you can handle what comes next.
Action and The REAL Method™
In The REAL Method™, confidence starts with self respect. It continues with embracing failure, asking yourself what you want, and living without limits.
Action runs through every pillar.
You can’t respect yourself and stay stuck;
You can’t embrace failure if you never try;
You can’t ask yourself what you want and refuse to pursue it;
You can’t live without limits while playing small.
Action turns clarity into momentum. It turns intention into growth. And over time, it transforms the way you see yourself.
That’s why my word of the year is action. Not because I suddenly feel fearless. But because I understand that growth requires movement.
One Question That Changes Everything
If you take nothing else from this, take this:
What’s one action you can take this week?
Not a full five year plan. Not a perfect strategy. Just one step.
1.Send the email.
2.Make the call.
3.Post the message.
4.Have the conversation.
5.Submit the proposal.
Small, consistent action compounds. It creates results. But even more importantly, it builds internal strength.
Because every time you act, you send yourself a message: I can do hard things.
That’s how taking action builds confidence in real, measurable ways.
From Unsure to Unshakeable
Making the USA Today Best Seller list didn’t happen because I wished for it. It happened because I worked for it.
It happened because I understood that writing the book was only half the equation. The other half was showing up, consistently and courageously, to tell the world about it.
Taking action changed the outcome.
But more importantly, it changed me.
It reinforced what I teach every day: confidence isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill. And action is the training ground.
If you’re ready to stop waiting and start building real confidence in your own life, I wrote Real Confidence: A Simple Guide to Go from Unsure to Unshakeable for you.
Inside, I walk you through the mindset shifts and behaviors that help you overcome self doubt, build self respect, and take the kind of action that creates lasting change.
You can grab your copy at realconfidencebook.com or wherever books are sold.
Because confidence isn’t something you wait for.
It’s something you build. One action at a time.
