Leveraging your competence is a powerful way to build confidence and propel yourself toward success. It’s the only way to create the tomorrow you desire and the future you want to achieve. If we have no desire to be better tomorrow, then there is no point in having tomorrow. A better tomorrow keeps us pursuing our dreams, developing ourselves, and embracing a growth mindset because no ultimate achievement guarantees perfection in every aspect of life. There will always be areas that need attention and improvement. Even if you excel in one domain, there is always room for growth elsewhere.

Being the best at everything is an unrealistic and overwhelming expectation. Success and competence involve identifying what you are good at and focusing your efforts there. Competence is the foundation of confidence. It provides the passion for tackling challenges with determination, embracing a curious and open mindset, and exploring your ideas to uncover your true potential. True confidence comes from the relentless pursuit of mastery, staying receptive to change, and fostering a willingness to grow and evolve. 

In this episode, Hilary Sheinbaum shares her journey, pivotal moments, and how building her competence enabled her to develop her confidence and pursue her dreams. Hilary is a journalist, Speaker, Content Strategist, and the author of The Dry Challenge: The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month. She has contributed to dozens of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, Forbes.com, New York Magazine, Us Weekly, Marie Claire, ELLE.com, Yahoo, Today.com, Travel + Leisure, Life & Style, In Touch, amNew York and Shape.com. She writes about entertainment, food and beverage, travel, love and dating, lifestyle, fitness, health, and beauty.

As a Lifestyle and Entertainment Expert, she is regularly featured on national, local, and online outlets such as FOX & Friends, CBS, WSJ.com, Inside Edition, The Insider, and PIX11 News.

Tune in!

Notable Quotes

  • “If we have no desire to be better tomorrow, what is the point of having tomorrow.”
  • “There is no achievement that makes everything in life; there will always be pieces of your life that need attention.”
  • “If you are great at something, there will always be room for improvement everywhere else.’”
  • “You can’t be number one in everything; you have to focus on what you are good at.”
  • “The only thing that builds confidence is competence; you have to keep trying different avenues, angles, ideas, and people to know what works for you.”
  • “It’s important to ask the right questions, and more important to ask the right sources: get more than one source.”

Key Highlights from the Show

[00:01] Intro and what’s in for you in today’s show 

[01:09] A bit about Hilary’s background and what inspired her book, The Dry Challenge

[05:07] Who Hilary has become from her life experiences and why she is here

[08:07] Hilary’s pivotal moment that inspired her to chase after her dreams

[12:51] How to fight the sense of arrival to embrace personal growth and be better 

[16:07] Hilary's biggest failures and who she became after the failures 

[19:30] Leveraging competence to build your confidence 

[20:16] Hilary's happiest accident and how it changed her life  

[25:30] What Hilary would say to her future self in a 20 seconds phone call  

[26:50] The smell Hilary would put in the last six years of her life  

[27:46] Hilary's words of encouragement on asking the right questions 

[31:11] How to reach out and connect with Hilary and get her book 

[33:01] Wrap up and end of the show 

Connect with Hilary Sheinbaum

Websites:  http://www.hilarysheinbaum.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarysheinbaum/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hilarywritesny/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hilary_she?lang=en