Redefining confidence might be the key that unlocks your potential. While many of us believe confidence means feeling certain we'll excel, host Niki Sterner offers a liberating alternative: true confidence is simply believing you can take action when you say you will. This perspective shift removes the paralysis of perfectionism and opens the door to real growth.

Niki shares her remarkable journey from hesitation to action, including a pivotal moment when she submitted her comedy to a Hollywood festival despite minimal experience. Not only did she perform, but she unexpectedly hosted her comedy block when another performer missed their flight. This experience exemplifies the episode's central message: taking action before feeling ready creates unexpected opportunities while waiting for readiness often means waiting forever.

The episode delivers practical tools for quieting your inner critic, including Michael Phelps' technique of saying positive affirmations at every doorway you walk through. Niki reveals her transformative daily habits: taking showers with bursts of cold water (deliberately practicing discomfort) and using morning and evening guided meditations to program her mindset for success. She discusses how Gay Hendricks' book "The Big Leap" changed her perspective on self-sabotage and finding her "zone of genius" - that sweet spot where effort feels like flow.

What makes this conversation particularly powerful is Niki's vulnerability about overcoming serious health challenges that threatened her acting career after completing a two-year conservatory program. Rather than surrendering her dreams, she found a way to rewire her brain and continue forward. Ready to stop overthinking and start taking action toward your dreams? The shortcut to confidence isn't waiting to feel ready - it's embracing courage right now.

Thank you to Micah Caldwell, my talented friend and conversation partner. You can find her on instagram - @micahonmic

New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you silence your inner critic, build true confidence, and take bold action.

📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward.

💛 For freebies and updates, Join The Confidence Shortcut Community

✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide.

🧠 Click to learn more about the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) and how it helps rewire your brain for healing.

When was the last time you let fear of failure stop you from pursuing something important? This candid conversation dives deep into the paralyzing effects of a fixed mindset and reveals how believing "if I'm bad at something, that's my forever thing" can keep us stuck for decades.

Through vulnerable storytelling, we explore a transformative approach to rediscovering and pursuing long-buried dreams. The "three lists" exercise—identifying childhood heroes (Star List), acknowledging natural talents (Success List), and confronting fears (Scared List)—creates a roadmap for authentic growth. Rather than waiting to feel ready, we discover how deliberately seeking discomfort builds the courage muscle and generates momentum.

What's particularly fascinating is the mindset routine shared that transforms pre-performance anxiety into excited anticipation. By clearing negative thoughts with a neutral statement ("The first blizzard is December 1st") followed by empowering affirmations, we can rewire our emotional response to high-pressure situations. This technique, adapted from sports psychology, proves remarkably effective for creative expression and public speaking.

The conversation takes a powerful turn when discussing how women can lift each other up in creative pursuits. There's a palpable shift happening from competition to community, where seeing another woman succeed becomes inspiring rather than threatening. By sharing our authentic voices and supporting others doing the same, we create ripple effects that expand possibilities for everyone.

Ready to stop overthinking and start taking bold action? Grab the free Confidence Kickstart Morning Routine in the show notes—it's the daily practice that's helping thousands build sustainable confidence through consistent habits rather than waiting for courage to magically appear.

New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you silence your inner critic, build true confidence, and take bold action.

📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward.

💛 For freebies and updates, Join The Confidence Shortcut Community

✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide.

🧠 Click to learn more about the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) and how it helps rewire your brain for healing.

Super grateful to my conversation partner and dear friend, Micah Caldwell. She’ll be joining me on a future episode, and her story is one you won’t want to miss. @micahonmic

Most of us have it backwards. We wait for confidence to arrive before taking action, but what if that's precisely why we stay stuck? In this intimate and powerful episode, I reveal my personal turning point that came from a simple question from my acting coach - and how it launched what I call a "Courage Quest" that completely transformed my life.

After decades of limiting beliefs and chronic health challenges that seemed to confirm my fears, I discovered the neurological key to unlocking confidence: deliberately training your brain to recognize possibilities instead of dangers. I share the exact system that helped me rewire negative thought patterns, and how the momentum from one small act of courage snowballed into experiences I never thought possible - from handling giant snakes to motorcycle riding and whitewater rafting.

The most profound revelation? Confidence doesn't come first - action does. Through my daily practice of "The 3 C's to Confidence" (Clarity journaling, Creative genius guided audios, Courage challenges), I've built a framework anyone can use to stop overthinking and start showing up. I explain why creating a "Scared list" and scheduling just one fear-facing activity can break the cycle of waiting to feel ready. Whether you're a creative professional facing performance anxiety or someone who's played small for too long, this episode offers the practical shortcut to confidence you've been searching for. Ready to stop waiting and start living? The journey begins with a single courageous step.

New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you silence your inner critic, build true confidence, and take bold action.

📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward.

💛 For freebies and updates, Join The Confidence Shortcut Community

✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide.

🧠 Click to learn more about the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) and how it helps rewire your brain for healing.

Niki Sterner shares her personal journey from feeling stuck and uncertain to finding true confidence through action rather than endless preparation. After years of playing small despite extensive training, she discovered that the key obstacle wasn't external factors but her mindset.

• Suffered from a health crisis caused by breast implants and mold exposure that created a limbic system injury
• Discovered Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) which helped rewire her brain from danger-scanning to joy-seeking
• Found clarity by identifying her true desires and developing a 20-year vision that she reverse-engineered
• Realized the power of shifting from victim mentality to creator mentality
• Learned that confidence comes after taking action, not before it
• Gained her voice through consistent practice, including comedy writing and performance
• Transformed her relationship with fear by reframing it as part of the creative process

Ready to take the next step? Check out my free guide, the Confidence Kickstart, linked below. Keep showing up, keep taking action and remember the shortcut to confidence is courage.

New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you silence your inner critic, build true confidence, and take bold action.

📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward.

💛 For freebies and updates, Join The Confidence Shortcut Community

✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide.

🧠 Click to learn more about the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) and how it helps rewire your brain for healing.

Hey there! Welcome to The Confidence Shortcut podcast. I’m your host, Niki Sterner. I’m a mom, a wife, an actor, comedian, and a writer. But for years, I avoided the stage, turned down opportunities, and told myself I wasn’t ready. Just one more class or online program. But eventually, I got sick of playing small. So in 2024, I went on a Courage Quest, facing everything that scared me, and along the way, I figured out a shortcut to confidence. Now, I help ambitious women and creatives like you, stop overthinking, take bold action, and finally step into your dream life.

This podcast is all about you and the simple steps you’ll learn to feel the fear and take action. It’s also going to be about how to rediscover your long, lost dream, shift your mindset to match it, and get in the habit of taking courageous action. Even if you’ve been conditioned to believe that dreams only come true for others, or if you believe you can’t pursue yours yet because of family obligations and finances, or if you keep on killing your momentum before you start with self sabotage.

You can expect to hear from me each week. I’ll share with you real, actionable steps to help you build confidence fast. I’ll be bringing on guests, creatives who are making their dreams a reality, as well as mindset, courage, and confidence experts.

I started this podcast because I spent more than 25 years struggling to find the confidence I needed to live the life I felt called to. I don’t want you to feel stuck like I did. That’s what this podcast is all about—helping you stop holding back and start living with more joy, freedom, and confidence than ever before.

I hope this podcast sparks something in you—igniting that fire to take action and go after what truly lights you up. So take a deep breath and open your heart to the possibilities… cause it’s time to go on a Courage Quest and find your Confidence Shortcut.

New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you silence your inner critic, build true confidence, and take bold action.

📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward.

💛 For freebies and updates, Join The Confidence Shortcut Community

✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide.

🧠 Click to learn more about the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) and how it helps rewire your brain for healing.