The Confidence Shortcut with Niki Sterner

#27: Beth Keener Dent | Authentic Spice, Mental Health & Self-Acceptance

What do you do when rejection, disappointment, comparison, and self-doubt start to feel louder than your own voice? In this week's episode of The Confidence Shortcut, I sit down with licensed therapist, former television host, and entertainment industry veteran Beth Keener Dent to talk about the mental health tools that help us navigate life's challenges without losing ourselves in the process. After spending more than 18 years in the entertainment industry, Beth knows firsthand what it's like to chase big dreams in highly competitive environments. Her career included television hosting, entertainment reporting, and becoming a finalist in the nationwide search for a new co-host on Live with Kelly. Today, she combines those experiences with her work as a clinical mental health counselor, helping individuals, couples, and creatives build greater resilience, self-awareness, and emotional well-being. Together, we explore rejection, perfectionism, motherhood, identity shifts, and the surprising ways our minds try to protect us from discomfort. Beth shares practical tools for emotional regulation, mindfulness, radical acceptance, values-based decision making, and understanding the different "parts" of ourselves that show up when life gets hard. Most importantly, we talk about Authentic Spice, Beth's philosophy for embracing what makes you uniquely you. We explore how to stop performing for approval, own your strengths, and build confidence by bringing more of your true self into the world. In this episode, we discuss: • Why rejection doesn't have to define your self-worth • The difference between acceptance and approval • Practical coping skills for anxiety, overwhelm, and emotional regulation • Understanding the different "parts" of yourself and building self-leadership • What Authentic Spice means and how to embrace your unique strengths • Values sorting and making decisions that align with what matters most • Mental health tools creatives and entrepreneurs can use immediately To learn more about Beth and her work: Follow Beth on Instagram: @BethInSession Book a session with Beth: https://www.eastatlantacounseling.com/beth-keener-dent-ms [https://www.eastatlantacounseling.com/beth-keener-dent-ms] Discover your values: https://www.think2perform.com/values/#start [https://www.think2perform.com/values/#start] New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you move before you feel ready, build confidence through action, and create your Bigger Life. 📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward messy. 💛 For weekly inspiration, podcast updates, book launch news, 50-State Courage Tour adventures, and practical tools to help you move before you feel ready, join the Move Forward Messy Newsletter. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/niki-sterner-newsletter] ✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/confidence-kickstart-morning-routine]

#26: Christine Marcario | Aligned & Abundant | Self-Trust, Intuition & Reinvention

What happens when the life you've built looks successful on the outside, but something inside keeps telling you there's more? In this week's episode of The Confidence Shortcut, I sit down with intuitive teacher, Reiki practitioner, and spiritual mentor Christine Marcario to talk about what it really looks like to trust yourself enough to change directions. Christine shares her journey from award-winning middle school English teacher to entrepreneur and spiritual guide, and the inner knowing that eventually led her to leave a career that no longer felt aligned. What followed was a journey of learning to trust her intuition, navigate uncertainty, and build a life that felt more authentic to who she truly was. Together, we explore the connection between confidence, self-trust, and nervous system regulation. Christine shares how Internal Family Systems (IFS), journaling, and other self-awareness practices helped her better understand her patterns and make decisions from a place of alignment rather than fear. We also dive into perfectionism, human design, using AI tools to reduce overwhelm, and why confidence isn't something you wait for—it's something you build by taking the next brave step. In this episode, we discuss: • How to recognize when you're out of alignment • The difference between fear and intuition • Why self-trust is essential during seasons of change • Tools for regulating anxiety and calming your nervous system • How IFS, EFT tapping, and journaling can create greater clarity • Using human design and AI as supportive decision-making tools • Why confidence grows through action, not certainty To learn more about Christine and her work: 🎙️ Podcast: Aligned & Abundant [https://alignedandabundant.buzzsprout.com/] 📩 Newsletter: on Substack [https://substack.com/@christinemarcario] 🌿 Community: The Soul Shine Collective on Skool [https://www.skool.com/aligned-abundant-5126/about] 📲 Instagram: @christine.marcario.coach [https://www.instagram.com/christine.marcario.coach/] 📘 Christine's Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066666379357] 📔 Christine's Journal on Amazon: My Thoughts: A Monthly Journal [https://a.co/d/0gjIwJpn] New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you move before you feel ready, build confidence through action, and create your Bigger Life. 📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward messy. 💛 For weekly inspiration, podcast updates, book launch news, 50-State Courage Tour adventures, and practical tools to help you move before you feel ready, join the Move Forward Messy Newsletter. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/niki-sterner-newsletter] ✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/confidence-kickstart-morning-routine]

#25: Natalie Neckyfarow | The Embodied Way | Healing, Intuition & Feeling Safe To Be Seen

What if confidence isn't something you build by pushing harder—but by healing old wounds, trusting your intuition, and learning to feel safe being fully seen? In this week's episode of The Confidence Shortcut, I sit down with embodiment coach, actress, writer, and producer Natalie Neckyfarow to explore how reconnecting with your body can transform every area of your life. After years of feeling stuck, anxious, and disconnected from her own truth, Natalie discovered embodiment work while searching for healing. What began as a personal journey led her to develop The Embodied Way, a framework that helps creatives release old patterns, reconnect with their intuition, and take aligned action from a place of trust rather than force. Natalie shares her deeply personal story of navigating divorce, people-pleasing, belonging wounds, creative expansion, and learning how to stop chasing validation and start listening to herself. We also dive into practical tools you can use today to regulate your nervous system, release resistance, and create more space to receive the opportunities, relationships, and experiences you truly desire. Natalie has been featured in Backstage, raised more than $10,000 for her short film The Spark, received a Seed&Spark Patron Circle Grant from filmmaker Jason Reitman, and now helps creatives embody greater confidence, visibility, and trust in themselves. In this episode, we discuss: • Why confidence comes from being fully connected to who you are • How people-pleasing and belonging wounds keep us disconnected from ourselves • The difference between resistance and intuition • Why pushing harder isn't always the answer • The six stages of The Embodied Way Method • How embodiment helped Natalie navigate divorce and major life transitions • Daily grounding, releasing, and receiving practices anyone can use • Her "Stop, Drop & Roll" technique for moving through resistance in real time • How she manifested a Seed&Spark Patron Circle Grant during her crowdfunding campaign • Why receiving can be harder than taking action—and how to open yourself to both To learn more about Natalie + download her free Embodied Shift practices. [https://theembodiedwaycoach.com/embodimentstarterkit/] Check out her website: https://theembodiedwaycoach.com/ [https://theembodiedwaycoach.com/] Follow Natalie on Instagram: @theembodiedwaycoach [https://www.instagram.com/theembodiedwaycoach] Subscribe to Natalie's Substack: https://theembodiedway.substack.com/ [https://theembodiedway.substack.com/] New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you move before you feel ready, build confidence through action, and create your Bigger Life. 📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward messy. 💛 For weekly inspiration, podcast updates, book launch news, 50-State Courage Tour adventures, and practical tools to help you move before you feel ready, join the Move Forward Messy Newsletter. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/niki-sterner-newsletter] ✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/confidence-kickstart-morning-routine]

#24: Niki Sterner | A Day in the Life of Your Wildest YES Life | An Energetic Rehearsal for Your Future

Ever feel like your dream is floating just out of reach—beautiful, but foggy and far away? In this episode, we bring it down to earth with a grounded, sensory practice: writing a Day in the Life of your Wildest YES Life through all five senses. Because when you can see it, hear it, and feel it, your brain starts wiring it as real. This isn’t about fantasy—it’s an energetic rehearsal for the future you’re creating. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and memory, so each vivid detail becomes a cue that builds confidence and momentum. Now it’s your turn: What does a day in your Wildest YES Life look like? Where do you wake up? What fills your day with purpose and joy? Write it like it’s already happening—and let it become your blueprint for the life you’re calling in. Courage doesn’t wait for readiness. It meets you in the daily discomfort. And that’s where your magic begins. Subscribe for more episodes of The Confidence Shortcut, where we turn daily discomfort into big breakthroughs. Share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and drop a review with your 72-hour action: What brave step will you take today? If this conversation sparked something, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, then subscribe and leave a quick review so more creatives find their courage faster. Ready for more? Grab the free Confidence Kickstart in the show notes and get first dibs on my book, "The Confidence Shortcut" when it launches in December 2025, sign up below to be the first in line.  Be the 1st to know when The Confidence Shortcut Book launches in Dec! [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/theconfidenceshortcutbooklaunch] Follow The Confidence Shortcut on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidenceShortcut] Follow NIKI STERNER: On Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/nikisterner/?hl=en] On TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@officialnikisterner?lang=en] On Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/officialnikisterner/] On LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikisterner/] On YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@nikisterner] New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you move before you feel ready, build confidence through action, and create your Bigger Life. 📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward messy. 💛 For weekly inspiration, podcast updates, book launch news, 50-State Courage Tour adventures, and practical tools to help you move before you feel ready, join the Move Forward Messy Newsletter. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/niki-sterner-newsletter] ✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/confidence-kickstart-morning-routine]

#23: Niki Sterner | From Foggy Dreams to Fierce Clarity | How to Craft Your Wildest YES Life

What if the thing holding you back isn’t a lack of talent, time, or luck—but a vision that’s still too blurry to move you? We walk you through a clear, practical way to turn foggy goals into a vivid plan you can see, feel, and act on, even while you’re still nervous. This is about crafting your Wildest Yes Life, not the safe, watered-down version you’ve been settling for. We start with a quick recap of the Confidence Shortcut framework: the four-area life audit (health, relationships, career and creative expression, fun and adventure) and the three lists that change everything—STAR (role models to reverse engineer), SCARED (opportunities you’ve dodged that point to your true path), and SUCCESS (receipts proving you can do hard things).  Then we anchor it all in core values, the compass that saves you from achieving goals that drain your soul. When your choices honor what you value—family, freedom, authenticity, joy, connection, growth—you stop overthinking and start moving. From there, we model what a fully claimed vision sounds like: a present-tense, sensory-rich narrative that engages all five senses and teaches your brain what to look for. You’ll hear how to reframe fear as fire, using that charge to accelerate instead of stall.  We give you guided prompts to name your calling, design daily feelings across health and relationships, and speak your future as if it’s here now. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s fidelity between who you are and what you do. By the end, you’ll know your what and why—and you’ll have a first next step that feels brave and specific. Courage comes first; confidence follows. If this conversation sparks something, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the one bold yes you’re taking this week. Your clarity creates momentum—let’s go. If this conversation sparked something, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, then subscribe and leave a quick review so more creatives find their courage faster.  Ready for more? Grab the free Confidence Kickstart in the show notes and get first dibs on my book, "The Confidence Shortcut" when it launches in December 2025, sign up below to be the first in line.  Be the 1st to know when The Confidence Shortcut Book launches in Dec! [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/theconfidenceshortcutbooklaunch] Follow The Confidence Shortcut on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidenceShortcut] Follow NIKI STERNER: On Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/nikisterner/?hl=en] On TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@officialnikisterner?lang=en] On Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/officialnikisterner/] On LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikisterner/] On YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@nikisterner] New episodes every week — packed with honest conversations, mindset tools, and real-life shortcuts to help you move before you feel ready, build confidence through action, and create your Bigger Life. 📌 Subscribe + share if you're ready to stop overthinking and finally move forward messy. 💛 For weekly inspiration, podcast updates, book launch news, 50-State Courage Tour adventures, and practical tools to help you move before you feel ready, join the Move Forward Messy Newsletter. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/niki-sterner-newsletter] ✨ Grab your free Confidence Kickstart Guide. [https://nikisterner.myflodesk.com/confidence-kickstart-morning-routine]