E209 - Why Confidence Is Something You Give Yourself with Christy Meaux

In 2023, Christy Meaux came out of a long stretch of grief and had to decide whether she was going to keep living inside that identity or build a new one. Christy, a confidence coach and personal branding strategist, walks Rob through how she rebuilt from that point — and why confidence turned out to be something you hand yourself rather than something you're born with.The conversation covers why "what do you do?" is the wrong question and what to say instead, the permission letter Christy wrote herself at 48 to stop serving other people's expectations, and why gratitude has to come before manifestation if you want either to work. Rob and Christy also get into the stages of rebuilding after loss, the surprisingly hard skill of learning to receive help, and the boundaries and routines that hold it all together.Topics Covered:- The 2023 decision point: choosing whether to stay in a grief identity or build a new one from scratch- Why leading with your job title loses people, and the reframe Christy used instead — "I create cohesive confidence"- The permission letter: writing yourself explicit permission to want what you actually want- Giving herself permission at 48 to stop living out other people's expectations for her life- The stages of a rebuild, starting with letting yourself grieve things that aren't deaths — a job, a friendship, a business- Why gratitude has to come before manifestation, and what goes wrong when people skip straight to the vision board- Learning to receive: how a popped rib while moving forced Christy to practice asking for help- Practical structure — the "good news" notes habit, starting calls with a win, and a hard 6 o'clock shutdownChapter Timestamps:00:00 Show intro01:37 Welcome and guest intro: who is Christy Meaux03:08 Back to 2023: coming out of grief and choosing a new identity04:51 Why "what do you do?" is the wrong question06:07 "I create cohesive confidence": naming the result, not the title10:04 Embodying the client experience11:32 The permission letter you write to yourself12:27 Giving herself permission at 4815:01 The power of saying no and walking away well16:38 Leaving the mortgage industry after six and a half years19:24 Allow yourself to grieve: the stages of a rebuild21:23 How gratitude journaling changed the way she executes24:58 Learning to receive: reciprocity and asking for help25:34 The popped rib that forced her to ask27:10 Why gratitude has to come before manifestation29:13 Writing it by hand and slowing the brain down30:03 The "good news" notes app habit31:00 Starting every coaching call with a win33:06 Boundaries, routine, and the 6 o'clock shutdown33:52 Defining manifestation in practical terms34:27 The flight visualization that kept coming true37:55 Manifestation works both ways39:27 Turning 50 and what's coming next40:57 Where to find ChristyConnect with Christy:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cohesiveconfidenceTikTok: @cohesiveconfidenceFacebook: Cohesive Confidence LLCFollow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.