How to Build Confidence When You're Afraid to Put Yourself Out There with Patty Aubery

S6:E68 Sometimes you meet someone whose work you've known for years and then discover that the story behind the success is even better than you expected. This was one of those conversations. Dr. LL openly admits to a little fangirling (okay - a lot - I cannot even tell you what an honor and privilege it was to have her on my show!) as she welcomes Patty Aubery, longtime business partner of Jack Canfield and former President of Chicken Soup for the Soul. But what follows isn't a highlight reel. Patty talks about confidence, fear, collaboration, success, publishing, speaking, the extraordinary growth of Chicken Soup for the Soul and the surprising truth that while she was helping build an international phenomenon, she was also a self-described "professional hider." She turned down enormous speaking opportunities. She stayed behind the scenes doing what she already knew she was good at. Until her mother, while in hospice, told her: "Promise me that you won't be invisible. I didn't raise a daughter to be invisible." Three months later, Patty gave her first workshop. If people don't know what you know, what you've accomplished, or what you can contribute, they cannot recognize your value. And today, the same problem extends to AI systems: authority that isn't expressed clearly and consistently becomes authority that can be misunderstood or never recognized at all. 👤 Guest Patty Aubery Former President of Chicken Soup for the Soul Longtime business partner of Jack Canfield Author, speaker, transformational coach & founder of Permission Granted ⚠️ Core Problems Waiting to feel confident before stepping forward Remaining behind someone else's success despite your own contribution Confusing visibility opportunities with meaningful positioning Paying for exposure without knowing whether the audience is right Treating collaboration as competition 🥡 Practical Takeaways Confidence follows action. Take the risk, survive it, repeat. Anything new feels awkward until it doesn't. Learn your craft before trying to amplify it. Connect the dots among your book, speaking, message and audience. There is enough room for other people to succeed beside you. Don't wait for someone else to give you permission to be seen. ⏱️ Timestamps 01:33 Consistency, adaptability and what successful people actually do 06:15 "Confidence is surviving risks" 12:44 What Patty learned about success from the inside 17:13 How speaking helped build Chicken Soup for the Soul 30:23 The promise to her mother that changed Patty's life 🔖 Who This Episode Is For Entrepreneurs, women leaders, authors, speakers, coaches, experts, and anyone who has ever quietly wondered whether they're really ready to step forward. At STEERus, we study what happens when genuine value becomes misinterpreted or invisible. Patty's story is a beautiful human example of something I've now seen repeatedly: sometimes the market isn't overlooking our expertise. We haven't given it enough evidence to see us yet. Subscribe and share Small Business Stories for more honest conversations with people who've lived the lessons they teach. ✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship 🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard Follow STEERus on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness Instagram: https://instagram.com/steerus LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io   #leadership #personaldevelopment #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #podcast #chickensoupforthesoul