I'm here to tell you there are proven ways to improve your self-confidence that will drive real, long lasting change in your life.

I have lots of experience being out of work. It happened to me three times in a two-year span. Five times total throughout my career. I'm only 40, so that's a pretty impressive streak. Also - I split up a business partnership. I didn't read the fine print of our contract. I battled my partner for almost a year. I made almost no money.

While I admire those who do big things with big budgets, I worship those unicorns that do big things with small budgets. It's no secret that money makes most things easier, but when budgets are tight creativity thrives.

For the majority of my career I've had the word "sales" in my title, but it wasn't always that way. I remember when the transition happened. I was working at a company called Mediaplex in early 2000. This was the peak of the Internet bubble. I had just started working there as an Account Manager, and my first account was The Digital Edge, the digital division of Y&R. I became friendly with everyone on that account. I would spend 2 days a week in their offices training them, and getting to know them. The time I spent with her was invaluable. After only a few months I grew the account from 1 to 13 clients. My good work didn't go unnoticed, and management moved me into sales.

I was unceremoniously fired in 2009 from my job at Buddy Media. When it happened I was so stunned I couldn’t speak. Literally. No words. Nothing.