Overcoming Low Self-Esteem In Business & Life - Elena Seranova - #186

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hi friends, welcome back. My guest today is Elena Emnova, and we are talking about how to develop self-esteem in business and in life. Inaction killed more dreams than inability ever did. And what this means is that a lot of the time, you are much more capable than you believe, if only you could get over your own lack of self-confidence. And today, Elena gives us a nice framework so you can see where the sticking points are. There's a lot of good stories from both mine and her academic and professional careers that show just how little self-belief we've had at certain periods. And you look at someone like Elena, who's got like six degrees and started a biotech company and did all this sort of stuff. And you think, well, obviously, she's just got bottomless self-confidence, but that's not how it is at all. And hearing stories like that, I think can be really useful for helping people to realize that other people aren't just these ubiquitous successes. They have the same challenges that you do as well. They just have a structure of how to get over it. So hopefully today will encourage you to go after that new project that you want to start, that new business or just have a little bit more self-confidence to go out your day. In other news, this episode of the podcast is brought to you by, actually before that, thank you again to everyone who supported the life hacks list that's gone out this week. I can't believe the response. It is so good. Upcoming episodes, I'll tell you a little bit of upcoming episodes before I tell you who this episode is brought to you by. Sargon of Akkad is coming back. I'm recording with him and his episode goes live this Monday. That is going to be so amazing. Michael Matsola, who is the Dr. Stephen Greer, the UFO unacknowledged documentary on Netflix. He's the director of that. We're going to be talking about all conspiracy theories and aliens and UFOs and bits and pieces.
Who else is coming on soon? David Allen, the founder of the productivity movement. Christopher Berry Dee, the author of the Talking with Serial Killers series. As we discussed, Dead Men Talking, his new book, talks to death row's worst killers in their own words. That was a real experience, but so much, so many cool guests coming up. I cannot wait to get these episodes out. In other news, this episode of the podcast is brought to you by Eleiko, the best gym equipment on the planet. The top quality, highest standard gym gear that you can get is a sponsor of Modern Wisdom. And they are offering you 15% off everything that they make. Barbells, weights, plates, bars, dumbbells, racks, whatever it is, you do not want to get out of shape. The lockdown is continuing. It doesn't look like it's going anywhere just yet. So grab yourself a kettlebell, a couple of dumbbells, perhaps a barbell and some plates and you can keep your gains or perhaps even get fitter as lockdown goes on. Go and check out their range at shop.eleiko.com and use the code MW15 for 15% off. Go and have a look, shop.eleiko.com and the code MW15 gets you 15% off the best gym kit on the planet. But for now, it's time for Elena Emnova.
Elena, how are you?

**Elena Seranova** (3:34)
Yes, I'm very good, thank you. How are you?

**Chris Williamson** (3:37)
Very good, pleasure to have you here. So what are we gonna be talking about today?

**Elena Seranova** (3:42)
Okay, so today, I think we're going to be emphasizing the importance of self-improvement and basically growing your confidence in order to achieve better results in both entrepreneurship and personal life, because what happens is that, like I see this very often in my work, is that people with low self-esteem just get caught up in negative feedback loops of inaction and failure, and as a result, they can't achieve the results that they want.

**Chris Williamson** (4:12)
What is your job?

**Elena Seranova** (4:14)
Okay, so I do have an interdisciplinary background, and I basically started studying psychology, so my major was in psychology. Then I opened up my first consulting business, which was a successful business for five years, and it grew up to a wellness center. I then pursued my master's degree in the neuroscience and genetics, and I fell in love with science, so I co-founded a biotech startup after this, and eventually I ended up doing a PhD in stem cell biology. At the moment, I'm on my final year writing my thesis, and I just launched my third business, which is the Guild of Growth, and I offer one-on-one mentorship for new and aspiring entrepreneurs on business strategy, mindset of success and confidence growth.