Taking the Leap: Yana Fry On How To Learn To Believe In Yourself
An Interview With Savio P. Clemente
Having self-awareness will help stop the negativity. We all have an inner voice and an inner critic. We need to remember that the inner critic is not you! Remind yourself that this voice is just a small part of who you are and that’s ok. Every human has it, but your power comes from the ability to differentiate from this voice and who you really are.
Starting something new is scary. Learning to believe in yourself can be a critical precursor to starting a new initiative. Why is it so important to learn to believe in yourself? How can someone work on gaining these skills? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders, authors, writers, coaches, medical professionals, teachers, to share empowering insights about “How To Learn To Believe In Yourself.” As a part of this series we had the pleasure of interviewing Yana Fry.
Yana Fry is a popular motivational speaker, accredited coach, experienced group facilitator, and a heart centred mindfulness teacher. She ignites humans’ minds, hearts and spirits. Yana teaches wellbeing to a global community on social media and organises deeply transformational retreats. These retreats bring CEOs, change makers, role models and professionals from all over the world to places of power. Here they can train their minds and bodies to master emotions, thoughts and energy, for the highest level of presence and performance in all areas of their lives.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I came from a very modest background. My mum was a single mum, and we didn’t have much. My childhood was difficult in many ways, but this bred resilience and made me creative. I developed an inner drive to get out into the world and to make things happen.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
My mum was a huge inspiration to me, and she would naturally offer advice and coach people through their issues — before coaching was even a thing!
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first started out, I was part of a “rewrite your story” workshop and I was so nervous about speaking in front of the group, that I had a script all written down so that I wouldn’t go blank. On the day, I forgot the script and left it at home. Whilst this was nerve-wracking it taught me a valuable lesson in thinking on my feet!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
Yana TV, which is an independent talk show based in Singapore is an exciting project I’m working on. This is my way of saying thank you to the people of Singapore who have been so kind and welcoming to me. I want Yana TV to help people by sharing their stories and experiences of how they overcame adversity and created the life they wanted. The people of Singapore are very inclusive and future orientated, and I wanted to create a conscious, spiritual space where I could show the world the people of Singapore.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly.
Can you help explain a few reasons why it is so important to believe in yourself? Can you share a story or give some examples?
If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will. It doesn’t matter how important your message is, if you don’t believe in it yourself, then it will be impossible to share your vision with the world. It’s very important for your own mental health to have that confidence. The more confidence you have, the better you become at dealing with adversity, and then your resilience is higher. And people like relaxed, confident people.
Steve Jobs is an excellent example of this. He was an incredible innovator who was ahead of his time. He had a vision and really wanted it to come true. He invented something that people didn’t even know they needed. He did it despite everything; including being fired from his own company! This is an incredible example of self-belief and tenacity; when you have a message, a product, or a service you need both, to bring your vision into the world.
What exactly does it mean to believe in yourself? Can I believe that I can be a great artist even though I’m not very talented? Can I believe I can be a gold medal Olympian even if I’m not athletic? Can you please explain what you mean?
Believing in yourself starts with self-awareness on a deep level. If you’re not athletic I don’t know what your chances are of being in the Olympics. But when we know ourselves and we put in the work, and are realistic about our strengths and weaknesses, this becomes the core of our self-belief. Regardless of what other people might say, we can move forward in our self-belief and reflect on what might need more work, and what may need to be delegated.
Was there a time when you did not believe in yourself? How did this impact your choices?
Absolutely! I had to learn how to believe in myself, it wasn’t something that came naturally. It takes work to find that space within you, where you realise you are good enough, despite any fundamental belief you may already have. Most people need quite a bit of inner work to arrive in that space.
How did this impact your choices?
I’m a perfectionist and my work never feels good enough. When I started 12 years ago, I had recently moved to Singapore. Here I was, a young white woman in Asia offering life coaching. Singapore has developed a lot in the last decade, but at the time I was told nobody will listen; I’m too young, too blonde, too white and I was competing with priests who offer life advice. As a result, I questioned things and I didn’t have the courage to do some of what I wanted to do. It took a few years to be able to shake that feeling, and more recently I met a 26-year-old Singaporean woman who has a talk show and coaches others on how to find their voice. She is so small, and looks so young, but has been able to achieve so much with her own self-belief and confidence.
At what point did you realize that in order to get to the next level, it would be necessary to build up your belief in yourself? Can you share the story with us?
Self-belief is an ongoing journey of learning. Eight years ago, I interviewed a famous actor/director from Singapore who shared his life story. He talked about being exposed to and dealing with critics. We had a deep conversation where he told me there was nothing you could do, and that people will always have their own opinions, but what’s important is how you feel about it and how you process criticism. You can’t allow other people’s opinions to dictate how you feel about yourself and your work.
What are your top 5 strategies that will help someone learn to believe in themselves? Please share a story or example for each.
1 . Every adult needs to do inner work, there is no one size fits all, but we must all do something to process our trauma and the mistakes we may have made etc. Once we have done this, you will be more self-confident and less critical of yourself.
2 . Get to know your gifts and strengths. This could be through looking at your Enneagram type, Typefinder, Big Five Assessment, Career Profiler, Human Design, Gene Keys, Akashic records, or simply a time spent in a deep self-reflection.
3. Realising that you’re not perfect — and that’s OK! We are so conditioned by the media to be perfect all the time, but this isn’t real life and we need to relax more.
4 . Rest and nourishment are vital for our well-being. Most adults are chronically fatigued. We need sleep, exercise and to take time in nature. This is the foundation of self-belief; to create a stable routine for yourself.
5 . Confidence comes from doing. There is a big difference between dreaming about something and actually doing it. Remember, it’s OK to make mistakes. The more action we take, the more we learn and the more we grow in confidence.
Conversely, how can one stop the negative stream of self-criticism that often accompanies us as we try to grow?
Having self-awareness will help stop the negativity. We all have an inner voice and an inner critic. We need to remember that the inner critic is not you! Remind yourself that this voice is just a small part of who you are and that’s ok. Every human has it, but your power comes from the ability to differentiate from this voice and who you really are.
Are there any misconceptions about self-confidence and believing in oneself that you would like to dispel?
Sometimes people call self-confidence arrogance or boasting. When a person is truly confident in who they are, they are generally humble. When a person displays arrogant or boastful behaviour it is usually because they have unresolved trauma or fear and are overcompensating.
What advice would you give to someone who is struggling with imposter syndrome?
Everyone struggles with this sometimes, and they say that statistically women struggle more than men. When you see people who you perceive to be more successful than you, it is good to remind yourself that they have probably been there as well, and they are human and make mistakes. Remember to focus on your own work and become really dedicated to that. Gradually, your imposter syndrome will disappear. Sometimes the things you feel don’t fit, can often become your biggest gifts.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?
I want to create the movement of love, courage and self-awareness. Wayne W. Dryer said in his famous quote: “whatever the question, love is the answer.” When we, as humans, truly learn to love ourselves and each other, most of the problems of the world will disappear.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them
I have always been fascinated with Angelina Jolie. She is so beautiful inside out, and I have always admired her courage. She makes her own decisions which were sometimes seen as unpopular, but she chose to live her life her own way and, as a woman, I really admire that. She is a trailblazer, and her story is so powerful and embodies love, courage and a great deal of self-awareness!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can listen to my podcast, Timeless Teachings. We talk about human advancement, self-mastery and realizing full potential. All interviews are here: linktr.ee/timelessteachings
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente coaches cancer survivors to overcome the confusion and gain the clarity needed to get busy living in mind, body, and spirit. He inspires health and wellness seekers to find meaning in the “why” and cultivate resilience in their mindset. Savio is a Board Certified Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), #1 best-selling author, syndicated columnist, podcaster, stage 3 cancer survivor, and founder of The Human Resolve LLC. He has interviewed notable celebrities and TV personalities and has been featured on Fox News, The Wrap, and has worked with Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, BuzzFeed, Food Network, WW and Bloomberg. Savio has been invited to cover numerous industry events throughout the U.S. and abroad. His mission is to provide clients, listeners, and viewers alike with tangible takeaways on how to lead a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle.
