This 40-year-old introvert makes $2 million a year3 things she always does to ‘look and feel more confident’ – CNBC
People are often shocked when I tell them I'm an introvert, especially since my job involves a lot of socializing and relationship building.
There are many misconceptions about introverts: We're shy, we don't like to socialize, we don't take risks. But that's not the case. I've built a successful publicity business that generated over $2 million this past year.
I'm proof that you don't need to be an extrovert to succeed. Here are three things I always do to look and feel more confident:
Introverts can be very self-critical. But rather than focusing on what I lack, I find confident through my strengths. I love taking personality assessments like the Myers-Briggs test to help me better understand where I shine.
My Myers-Briggs type is INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging). I learned that INFJ's strengths lie in advancing causes and the people they believe in.
For me, this means helping others achieve their goals by bringing them together at retreats and networking events.
When I feel less confident, I turn to my "praise folder" that I created on my iPhone. I save screenshots of text messages, social comments and emails I receive from people thanking me. These positive words remind me that I'm good at my job.
I like wearing bright colors, too. Without saying a word, they naturally draw attention and help me step into the role of a more outgoing person when I need to be.
I'm never going to be comfortable around hundreds of people at once. I like to be thoughtful with my responses, and I sometimes struggle with big, fast-moving group conversations. But that's okay.
At networking events, I remind myself that I don't have to talk with everyone in the room. Going deep with two or three people is more meaningful than trying to make small talk with every person.
I also focus on quality over quantity when it comes to being creative. Unlike my extroverted peers, I'm not a content machine with new ideas to share every day. Instead, I create fewer pieces of strong, intentional posts on social media.
You'll never see me on my laptop at a co-working space, unless I'm there to socialize. I need ample alone time to feel my best. I love working quietly from my apartment with no distractions.
Being in meetings all day drains me as well. Some are necessary, but I've discovered a lot of helpful alternatives.
I use Loom, a video messaging platform, to share ideas and updates with my team. This has saved me over 100 hours in meetings. When colleagues want to meet to explore a collaboration, I might invite them to chat with me on Voxer, a walkie talkie app.
And I typically only do public talks or interviews once a year, or when I have a big launch coming up. After that, I retreat back into my introvert shell and focus on my business. That's what feels good to me, and it's helped me make millions while staying true to myself.
Selena Soo is a publicity and marketing expert for entrepreneurs and influencers. She has worked with more than 4,000 clients. Follow her on Instagram.
Don't miss:
The rest is here:
This 40-year-old introvert makes $2 million a year3 things she always does to 'look and feel more confident' - CNBC
- Mark Zuckerberg Says Social Media Is Over - The New Yorker - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are 'grateful' that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are too young for social media - Business Insider - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Morgan Stanley believed Google would rival Facebook if the search giant could beat Mark Zuckerberg to scooping up WhatsApp - Fortune - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Australian leaders vow to stand firm on social media age limits as election nears - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- My Company Competed Against Facebook. Here's What Happened | Opinion - Newsweek - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Layboard Launches Innovative Social Network for Job Searching and Career Growth - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Abrego Garcia family flees to safe house after Trump DHS posts home address on social media - The Real News Network - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Opinion: Morning routines are a myth and serve as social media gimmicks - lsureveille.com - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Gen Zs Underground Social Network Just Went National And Its Blowing Up - Forbes - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Fans React to Jameson Williams Not Following Lions on Social Media - Sports Illustrated - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- OpenAI may be creating a new social media platform with AI-generated images - Tech Edition - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- B3 partner with Reach Labs to launch user acquisition platform and GameChain - VentureBeat - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- OpenAIs Reportedly Exploring Its Own AI-Based Social Network - Social Media Today - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI launches its Social Network: the new frontier of the data war - The Cryptonomist - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is reportedly developing its own X-like social media platform - TechCrunch - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- What Meta stands to lose if the FTC wins - Quartz - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Instagram and Facebook are hardly social media apps anymore. Here's the proof. - Business Insider - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- FTC Antitrust Case Against Meta Heads to Trial This Week - Social Media Today - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI might be building its own social network, and we really hope they don't - TechRadar - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI Takes On Elon Musk By Creating Its Own Social Network! - Cointribune - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is building its own social network to rival Elon Musk's X - Crypto Briefing - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI reportedly creating its own social network to take on X - Tom's Guide - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Behind the landmark trial that could reshape Metas future with Instagram - Los Angeles Times - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is quietly working on a social network similar to Twitter, powered by ChatGPT - TechSpot - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI Reportedly Developing Social Media Platform Amid Ongoing Feud Between Musk, Altman - BW Businessworld - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI braced to challenge Elon Musks X with new social network - The Times - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Meta faces antitrust claims at trial over Instagram and WhatsApp ownership - The Guardian - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Like Musk, but with ChatGPT: OpenAI is working on its own social network similar to X - ITC.ua - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI may be turning ChatGPT into a social media platform - Android Authority - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Creative ChatGPT They are planning their own social network and it will be quite unique! LSA Magazine - Letem svtem Applem - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is working on X-like social media network, the Verge reports - MarketScreener - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Will Meta be forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp in FTC trial? - Bizcommunity - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Body talk on social networking sites and appearance anxiety among college students: the mediating role of self-objectification and moderating role of... - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- I Tried Seven39, the Social Network That's Only Open Three Hours a Day - Lifehacker - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Mapping ISKPs Strength: Social Network Analysis of Tech-Driven Jihad - Global Network on Extremism and Technology - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- ION and HyperGPT Unite to Power AI-Driven Web3 Social Networks - CoinTrust - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- College Student Shares Why She Deleted All Socials and What Life Is Like Without It - The Flagler College Gargoyle - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- CRD is shutting down its X account, saying platform 'rife with misinformation' - Times Colonist - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Social Network: Is the mental health of teenagers in danger? - evidencenetwork.ca - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Leo, Daily Horoscope Today, April 10, 2025: Business owners will find success through social networking - Times of India - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Daily time spent on social networking by internet users - the-star.co.ke - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Young people and the pressure to be perfect like on social media - baohaiduong.vn - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- CSC urged to recall memo on social media use of gov't personnel - GMA Network - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Woman charged for hit-and-run death allegedly posted about victim on social media after the crash - KBTX News 3 - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- LinkedIn reveals best places to work - 9Now - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Chamber showcase fills Union Station with real-life social networking for small biz owners - Startland News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Beyond Bluesky: These are the apps building social experiences on the AT Protocol - TechCrunch - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Modeling the amplification of epidemic spread by individuals exposed to misinformation on social media - Nature - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Gen Z is flocking to the one social media platform millennials didn't ruin - Business Insider - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Whistlr Network: The Real-Time, Unfiltered Social Media, That - openPR.com - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- EU may make an example of X by issuing $1 billion fine to Musks social network - Ars Technica - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg Apparently Bought Jesse Eisenberg's "The Social Network" T-Shirt, And I'm A Little Weirded Out - BuzzFeed - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Is X Going To Pay The Price? Europe Is Preparing Historic Sanctions Against Elon Musk. - Cointribune - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Truth Social owner Trump Media becomes first company listed on NYSE Texas handing early win to exchange - New York Post - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg wears iconic t-shirt from The Social Network, reveals he got it in auction - Mint - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Immigration officials look to collect social media handles from those seeking benefits. Is this new? - The Tribune-Democrat - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Cryptocurrency and Extremism: How Social Network Analysis is Used to Track Extremist Cryptocurrency Donations - GNET - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- New bill would require warning labels on social media platforms - KSTP - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Japan Grapples with Risks of Social Media in Pursuing Options for Protecting Children Online - Nippon.com - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Gabe Newell had his eyes on a social network in the '90s that 'was not in a games context at all'meaning Valve-owned social media could've been a very... - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Tired of traditional social media? Here are 4 reasons why Substack is my go-to social media app - ZDNet - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Skip the post-trip laundry stress with the new features of Wingle, a free in-flight networking app for travellers - indulgexpress - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Social media's impact: Driving business strategies from marketing to ROI - ZAWYA - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- What Is Meta AI? Everything You Should Know About the Social Network Giant's AI Tools - CNET - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- The art and science of going viral in 2025 - Computerworld - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Agility in Marketing Teams: An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Entry Decision Into a Trendy Social Network | Newswise - Newswise - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram: Inside a Global Online Hate Network - ProPublica - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Why TikTok Should Be OnChain - CoinDesk - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- China: Officials aim to restrict social media and screen time, youth left in divide - The Hawk - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Florida teen killed after being lured on social media to meet man, police say - USA TODAY - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Abused F1 legend quit threat revealed after social media abuse - Planet F1 - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- A Long-Shot Bet to Bypass the Middlemen of Social Media - The New York Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Trying the buzzy social media platform Yope showed me how hard it is to get people to download another app - Yahoo - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Can Australia really ban children from social media? - The Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- St. Johns County deputy on administrative leave after disturbing social media comment sparks internal investigation - WJXT News4JAX - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Threads tests adding interests on profiles to connect users with topical discussions - TechCrunch - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- The effects of social media abstinence on affective well-being and life satisfaction: a systematic review and meta-analysis | Scientific Reports -... - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Apple Photos: The Social Network We Didn't Realize We Already Had - Fernandina Observer - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- One-legged Pants Are The Latest Fashion Trend Sweeping Social Media - The Project - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Kartik Aaryan turns brand ambassador for O Hi; to redefine social networking with real-world connections - Bollywood Hungama - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]