Keep a gratitude journal and build your official Brag Sheet. I do this with my clients when they are preparing for a big launch, business deal, expansion, or announcement. Moments of stepping out can be scary and intimidating, and the unknown can sometimes trick you into shrinking and retreating, instead of going forward at full force. In those critical moments, you have to remind yourself of who you are, and how far you’ve come. Those are the moments to pull all the stops to build your spirit up, reconnect to your ‘why,’ stay accountable, and execute the strategy that you already mapped out.
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 Latia Vaughan, Futurist and Founder & CEO of The U-Network.
Representing approximately 1% of African American Woman Futurists in North America, Latia Vaughan’s data-driven insight and future foresight have contributed to igniting individuals and organizations, including Fortune 500 corporations such as Meta/Facebook, GEICO, Instagram, and Google.
As an award winning entrepreneur, the evolution specialist and spiritual powerhouse, known as “The Dream Pusher,” uses her 18+ years of experience in evolutionary leadership development, mind-setting, marketing, branding, and professional development to foster profound discovery, disrupt patterns, shatter old paradigms of thinking, drive innovation, and show humankind how to access, activate, and accelerate their highest potential.
As the Founder and CEO of The U-Network and best-selling author of “RE:DiscoverU” Dare To Evolve, celebrities, CEOs, religious leaders, homemakers, creatives, and everyday dreamers around the world have collided at the same intersection of success and fulfillment because of the transformative work and dedicated push of Latia Vaughan.
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?
Thank you so much for inviting me to join this very-needed conversation alongside so many greats in their respective industries.
I have to say that my childhood has played a very pivotal role in this journey of life. I was born in Rochester, New York and am the middle of five children. My parents have been married for 42 years, and together for 48 years. As you can imagine, our household was a bit chaotic with 5 children; but we made moments and memories whenever we could.
See, everyone has a story about their childhood, but despite any challenges growing up and overcoming generational habits and limiting beliefs, we have always been big on family– family functions, events, and gatherings. And, even with family feuds, the one belief we’ve always held close is that family should always be a cornerstone in your life.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
This part of my journey began when I went through so many transitions in a very short period. Within a two-year time span, I became a new wife and a new mommy, left my corporate job, left all I knew, moved to a new state to begin our life together; and then I had the nerve to dive into the world of entrepreneurship! My life became a whirlwind. And, in that storm of transitions, I kept asking myself, “Who am I now?” I didn’t know who I was and what role to play because for years, I defined myself by what I “did,” not based on who I was. Big lesson. And, then, I had an epiphany! “You are not lost, you are rediscovering yourself.” That is when I wrote my best-seller, “RE:DiscoverU” Dare To Evolve.
From that revelation, everything changed. I realized that we evolve. Our dreams evolve. Our thought patterns evolve. Our relationships evolve. Our desires evolve. Our perspectives evolve. Our entire beings were designed and created to evolve! And, wherever there’s evolution, the opportunity for expansion presents itself.
No one taught me how to evolve. No one sat me down and said, “Latia, what you are experiencing is normal. This is just a part of your evolution. Lean into this moment.” And, since that awakening, “The Dream Pusher” emerged. Latia Vaughan “The Futurist” who has been igniting and impacting Fortune 500 Companies, business owners, and individuals for over 18 years emerged.
As an African-American Woman Futurist, there are only a very select few of us in North America. By that, I mean less than 1% on record (including me). And, I must admit that I am truly proud to stand with these world-changers and trailblazers.
I have dedicated my life to helping people and businesses find their STICKY, which is a person’s natural and desired attributes, abilities, skill sets, and purpose. It is their genius and true north. I have dedicated my time and experiences to helping people and businesses make great decisions concerning their future.
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?
There have actually been a lot of embarrassing moments during this journey, so I will speak to one moment in particular that really shifted the way I presented myself to the world. I’ve told this story before on stages, and even though it happened many years ago, I still cringe at it to this day.
When I first started in this business many years ago, I went to a huge conference for a woman who I deeply admired. (How I even got to the conference was a miracle by itself!) During the intermission, this famous powerhouse woman who has built multi-million dollar businesses time after time, was walking through the crowd of thousands. She looked as though she was almost gliding through the crowd, waving at people, saying hello, and snapping a few pictures here and there. When she got to the back of this enormous ballroom, she stopped at my table. And, when she stopped, I think my heart also stopped too. Time froze and to me the room became silent. She looked at me and said… “What is your name?”
My eyes got wide, my heart began to thump, and I began to sweat, and immediately, I threw up. Well, not really. My introduction to her was word vomit. Instinctively, and nervously I blurted out, “Hi! My name is Latia Vaughan and I’m the Dream Pusher! … And if I could just get a chance and I just need…”
And, before I could utter or stutter another word, she put her hand in my face and in front of everyone around me said, “STOP. SOUNDING. DESPERATE.”
*Crickets. That pause may have been a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. That moment was, by far, one of the most embarrassing and revelatory moments of my career. At that moment I did not realize HOW I came across to the world. I didn’t realize how my “pitch” and my casual introduction translated to those who were in positions of power. And, even though I have degrees in marketing and branding, when pitching and presenting myself and my brand to the world, none of the words or books that I had read, taught me — but that experience did.
From there I realized many people do not know how they come across to the world, and how the world perceives their business and brand. And even deeper than that, it taught me that the spotlight the woman gave me was the very tool that shed light on the insecurities and beliefs I had about myself. I opened up the conversation immediately about a need. My need. And, if I could “just have a chance.”
I was speaking from a place of lacking, not abundance. Although, at that moment I didn’t think it sounded like begging. But, now, if I could do it all over again, I would confidently lead with the “WIN/WIN” — tell her who I am, what I do, and how I can help HER!
We currently live during a time when many people just “want, want, want.” But, that is not collaboration or true partnership. That’s charity, and people in a position of power don’t want to partner with charity cases, as they prefer to simply donate to them.
Fast forward to today. The very woman whom I admired and embarrassed myself in front of is now a Mentor, Sister, and Colleague, which is a lesson well learned.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
There are a few things my team and I are working on that are quite juicy! The U-Network is expanding our territory with a deeper reach, igniting the world that leads people to their own remarkable evolution — whether for self or for businesses. Everything we touch helps corporations, celebrities, high-achieving professionals, and everyday dreamers evolve. As a Futurist, my goal is to help organizations and people make great decisions concerning their future.
I am also excited about my podcast, which will launch in early 2024. Also in early 2024, I will begin to announce some really big LIVE events and immersive experiences that have been in development, so people can be “in the room” where the magic is happening!
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?
Believing in yourself will open up more doors than your resume ever will. Yet, while many people know that they “should” believe in themselves to feel more happiness, success, and fulfillment, for some reason, they don’t. So, for me, a larger question would be to get to the root of why billions of people truly don’t believe in themselves, and how can we address the hidden barriers that dwarf our belief?
I truly believe three major barriers to our belief are:
- Lack of love — for yourself
- Lack of awareness
- And, lack of action
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 Olympic even if I’m not athletic? Can you please explain what you mean?
The first step is not to believe that you can DO something, but rather to believe that you are something. When you discover your “sticky,” you can fit more of who you are INTO what you DO! In my book “RE:DiscoverU” Dare To Evolve, I talk about how we normally associate success with titles or roles, but when that role changes, we feel lost, inadequate, or like a failure. As a society, we have put more action and pressure on “doing” versus “being” or “becoming.”
First, I challenge you to discover who you are and the beautiful qualities that you possess. You need to believe in that first. I like to say, “set your sails and believe in all of the beautiful and unique qualities that you have to guide you to the win; even the ones that you want to grow into.”
When you do that, you will subconsciously connect with, and strive for things that come to you naturally without force. This will bring you a life of success and fulfillment, which should always be the goal.
Was there a time when you did not believe in yourself? How did this impact your choices?
Belief, or the lack thereof, impacts everything. It can allow you to gain every possibility, or lose every possibility. AND, the choice is yours. Lack of belief will cause you to procrastinate, self-sabotage, diminish your capabilities, harp on your flaws and mistakes, and, ultimately, cripple you.
There were moments in my life when I grappled with my belief, particularly during seasons when I found myself constantly measuring my situation, life, timeline, bank account, and abilities against those of others. The pervasive influence of social media had my belief in myself in a chokehold! If you’re not careful or lack awareness, social media can foster comparison, and rob you of joy. When the weight of social media became overwhelming, and I sensed that familiar anxiety and comparison creeping in, I would deliberately take breaks. And, truth be told, I still do at times. Scrolling through other people’s lives, instead of tending to my own, will never get me to the goal. I realized that my timeline is unique, my journey is my own, and the rewards for my efforts are distinct. I stopped living my life and viewing my success as “check marks” on a list, and instead, I began to enjoy the journey itself.
I learned that true joy comes from being grateful for the “now,” while you prepare for your next!
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?
Everything in my life and in my business drastically changed when I finally got sick and tired of ME stopping ME! I realized that my procrastination was really my fear of showing up for me! I realized my “perfectionism” was really an excuse to not show up for me! And I realized my playing “small” was the true hindrance in not showing up BIG for me!
Challenges come and life can knock you off course, but at the end of the day, it was me. Until we begin to take responsibility for showing up for ourselves, we’ll never truly see how big we can get, how far we can go, and how great we really are. So, do yourself and your future a favor; get out of your own way. Your ideas, your vision, and your dreams deserve the chance to live, breathe and thrive!
What are your top 5 strategies that will help someone learn to believe in themselves? Please share a story or example for each.
To start believing in yourself, you first have to know and embody the mindset of a winner. You were made to win. You were born to win. Winning flows through your veins! And, even when you may lose a match; you still haven’t lost the race.
Build your belief by building up some WINS in your life! To do so, you have to:
- Think on the Win
- See the Win
- Speak the Win
- Feed the Win
- Accept the Win
When people don’t believe in themselves, they have often lost sight of the “win.” They lose sight of all of the victories they have won (both large and small) or they may have been in a space where they felt like they kept losing. They feel like those great moments, big changes, and all of the “good luck” was passed out to everyone but them.
So, focus and THINK: What does winning look like for you right now? Both large and small. The more little victories you begin to rack up, the more you will SEE the win, and your belief in yourself will grow in your mind, subconscious, and in your heart space, which will lead to huge, life-changing victories!
When this happens you should SPEAK the win and begin to believe in what you are really capable of. And, instead of living in the cycles and seasons of back-to-back “losses,” FEED the win by fixing your focus, and shift your paradigm into experiencing back-to-back wins! ACCEPT the win.
Life is a marathon. There will be many victories, some false starts, and quite possibly some violations too, that could make you want to throw in the towel. But, through it all, know that you are a winner. Winning naturally flows through you, and from you to others.
It’s also important to remember that in some seasons you will have the strength, wind, and strategy to sprint. In others, you may be walking, or even crawling, but the goal should always remain the same: Make a move! The finish line is waiting for you to arrive, and your wins in life, whether with business, healing, inner peace, financial freedom, finding your voice, building up your family, fostering great relationships, or finding your purpose — count! Let your wins drive you and let them be the motivating factors in your life that say, “I’ve got this! Winning is possible for me, and I’m not going to let anything or anyone cause me to forfeit my future. Not even myself.” Honor your pace, and run one hell of a race!
These 5 power moves to get you to your next and biggest WIN, are explained in even greater detail in my book “RE:DiscoverU” Dare To Evolve.
Are there any misconceptions about self-confidence and believing in oneself that you would like to dispel?
The notion that confidence implies a lack of humility is false with a capital “F.” True humility involves acknowledging your “BIGNESS” while still recognizing your smallness compared to the magnificence of space, time, and all creation. But, this realization shouldn’t stop you from embracing your own significance. In fact, it is only when we operate in our fullness and embrace our bigness that we honor our calling and higher purpose.

What advice would you give to someone who is struggling with imposter syndrome?
Keep a gratitude journal and build your official Brag Sheet. I do this with my clients when they are preparing for a big launch, business deal, expansion, or announcement. Moments of stepping out can be scary and intimidating, and the unknown can sometimes trick you into shrinking and retreating, instead of going forward at full force. In those critical moments, you have to remind yourself of who you are, and how far you’ve come. Those are the moments to pull all the stops to build your spirit up, reconnect to your ‘why,’ stay accountable, and execute the strategy that you already mapped out.
Whenever elevation calls, evolution is required. Just like when a plane reaches a new altitude, you have to adjust to the pressure. Most people buckle under that very pressure but, when you are locked in with your tribe, coaches, mentors, and community, they can collectively give you that gentle nudge, or that firm push to remind you that you can handle it. We don’t retreat, we ADJUST!
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? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would spark a revolution of EVOLUTION all around the world. Evolution of self, thought, and belief.
We would continue to do the great work of igniting hearts, dreams, possibilities, and big ideas. And, everything we would curate would simply fan the flame!
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 🙂
Oprah. Oprah. Oprah. Oprah… and ummm, let’s see… OPRAH!
Beyond her brilliance, wisdom, and the profound impact she has made across generations and within many mountains of influence, such as media, business, television/film etc., she is still not finished! I would be deeply humbled and honored to have a talk with Oprah about the very thing we are discussing today. Belief and EVOLUTION. It’s all interconnected and WE are all interconnected. As a Futurist, I believe that Oprah and I can collaborate to create a transformative experience to shake up and awaken the hearts, minds, and souls of those who have been stuck living in cycles and patterns — a soul-stirring experience for those who are ready to awaken their higher consciousness and finally live and create the life they’ve dreamed about, not the one they settled for and accepted. Together, Oprah and “The Dream Pusher” can light a match that will burn long after we are gone from this earthly plane. Together, we can create a fire that will never go out. Plus, I just LOVE HER!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
For consulting services, one-on-one coaching, or to book and experience Latia Vaughan “The Dream Pusher” LIVE, please visit my website: latiavaughan.com
LINKEDIN:
@LatiaVaughan
INSTAGRAM:
@LatiaVaughan
FACEBOOK:
@LatiaTuckerVaughan
Twitter / X :
@LatiaVaughan
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.