On Thursday, I received my promotion to manager.
It is a major career milestone exactly one week before my birthday.
It was an incredibly special day. The result of countless hours and a new version of myself that I needed to build.
And it could not have come at a better time with our wedding coming in exactly two months.
I am proud. I know what it took. I know who I had to become. And I did it.
Beyond the milestone, which I’m incredibly grateful for, there is something that’s more important.
I Snatched My Confidence Back.
Where Did My Confidence Go?
My twenties are best described as a rollercoaster and while I can sit now and be happy with the path to get here, it was the furthest thing from easy.
Confidence is tied to our identity, or at least that’s how it works for me. When we lose that identity, or something damages it, it can crush our confidence in ourselves and our abilities.
This has happened across major areas of my life: relationships, finances, physical health, spirituality, and career.
In 2023, following my second promotion at Accenture, I started to have feelings of stagnation and in certain ways, regression. This naturally made me doubt what I was doing with my career, and after a ton of introspection, I committed to making a change.
At the beginning of April 2024, I made my first career shift and moved to Capital One.
Unfortunately for me, this adjustment wasn’t “exactly what I needed” or “the perfect fit from the start.”
At work, I faced a barrage of technology problems, team instability, a knowledge gap (I had some pretty damn smart people around me).
Meanwhile, at home I endured multiple eye procedures and physical therapy three days a week for my knee. Planning an elaborate proposal for Kylen (if you’ve seen my Google Doc you know). And our sweet pitty, Hippie, was very sick and woke me up multiple times a night, several nights a week for months with stomach issues. She’s good now and is as healthy as she’s been in years!
I also decided to start writing on here in September of the same year.
All of these things contributed to my loss in confidence. It was a snowball of many things stacking against me, and no matter what I did, or how hard I tried, I could not figure it out.
I began to think that maybe I was the problem after all.
How Do You Respond?
Before I talk about how I responded, I want to share some inspiring stories from the many excellent writers on here. Whether you relate to me or one of them, I truly have found the resilience, determination, and commitment displayed to be critical to snatching back your confidence.
You face different challenges than other people. You also respond differently to the challenges than everyone else.
You could be a great athlete who suffers a second collapsed lung like Danny DeBrito and follow his recovery path: “I bided my time, did the light physical therapy when I could, worked on my lung capacity, and came back with a vengeance.”
You could face a surprise layoff like Nat Sang and then build an outstanding Substack publication (The Midlife Reset) to find your confidence again and be an inspiration to so many others to find theirs.
Or you could take a life-threatening illness and a challenging childhood, and take The Brave Leap like Claudia M. Zedda did and redefine your life, rebuild your confidence, and live a confident life on your terms.
The truth of the matter is, all of us have our story. We all have periods where we lack confidence in ourselves, even if the world around us thinks we have it together.
I listened to Aisha’s podcast episode today (The Opera Singer Who Cracked the Code on Being Heard) and when she asked her guest for feedback, he said she is an excellent speaker (she absolutely is), and she responded, “Can you give me a piece of critical feedback, because otherwise I won’t believe it’s true.”
Confidence is tricky. Sometimes we need validation. It’s easy to think that if someone who is great at something doesn’t feel confident, then why in the world should we?
We build confidence through repetition. Through showing up. Eventually, we start to believe.
How I Snatched My Confidence Back
It was January of 2025, and I had a meeting with my new boss and old boss. After a disappointing review of my first half year, I made the promise to them that “I will be excellent this year.”
Pretty bold from someone who was coming off a rough first year.
I will always remember that conversation.
I had every reason to give up. To believe that I was the problem. To blame my situation.
And I said I know who I am and you all will see that.
Throughout the year, I could feel the change happening before my eyes. I reminded myself that every day on the way to work I was going to be great.
I could feel my confidence in my presentations, decisions, and work product. My business partners began to not only trust but rely on me to deliver meaningful work and strategic insights.
At the end of 2025, the business announced an award that I hadn’t heard of before, with a rather funny name, called ‘Over the Top.’ Now, I’m definitely a little dramatic at times, but this award had a connotation that encapsulated the year I had.
The Over the Top award is given to individuals who go far above and beyond what is expected of someone in their role. For your “finance guy” to win that is pretty telling, considering we are often the bearers of bad news or “the budget police.”
Okay, we are getting somewhere. But as the late Kobe Bryant said when up 2-0 in the NBA Finals: “What’s there to be happy about? The job is not finished. Job finished? I don’t think so.”
Kylen and I took a couple’s retreat to Broken Bow this past Christmas break and we set our goals.
My number 1 goal was to get promoted to manager.
Yes, to those in the back, obviously the wedding is my top priority, but getting promoted to manager does make it way easier to achieve.
So I picked up right where I left off.
My star teammate left and there was a MASSIVE void to fill. I filled the void.
Our team began pushing AI implementation in our workflows. I took on a role on the AI Leadership team.
Finance, strategy, negotiation, analysis, you name it. I was there. I delivered.
Then on Thursday morning, on the way into the office I got the call.
“... And you’ve been promoted to Manager at Capital One.”
My boss’s family was in the background on speaker and they cheered, something that I’ll always remember about that very special moment.
I may have been the problem. But now I’m the solution.
And if that doesn’t give me confidence, I don’t know what will.
Final Words
It’s been an amazing week and thank you truly to so many people in my work, personal, and Substack world that have shared the love. The last 18 months have tested me to a new level and I am so proud to be on the other side of the canyon now.
A song I loved in high school was “I Lived” by OneRepublic and after this week, I can honestly look back on my twenties and say it. I made it through the struggles, I experienced the greatest moments of my life, and shared memories with the best people. I Lived.
The fun continues with my birthday on Thursday, and I can’t wait to continue the celebrations this week. Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!
Chase, first of all, super congratulations on your promotion to manager!! I love how you faced multiple set backs and you didn’t give up. Very much Brave Leap material 🏹👏🏼
It makes me incredibly happy to see my name as one of the writers who inspires you on this platform🥹 Thank you so much for the mention. You’re smashing it. The promotion, the wedding, Substack, it will all work out 🙏🏼
Awww Chase! Massive congratulations on your well deserved promotion! You have such great work ethic and values that it’s just the beginning of many amazing promotions. I 💯 believe that. It’s also inspiring because you have demonstrated to us that showing up every day is essential to achieving your goals. I’m so glad you smashed it! I’m so honored to serve as inspiration for you and as far as confidence goes, it’s definitely something you continue working on for a lifetime. It ebbs and flows but I promise it’s never gone. You have set the example for younger generations and I’m thrilled to know that Em will be amongst greatness in the future. Thank you for mentioning me and it’s a privilege to call you a friend.