How to Be Bold Before You Feel Confident — Fred Joyal | Audacious Living
How do you become bold when you don't feel confident yet? Fred Joyal believes we've been thinking about confidence backwards.
Fred describes himself as a painfully shy introvert who once assumed bold people were simply born differently. Then he began deliberately doing things that made him uncomfortable and discovered that boldness wasn't something he had to wait for. It was something he could practise.
In this episode of The Audacious Living Podcast, Fred and I get into the hidden cost of playing it safe, why failure may deserve a completely different meaning, and what happens when you start building boldness before you actually need it.
Fred's perspective is wonderfully practical: if you want to become more courageous when the stakes are high, start getting uncomfortable while the stakes are low.
We also get into the unlikely story behind 1-800-DENTIST. Fred wasn't a dentist and admits he didn't know whether the business would even become profitable for roughly two and a half years. It eventually grew to nearly $50 million in annual revenue with 250 employees.
Yet one of my favourite moments comes when Fred describes what all that practice with boldness eventually did for him:
“I didn't become a different person. I became the full "
That's where this conversation gets bigger than entrepreneurship.
What could become possible if you stopped waiting to feel completely ready?
Key Insights
• Why boldness is a skill rather than a personality trait
• Why confidence doesn't necessarily need to come first
• How low-stakes discomfort prepares you for high-stakes decisions
• Why failure can become useful information
• The long-term cost of constantly playing it safe
• How missed opportunities can accumulate into regret
• Why becoming bolder doesn't require becoming someone else
About Fred Joyal
Fred Joyal is a longtime entrepreneur, author and advocate for developing boldness as a practical life skill.
He co-created 1-800-DENTIST and ran the company for 28 years. At its peak, Fred says the company generated nearly $50 million annually and employed approximately 250 people.
What makes Fred's work particularly interesting isn't that boldness always came naturally to him. It's the opposite. He describes his younger self as painfully introverted and eventually became fascinated by figuring out how boldness could be deliberately learned and strengthened. That journey became the foundation for his book Superbold.
Connect With Fred Joyal
🌐 Website: FredJoyal.com
📘 Book: Superbold
Fred identifies his website as the main destination for his book, keynote work and boldness programs.
Read the Audacious Insight
Why Playing It Safe Is the Riskiest Decision You’ll Ever Make
🔗 Blog: https://www.bestaudaciouslife.com/episodes/fred-joyal-build-boldness-confidence
Listen on Major Platforms
🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ
🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345
📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt
Behind the Conversation
There was an immediate connection in this conversation because Fred and I approach audacity from remarkably similar places.
Yet what I particularly enjoyed was his distinction between confidence and boldness. We often think we need the first before attempting the second. Fred makes a compelling argument that we've got the order backwards.
Stay for the Fearless Fast Round too. Fred describing himself as a “ready fire aim guy” tells you quite a bit about how he approaches risk