How to Guarantee Success Before You Enter the Room

Dr. Alan Weiss, PhD, consultant, speaker, and author joins eHealth Radio and the Health News & Psychology Channels. His new book is The Courage of Your Talents: How to Build Your Self-esteem, Trust Your Own Judgment, and Constantly Succeed in Business (and Life). Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Dr. Alan Weiss discuss the following: High self-esteem is the one trait shared by nearly every great success — in business, sports, politics, and entertainment. What convinced you it's esteem, and not talent or luck, that's the real differentiator? You coined the term "courage of your talents." Tell us what it means and how it relates to self-esteem. You write that we need to entrench high self-esteem so that it's not situational. Describe how this works. Despite decades of self-help books and psychology, you argue we've actually regressed on self-esteem. What's driving that decline? You point to social media and "curated" comparison as major culprits. How is a scroll through Instagram undermining someone's self- esteem, before they've even started their day? Walk us through the "six courage creators." You start with accountability — why is owning your own problems the foundation of courage? You flatly reject the adage "the customer is always right." Why is that idea so corrosive to a professional's self-worth? You advise accepting only solicited feedback from people you trust — and ignoring the rest. That runs counter to all the "always be open to feedback" advice. Why? Two of your daily practices are the morning-and-evening "mantra" and the journal. Can you walk listeners through what you actually do? If a listener takes just one action after this conversation to build the courage of their talent, what should it be?  Alan Weiss, PhD, is a consultant, speaker, and author. Through his consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., he has worked with more than 500 leading organizations, including Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, The Federal Reserve, and the New York Times Corporation. A sought-after speaker at major conferences, he’s also published more than 60 books, many of which have been on the curricula at top business schools. His new book is The Courage of Your Talents: How to Build Your Self-esteem, Trust Your Own Judgment, and Constantly Succeed in Business (and Life) (Productivity Press, Oct. 12, 2026). Website: alanweiss.com Facebook: Facebook: facebook.com/MillionDollarConsulting  X: @BentleyGTCSpeed  Instagram: linkedin.com/in/alanweissphd  YouTube: youtube.com/user/alansummitconsulting  People also listened to this: Reclaim Your Comfort, Renew Your Confidence: Breast Reduction with Dr. M. Zakir Sabry