Confidence — How To Build It

Host: Sho (@AgogoKaren) & Super (@SHGFees) · Date: Fri, 04 Sep 2026 · Duration: 2:28:40 (recorded in 3 parts) · ~12 speakers

TL;DR

• A warm, post-NFT-NYC debrief that turned into a group masterclass on where confidence actually comes from: modeling other people, curiosity over performance, and the company you keep.
• Recurring thesis across the room: you don't need confidence to connect — you need to get out of your own head and get curious about the other person.
• Tim (a self-described introvert whom everyone insisted is anything but) and Dan carried the practical frameworks; Lyss and Sho carried the "acknowledge your weaknesses and lift others" throughline.
• The most-loved stretch was Gm, an older community member, opening up about a lifetime of self-doubt — and the whole panel lifting her up, ending with her heading off to host her own Space.
• The comic spine of the night was Super's phone dying and re-dying (rugging the Space twice) despite being gifted roughly two dozen chargers.
• Astro landed the tidiest takeaway of all: confidence is hidden in consistency.

Highlights

Super frames the topic — and admits he hasn't figured it out [P1 9:50] Opening the room, Super said confidence is a topic where he has less expertise than usual, then shared the lesson underneath it: putting people on a pedestal sets you up to be let down. His example — young skaters idolizing a pro until they heard he'd done cocaine at a party, which "spoiled our idea of him" [P1 11:11]. Respect people, he concluded, but don't rank yourself below them.

The Schnecky effect [P1 16:04] Super's first real answer: being around people comfortable in their own skin pulls confidence out of you. The unexpected catalyst on his trip was a goofy Quirkies streamer named Schnecky, whose high energy "bypassed" Super's first-day nerves and reminded him these were "not people to be afraid of" [P1 17:31].

Dan's cup of confidence [P1 24:45] Dan reframed helping others as a confidence source: spot someone nearby who's nervous and steadying them steadies you. "I got enough confidence for the both of us. Here's a cup of confidence for you and me." He later added the road-tested version — work out to shed the anxiety, lean on Dale Carnegie curiosity, and anchor to one familiar face (for him, Lyss) [P1 39:14].

Vulnerability as an opener [P2 2:57] Picking back up after the first restart, Dan shared a technique from a creative mentor, Chris Doe — walk into a room and just name what's bothering you ("I'm nervous," "I'm exhausted") to get it out of your head. His other mentor's line stuck with the room: "there are no fucking rules, like just chill." Sometimes confidence is just someone handing you permission to be.

Tim: curiosity over confidence [P2 9:07] Tim's long, generous monologue was the heart of Part 2 — business confidence comes easy to him, social confidence he's worked at for years. His fix is to ask people about themselves. "When you're connecting on a personal level, it doesn't require confidence, it just requires curiosity." (He grew up poor and started watching movies and shows just to have things to talk about — though he's still never seen Star Wars.)

Lyss on naming your weaknesses [P2 27:14] Lyss argued that admitting what you're not good at is the fast pass to fixing it: "once you can say, hey, I'm not great at this, it's a pathway to being better at it." Dan separately called her "a beast" for the way she reads a room — noticing who's emoting more than usual and reaching out to them afterward [P2 23:39].

The great charger saga [P2 31:35] The room's running bit: Super's phone kept dying despite everyone having handed him chargers (iPhone vs. Android confusion included), and the group decided the only proper way to end the Space was to let his battery run out. Someone insisted the earlier crash happened because Super "plugged in a lemon" — a joke only "the older people in this space" were meant to get [P2 32:52].

Gm opens up, and the room lifts her [P3 34:31] The emotional peak. Asked by Lyss what the voice of insecurity sounds like, Gm described being bullied through school, a mother who cut her hair short, walking around smiling while depressed, and now facing ApeFest alone. Sho responded with a whole philosophy about a generation that never got to talk about its feelings — and pointed out that Gm does things (MetaMask, gaming, showing up) that most people her age never attempt [P3 37:11]. Tim added that he never had grandparents and wished one had Gm's personality [P3 42:29]. Gm ended the arc by revealing she's about to host her own Space: "at my age, I should have done this a long time ago" [P3 41:12].

Astro: consistency is the secret [P3 44:47] Astro tied it all together — you can't be confident at something you started today; confidence is hidden in consistency. Play tennis on day 100 and you'll be amazed at the progress from day zero. The same, he said, goes for the group itself: the more they meet, the more comfortable everyone gets.

Topic timeline

Notable quotes

• "I got enough confidence for the both of us. Here's a cup of confidence for you and me." — Dan [P1 24:45]
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• "There are no fucking rules, like just chill." — Dan, quoting a mentor [P2 2:57]
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• "When you're connecting on a personal level, it doesn't require confidence, it just requires curiosity." — Tim [P2 9:07]
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• "Once you can say, hey, I'm not great at this, it's a pathway to being better at it and mastering it." — Lyss [P2 27:14]
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• "Never bet against Show." — Jed, on his onboarding bet [P2 29:52]
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• "If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect other people to believe in you?" — Sho [P3 57:34]
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Who said what

• Super (@SHGFees) — Host; opened the topic, admitted it isn't his strong suit, and shared the pedestal lesson and the Schnecky story. Closed low-energy and got affectionately ribbed for it.
• Sho (@AgogoKaren) — Cohost, running the room on a raspy voice all night; the company you keep, making hotel staff feel seen, and the emotional anchor who lifted Gm and others.
• Dan (@brokenrealitydh) — Modeling others, Dale Carnegie curiosity, and vulnerability-as-an-opener; repeatedly praised for a "quiet confidence."
• Tim (@tim_8093) — The room's "introvert" who nobody believed; business vs. social confidence, curiosity over confidence, and the hotel-as-family philosophy.
• Lyss (@Lysss302) — Talks to everyone top to bottom, acknowledge-your-weaknesses, and reading a room in "3D"; co-hosted Part 3.
• Jed (@jed_131) — Called the shots-bet "fake news," clarified the real bet was onboarding people to regen — where he's "losing big."
• McFly (@MrMcFly100) — The outside/hospitality guy; kept his word by delivering gifts to Tim before his flight, and preached "IRL is the alpha."
• Gm (@gmatoall) — Older community member; candid about lifelong self-doubt and bullying, celebrated by the room, and off to host her own Space.
• Astro (@astroquirk_) — Delivered the cleanest thesis: confidence is hidden in consistency.
• DigitalDad (@Digital_dad23) — Checked in from a farm show / 4H with his kids, and caught some good-natured heat about smoking downwind.

Worth a full listen

• [P2 4:39]–[P2 9:07] — Tim's arsenal-and-hotel-family monologue is the fullest expression of the whole night's thesis; the summary flattens how disarmingly he tells it.
• [P3 34:31]–[P3 39:45] — Gm opening up and the panel lifting her is the emotional core of the episode and doesn't compress well; hear it in the speakers' own voices.
• [P2 31:35]–[P2 37:00] — The charger/dead-phone gag builds across several minutes; the timing of everyone realizing they'd each handed Super a charger is the joke.