Finding Your Confidence - with Katie Piper

One of Kevin’s ambitions for the show has been to interview the fabulous writer, activist, model, presenter and mum, Katie Piper, and today the dream becomes a reality. Katie is one of the most familiar and beloved personalities in Britain, not just for her dazzling beauty and warm wit, but also for her courageous championing of charitable causes and her renowned compassion and relatability.  In this very special edition of The Kevin Clifton Show, we get up close and personal with Katie, discussing everything from balancing work and home, the importance of stepping outside of your comfort zone, and the ways in which self-analysis and self-belief can help lift you back to the light in the wake of life’s darkest moments. KEY TAKEAWAYS Being busy, and living through a hectic schedule, is a mark of positivity and productivity. Both Katie and Kevin enjoy the hustle of creativity and development. Strictly Come Dancing were keen to sign Katie for many years, but her exclusivity deal with Channel 4 prevented her from doing so. However, when that expired in 2018, she jumped at the chance to take to the floor. Whenever you start in something new, you always feel that sense of being stranded. For Katie, the Strictly experience was starkly different to anything she’d experienced before. She was used to being on TV, but dancing on TV was a whole new world. In life, we must always seek the challenge of the next thing. If we’re feeling safe, then it’s usually a sign of being static. Only when we let go of our inhibitions can we truly begin to enjoy our endeavours. It doesn’t come straight away, so don’t expect it to happen instantly, but when it does come, that feeling of release will allow you to enjoy life so much more. Podcasting allows Katie to express herself, and to show the world the real, unfiltered side of herself. it also allows her to express her ideas quickly, with complete editorial control, while they’re still relevant. Even if you live in the public eye, it’s important to have boundaries. People will respect you more in the long run if you can separate your private life from your public life. Confidence is an issue that all performers deal with, and sometimes struggle with. For Kevin, confidence is a huge issue, and although he may seem like an extrovert on Strictly, in social situations and in normal life, he is very shy. Confidence allows us to bounce back from rejection. The self-belief we must have in ourselves, especially as performers, picks us up in the face of a setback, and spurs us on to the next challenge. Life-changing injuries are just that - they never truly heal. Physically, Katie has, and will continue, to receive treatment. Psychologically, she finds herself having to readjust her outlook every now and then. It’s an ongoing struggle, but she refuses to let it beat her. It’s okay to be negative sometimes. It’s okay to be lazy. It’s okay to want to isolate yourself, All these things, in the wake of a life-calamity, are your own way of getting through this. So long as you realise this, and that you know it’s only temporary. We’re so obsessed with identity and occupation. When we ask “What do you do?”, the answer can be so complicated. It’s unfortunate that occupation is how we categorise people. Resilience comes through life experience and age. When we are shown the thing we can survive, we discover the things we’re capable of. Confidence comes through our embarrassment being shrugged away. We can’t spend our lives living in fear of what people think of us, or we’re lining ourselves up for a very poor existence. There’s a fine line between being self-serving and arrogant, and being nothing but a people pleaser. You need to say no sometimes. You need to remember that your life is your own. You can’t please everyone, so you may as well please yourself. We never really use a positive internal commentary by default. Our standard position is to question, and to worry about something. We need to nurture the positive voice. BEST MOMENTS ‘I feel really fortunate to be able to say that I do a job that I’m passionate about’ ‘I still don’t know the grammatical difference between their and there’ ‘I feel like I’m doing a wee with the door open!’ ‘Can I change this?’ ‘It’s normal to get rejected in life. That’s okay’ ‘I wanted the burn to live with me, not for me to live with the burn’ ’There was a moment of clarity’ ‘Rock bottom is a great place to start’ ‘Politely saying “no” is quite empowering’ ’The negatives happen before you’ve even tried’ ‘I am the female Tyson Fury!' VALUABLE RESOURCES   The Kevin Clifton Show - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-kevin-clifton-show/id1475650764 Katie Piper’s Extraordinary People Podcast - https://play.acast.com/s/katiepiper Katie Piper Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/katiepiper_/?hl=en ABOUT THE HOST   Kevin Clifton is a professional dancer who has been performing & competing at the highest level for over a decade. Kevin has worked on shows like 'Burn the floor' & 'Rock of Ages' to 'Strictly Come Dancing' one of the biggest TV shows in the UK which Kevin won in 2018.    CONTACT METHOD Kevin Clifton Instagram Kevin Clifton Facebook Kevin Clifton YouTube