This Is the Phrase Barbara Corcoran Used to Overcome Self-Doubt

Barbara Corcoran, 77, had to consciously train herself for years to quiet her inner critic. 

On a recent episode of The Burnouts podcast, Corcoran told hosts Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni that it took decades before she believed in herself and her abilities. For years, Corcoran says she had to actively fight off a running loop of self-doubt in her head. She had an internal voice telling her she didn’t belong in meetings or group settings. 

“My tape would say, ‘Hey, Barb, you should have never been here. You didn’t need to come to this meeting,’” Corcoran said of her negative self-talk.

When she was in her mid-30s, she realized that old tape was holding her back — so she replaced it. Her new self-talk was “Barbara, you’re a genius… You’re great,” she said. 

Even though it felt untrue at first, repeating it over time helped the message sink in and stick. It took 15 years for the new mental tape to feel like the truth. 

“By running it all the time, 35 to 40 to 45. By the time I got to be 50, I pretty much believed it,” Corcoran said. “But it’s hard to shake it.” 

Corcoran said she has learned just how powerful and misleading her own thoughts could be. She could do far more than she imagined or gave herself credit for. 

“It’s just funny what your head can do for you. Most of everything, I think, plays out in your head,” Corcoran said. “You know, I wish I told myself as a younger woman, you’re a lot more capable than you think you are. But it took years to really learn that.”

Corcoran launched the Corcoran Group, a New York City real estate brokerage, in 1973. She ultimately sold the company for $66 million in 2001. She later brought her business expertise to a national audience as one of the original investors on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” where she has appeared since the show first premiered in 2009.

Other positive mindsets

Corcoran isn’t the only business leader to use positive self-talk to get ahead. Shelley Zalis, CEO of media company The Female Quotient, told Success Magazine last year that she only listens to her inner voice when it is telling her, “You can do it!” 

“Sometimes, [my inner voice tells me] I’m not good enough,” Zalis told the outlet. “My confidence comes from knowing that no one else has traveled my road, and that unique journey means my contributions matter.”

Author Ryan Hawk, who has interviewed more than 600 CEOs and business leaders, told CNBC earlier this month that the most successful people share a common mindset — they never think that they have “made it.” 

“There’s no moment of arrival,” Hawk told CNBC. “The [successful people] I’ve interviewed, they’re just pushing. They’re driving. They’re trying to put a positive dent in the world.”

Barbara Corcoran, 77, had to consciously train herself for years to quiet her inner critic. 

On a recent episode of The Burnouts podcast, Corcoran told hosts Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni that it took decades before she believed in herself and her abilities. For years, Corcoran says she had to actively fight off a running loop of self-doubt in her head. She had an internal voice telling her she didn’t belong in meetings or group settings. 

“My tape would say, ‘Hey, Barb, you should have never been here. You didn’t need to come to this meeting,’” Corcoran said of her negative self-talk.