The trust that set me free

Hi, how are you? It’s so good to see you here.

In this space, I invite you to look at life through a new lens—to open the door to a new way of living.

In this first post, I’d like to share a little bit of my story with you.

Feel free to grab a cup of coffee while you read.

August 11, 2000.Friday.I woke up around 5:30 a.m., already sensing the smell of lunch my mother had lovingly prepared for me. In my backpack: a binder, a Chiavenato book, and my packed lunch, wrapped with care. A little before 7 a.m., I got on the bus, heading to my first official job. So many questions and expectations filled my mind. And just like that—over 20 years have passed.

I remember the interview clearly. I was anxious and had no experience. I kept wondering how many candidates I’d be up against, and how much more competent they must be.Later, my manager told me she had been impressed that I walked such a long distance from the bus stop to the office. For me, that was normal. But to her, it showed that I wouldn’t give in to the daily pressures of the job.And that’s how my professional journey began—as an Administrative Assistant at the former Banco Dibens, in Manaus, Brazil.

Three months later, our Regional Superintendent said I had the profile for Sales and asked:"How long would you need to get a car?"He wanted to promote me—but the commercial team needed to be mobile, and that required a vehicle.

I felt the ground disappear beneath me. A chill ran down my spine. I didn’t understand how they saw potential in me. In my head, I wasn’t doing anything special. At the time, I didn’t have the money to buy a car—nor a driver’s license.Still, I thanked him and replied with confidence—at just 19 years old:“Six months.”

And that’s exactly what happened. Six months later, I had my license. With the help of my father (he gave me R$2,000 for the down payment), I bought my first car: a beautiful red 1994 Chevrolet Corsa. In March 2001, I got promoted.

I decided to share part of my story here to offer a few insights that may be helpful to those reading this to the end. Please—keep only what resonates with you.

Since then, so much has happened. I grew. I changed companies a few times. I had the opportunity to lead a team. Switched industries. Led teams again. Then chose to return to the field. I studied. Traveled. Married a man who encourages me to pursue my dreams. Became a mother. Met wonderful people—others, not so much. I believed in myself. I doubted myself. I questioned everything. And one day—I knew.Time gave me clarity.

That’s when I realized I was repeating a pattern—without even noticing. I had trouble acknowledging my achievements, let alone talking about them. I feared celebrating my victories and unintentionally hurting those who hadn’t reached theirs. I didn’t see anything extraordinary in the essential work I produced. I pretended I didn’t have a natural talent for some tasks—because it didn’t seem fair to others.I didn’t understand that we all have unique strengths and weaknesses.So when I made a mistake, I felt like the most incompetent person in the world—and entered a cycle of repeating the same error, as if to prove I wasn’t good enough.I thought that to be “good,” I had to be perfect.I often absorbed other people’s problems to spare them from pain.I needed constant recognition and praise—and when I didn’t get them, I assumed I was doing something wrong.

Throughout my youth, I attributed my successes to a “false self” and my failures to the “real me”—a self I kept hidden, so it wouldn’t overshadow or inconvenience others.In other words, I lived with Impostor Syndrome.I believed that at any moment, I’d be exposed as a fraud—after all, anyone could have achieved what I had. And of course, I only got through the challenges because of luck or help from someone else.

As if that weren’t enough, I also carried what some call the “Wendy Complex.”I tried to be “nice” all the time.I was afraid of rejection, felt guilty for not being perfect, and constantly tried to please people to be accepted.

Thankfully, I matured.I built my foundation on solid ground.Today, I recognize the many qualities I have—and I understand that my weaknesses don’t cancel them out. In fact, they expand my ability to evolve through learning.Yes, I still have fears—but they no longer paralyze me. I strive to stay in motion. I choose to feed the wolf that tells me to keep going.

I’ve expanded my awareness enough to honor my story—all the way back to childhood—and to see that my confidence only falters when I allow it to, when I procrastinate, or when I forget that I can transform my emotions and grow—whether through love or pain.

I stopped projecting happiness onto an imagined “ideal version” of myself a long time ago.Now, I live in the present—and each day, I commit to coming home as a better version of who I was... or even a brand new version, transformed.I strive to learn something new every day—whether by observing others or being the subject of the lesson. Sometimes I learn how to do something. Other times, how not to.

And although I’ve found peace with maturity, I recently stopped to reflect and realized something was still missing:The courage to say, out loud:

I deserve everything I’ve achieved.And I achieved it through my own competence. It’s okay not to have all the answers. Criticism is not the end of the world. It makes me happy to know that, in some way, I inspire people along my journey. I’ve changed my mind more than once—and that’s a good thing. My perspective doesn’t need to be fixed. It can grow and evolve with my understanding. I am deeply grateful and proud to have worked in Sales for over 20 years. I think it’s amazing—and I see our field as strategic and essential. I believe that true teamwork knows no barriers—and I want to thank everyone who has walked this path with me. I believe in Transformational Leadership as a way to engage people and drive consistent, sustainable results—leading to the high performance we all seek. The best is yet to come.

If you’ve made it this far, nice to meet you.I’m Anelice Marambaia.On one side, I carry the resilience of the Miranha Tribe.On the other, deep Italian roots.

I gained my freedom by working on my confidence—and I’m here to show you that you are AMAZING, and you can do ANYTHING.

Come with me?