The Confidence Shortcut with Niki Sterner

#14: Jeovana Davis | Musician & Healer | Turning Sensitivity into Superpower

• Niki Sterner • Season 1 • Episode 14

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What would life look like if you stopped dimming your light to make others comfortable? Jeovana Davis knows this journey intimately. As a creative consultant, intuitive strategist, and performer who radiates authenticity, Jeovana has navigated the challenging path from people-pleasing to soul-centered expression.

"I'm super passionate about being vulnerable," Jeovana shares early in our conversation. Unlike the carefully curated success stories flooding our feeds, she's committed to showing the process—the messy, beautiful journey of becoming. This commitment to transparency reveals her current focus: resetting her nervous system after years of conditioning that kept her perpetually in "go mode."

Through breathwork, intentional nutrition, and periods of fasting, Jeovana is reclaiming her relationship with her hypersensitive nature. What she once viewed as a weakness, she now recognizes as "actually a superpower to be able to feel everything around you." This perspective shift came through personal challenges, including stepping up as primary caretaker during her sister's health crisis—an experience that expanded her understanding of therapy and healing modalities beyond traditional approaches.

Our conversation weaves through Jeovana's musical journey, from getting booed during early performances to developing her unique stage presence and songwriting process. Her freestyling approach to creating music mirrors her approach to life—intuitive, authentic, and unwilling to be boxed in by conventions. After leaving the corporate world to fully embrace her creative identity, she's learning to choose opportunities that honor her whole self rather than just parts of her talent.

"I don't want to have to create safe spaces anymore," she states with quiet conviction. "It needs to be safe when I arrive." This boundary represents Jeovana's evolution from seeking external validation to trusting her internal compass.

Ready to reconnect with who you were before the trauma, roles, and expectations? Follow Jeovana's journey on Instagram at Choosing Jeovana and discover how vulnerability might become your greatest strength too.


On Instagram: @ChoosingJeovana

https://www.instagram.com/choosingjeovana/

On Instagram: @NotedbyJV

https://www.instagram.com/notedbyjv/


💛 A quick note: In this episode, I briefly mention my experience with childhood sexual abuse. While not graphic, I want to give you a heads-up in case this topic feels sensitive for you. Please take care of yourself as you listen.

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Niki Sterner:

Welcome to the Confidence Shortcut, the podcast for ambitious creatives and entrepreneurs who are ready to stop overthinking, take bold action and finally step into the life they've been dreaming about.

Niki Sterner:

I'm your host, Niki Sterner mom, actor, comedian and producer. After years of playing small and waiting to feel ready, I went on a courage quest and found a shortcut to confidence. Each week, I'll bring you real stories, simple steps and conversations with experts in mindset, courage and confidence, plus heart-to-hearts with fellow creatives who are turning their dreams into reality. It's time to get unstuck and start showing up. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Confidence Shortcut. I'm your host, nikki Sterner, and today's guest is Jeovana Davis, a creative consultant, intuitive strategist and performer whose work is rooted in soul-centered expression and deep, intentional dialogue. With a passion for helping others reconnect to their truth, giovanna brings more than just strategy she brings energy. Her mission is to help people remember who they were before the trauma, the roles and the expectations, guiding them to remove the filters placed by fear and society. Through her art and presence, she inspires others to finally choose themselves and stop suffering for the character they've been performing. Oh, I love that so much. Welcome to the show.

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

Niki Sterner:

That was beautifully read, thank you. You're such a beautiful person that I met a couple years ago on a set and I just felt so inspired. When I heard your music back then I was like holy cow. She has such a voice and such a presence and just such a beautiful energy about you that I was just instantly drawn to you and I know we've stayed in touch, and we're working on a documentary about your life, which is very exciting, and I'm so thrilled to share that with the world whenever it comes out.

Niki Sterner:

But I know we're still working through that whole process, but it's going to be just an incredible piece of art, and so I just wanted to get started by asking you what you're passionate about right now on the journey.

Jeovana Davis:

Right now, I am super passionate about being vulnerable. I think that is something that is necessary, especially because nowadays, everybody pulls the success, but not the process of how to get there. Yeah, right now I'm passionate about being vulnerable and focusing on resetting my nervous system.

Niki Sterner:

Beautiful. Will you tell me more about that? Resetting the nervous system.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, I think with growing up, I just was conditioned to always be on go, so I feel like the dysfunction of that has made me become an overachiever. So I always want to be doing music, helping people, serving, and now I just want to make sure everything that I do is aligned. So I'm starting with my health first and paying attention to my body and how it feels, and taking a holistic approach when it comes to working and being a creative what does that look like in your day to day?

Niki Sterner:

like taking care of yourself and your health. What are some things that you do?

Jeovana Davis:

So right now and I'm still defining it, but right now I've incorporated doing at least five minutes of breath work because I'm a singer. That also helps with me being able to sing better as well, but it also helps calm the nervous system down and put it back in alignment and making healthier choices when it comes to eating. So, making sure my water intake is on point, making sure I'm incorporating more veggies and fruits and I fast a lot too. I feel like I am a hypersensitive person, so sometimes I'll just randomly do a fast just to release a lot of energy or, feeling overwhelmed, to get back recentered.

Niki Sterner:

I want to go back to the breath work and how. What kind of exercises do you do to strengthen your singing voice in addition to resetting your nervous system, Like what might be some examples?

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, so there's vocal coaching, of course, so sometimes I'll just hop on YouTube and pull up a vocal coaching coach and just go from there. I also have a vocal coach. It's just one of my best friends, so I might do a lesson with her. But breathing is so essential to calming down your nervous system. I didn't actually know how detrimental it was to your body, so it's something that I'm still researching. But I would just pull up a five minute energy cleanse and I do guided meditations from YouTube.

Niki Sterner:

Do you have any favorite people that you watch?

Jeovana Davis:

I don't which is interesting, like a guided meditation for overthinking. Or if I'm restless, I'll do a guided meditation for a deep sleep. So it just depends on what I feel the need is at that time.

Niki Sterner:

Will you take me back to maybe a low point that you had? I don't know when. It would have been a few years ago, maybe when you went on your journey of what you've discovered.

Jeovana Davis:

A low point. Honestly, I think all of my low points have been centered around me being hypersensitive and because I am super emotional, super, just always in my feelings, I would look at that as a weakness, but I'm starting to recognize that it's actually a superpower to be able to feel everything around you. It also gives you a level of discernment like, okay, does this feel good, does this feel bad? I think my low moments have been me not accepting that I'm just a hypersensitive person and that it's okay to be that way, and using it to my advantage.

Niki Sterner:

Now will you take us back to when your sister had her health crisis?

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, I will say that was probably when I noticed that I had to utilize all the things that I had been practicing with meditation and float therapy, I think.

Jeovana Davis:

So my sister had a stroke and I was the main sister who was available to be boots on the ground for her. So I became her primary caretaker at that time, and what I realized is that in order to really fully step into a caretaker role, it requires you taking care of yourself first, because that much energy, time, effort, stress will then allow you to not become the patient if you don't really make sure that you're okay. That experience allowed me to explore different avenues of health. So, even down to therapy, I think a lot of people aren't really aware of different types of therapy. So there's regular therapy, like where you can just have a therapist and you talk to them about your day-to-day, and then there's therapists that specialize in certain areas like brain spotting, emdr, ptsd things that I honestly had no idea about. So that experience allowed me to know that there's more resources out there, not only through therapy, but just wellness activities as well and practices.

Niki Sterner:

What did you say? Brain spotting?

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, what's that Brain spotting? So my knowledge? I feel like it's linked to, like memory loss. So when you're severely depressed, the brain tries to protect you, so it doesn't want to remember a lot of things, and so sometimes you don't understand why you respond to certain things, because your brain is not allowing you to access that memory to understand what it's rooted in.

Niki Sterner:

Wow, that makes sense and you think that's tied back into trauma.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, I think it's tied back into trauma, and even if we don't say trauma, I can say that it's tied back into as kids. There were certain things where, let's say, we asked our mom to color with us one time and they didn't, and that made us feel abandoned or like we weren't special, and so I really just think it's a matter of understanding how certain experiences impacted us if you don't want to carry that heavy title of trauma.

Niki Sterner:

What do they say? Like big T trauma and little t trauma, and then you're saying like you don't even have to call it trauma, just what you experienced, that is, yeah, trauma feels heavy. It feels like you have to match the energy of that and maybe that's not where you're at.

Jeovana Davis:

You can talk a tattoo, yeah.

Niki Sterner:

Like you can't get rid of it. Yeah, I've been looking into beliefs and where do our beliefs come from recently, and for me it stems back to an experience that happened to me when I was eight and it formed a whole lot of beliefs within me.

Niki Sterner:

It was just a one time incident with a sexual molestation with a neighbor older girl, and I just carried this belief that silence equals safety for a really long time, up until recently, and it's prevented me from really using my voice in a powerful way because I haven't felt safe to do it and just figuring out ways of number one like digging up, finding out. Why do I believe that? Where did that come from?

Niki Sterner:

And then connecting my actions and thoughts to those beliefs and going, oh wow, I need to dig that up and put a different belief in there and just rewrite how I am experiencing life, because I don't want to be in that place anymore. I don't want to feel like a victim and I can't say what I want to say, and so I just feel like beliefs and trauma and all that or experiences that we had when we were younger, do shape us, but it's not like a life sentence. It's something that you can change, right, have you experienced any of that, it's something that you can change right.

Jeovana Davis:

Have you experienced any of that? I actually want to commend you for sharing that because I feel like a lot of women in general silence, a lot of sexual abuse that was experienced, but it definitely shows up and it actually you sharing that made me have a thought process of I wonder if I'm hypersensitive because of everything that I helped in that I feel so deeply because those emotions had nowhere to go. But yes, I felt all of those things, especially feeling. Maybe it was something I did to warrant this type of attention, energy, and so even now I'm still learning how to be comfortable being a sensual being.

Jeovana Davis:

I enjoy just love in itself, but intimacy issues all rooted around these experiences that I didn't feel safe sharing, and then, when I started sharing it, I felt like a lot of women were so far removed that it was just a pain that they just did not want to relive or address. And so that conversation is just. It's so many layers to it, but that is one of the main reasons when I talk about being vulnerable. Where I want to start, I feel like my nervous system has always been out of whack because of experiencing sexual assault at such a very young age and not even being able to recall it, but my body remembering it, and I'm very big on practices that involve movement of the body because I want to move that energy around and alchemize it into something else.

Niki Sterner:

What does that look like? The practices of moving your body? What would that be like? Certain things that you do, I know there's like tapping and there's like massaging. What kind of things have you found that work for you?

Jeovana Davis:

Honestly, dancing. It makes me feel comfortable being in my body and I recently I want to say about maybe two, three years ago I tried acupuncture. I felt like that had somewhat of an impact, but it was only one time, so I couldn't really see if it made a difference or not. But I'm always open to exploring. I did do a breathwork workshop and I don't want to butcher the name, but I think it's called Letality. That was very, very, very intense and intense in a way where I didn't even expect it to work, because I'm like we're just breathing, Like what is breathing a certain type of way going to do? But I feel like that was one of the things where I realized, wow, breath is so important and has such a huge impact on the body where I would try that again and had such a huge impact on the body where I would try that again.

Niki Sterner:

I remember doing an acting exercise similar to that and it was a breathing one and I can't even remember exactly what it was, but it was like Something like that. Your whole body was really getting into it and so many emotions came up and out, like you're saying, that were just unexpected and I was like what just happened right there?

Niki Sterner:

That was horrible, but I think emotions do get stuck in your body, like you're saying, and it's hard Because those emotions get stuck in our body and then we don't have the ability to feel emotion and then we dissociate or disconnect and then we can't experience the happiness and the joy in addition to the fear and the sadness and stuff. And then we just get in these anxious and depressed states because we're not really fully present, because we don't feel safe to feel. Safe to feel. If you've been living with chronic symptoms like pain, brain fog, sensitivity to smells, light or sound, it might not just be your body, it could be your brain, stuck in a survival loop. Dnrs stands for Dynamic Neural Retraining System. It's a science-backed program that helps rewire the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for fear, fight or flight and overreaction to everyday things. It changed everything for me, helping me heal and return to the creative life I love. If this speaks to you, click the link in the caption. It might be the answer you're looking for.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, safe to feel is a big one. I think the only reason why I'm able to be a person who's willing to be vulnerable during this journey, who's willing to be open and who's willing to do the work, is because of my willingness to feel.

Niki Sterner:

I think that is such a gift when you can do that.

Jeovana Davis:

This is not easy, it's really not. No one wants to relive experiences that left such a residue on their identity that you have to like actually make sure you get every little spot, to make sure you see who you were before all of these unfortunate situations. But what I will say?

Niki Sterner:

the level of peace and exchange for doing the work is unmatched yeah, will you take me through your process, what you do to tackle those negative thoughts? If you ever get negative thoughts, pop up as you're working through these things.

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah. So sometimes I'll try to make the connection like where is this coming from? Like why do I feel like I have to shrink, or why do I feel uncomfortable? Most times I'm like you don't have to investigate a negative thought, you can just choose not to accept it. And that's where I'm at now.

Jeovana Davis:

One of the practices that I'm doing is I'll journal everything negative that I feel, that I'm thinking, and then I'll counter it with positive things. Actually, I am a beautiful individual who feels deeply, who has an opportunity to invite all of these emotions, and I really just become my own therapist and have that inner dialogue switch and I audit what's going through my mind now and I think everything is a choice. So if something is sticking, maybe you might want to investigate that and see what it's rooted in. But if it's something that you're like, why am I even thinking like this? I think we have to remember we live in a world where there are so many projections and there are so many influences to make us feel like we're not enough. So just being mindful of always knowing who you are because that should be your reference Anytime a negative thought comes up you know you're a good person, you mean well, but I don't think there's anything wrong with reflection too, because we're not perfect and we're still human.

Niki Sterner:

Do you have like any affirmations or anything like that you put like on sticky notes or places that you see every day? Do you do anything like that? You put like on sticky notes or places that you see every day? Do you do anything like that?

Jeovana Davis:

No, but I recently started saying I am surrounded by spirits of the light, ancestors of the light, and I release any energy that does not belong to me.

Niki Sterner:

I love that.

Jeovana Davis:

That's beautiful.

Niki Sterner:

So you have a thought that goes through your mind anytime you're starting to, because everybody has negative thoughts that come up right. That's just being a human being, yeah, so you say that throughout the day.

Jeovana Davis:

Sometimes I think right now I'm like in such a peaceful state that there's not even a real need to monitor what negative thoughts are coming up. It's almost like stopping at a red light and then going okay, I see the negative thought and I'll just wait for the light to turn green again and go through it.

Niki Sterner:

It's almost like you've made it in a habit.

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, it's like I don't think negative thoughts are going to go anywhere per se, because I think it's just a part of life. And I think it's just a matter of life and I think it's just a matter of just always knowing who you are. And I think the more that I do a case study on myself and know who I am, the negative thoughts don't bother me, because I know that's not who I am.

Niki Sterner:

What were the steps that you took in the process of becoming the talented musician you are singer-songwriter.

Jeovana Davis:

Well, because I came from a school that had so many phenomenal powerhouse voices. I always said just be a songwriter and be in the background. Such a love and passion for live performance. And the first train of thought was like, okay, if I'm really going to put myself out there as an artist, I have to have a stage presence. And so I started researching the mics at the time and I would go and I got booed for an entire year and I just had to learn why I got booed. So first it was because I was so nervous that I would sound like a penguin, like my voice just completely cracked and gave out.

Jeovana Davis:

Then it was a matter of learning. My audience, like some crowds, just did not vibe with the type of cover I was doing or the music. And so one time when I got booed, I just decided to stay behind just to see how the other artists who got standing ovations and encores like what are they doing that I'm not doing? And I just studied them and just created my own stage presence based off of my voice. I feel like my voice is very gentle and angelic, but I still have the same ability of captivating the crowd as if I were Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, because I'm so intentional about giving an experience that you want to pay attention to. What is she about to do? And the energy is so grand and big. So it really was just a matter of believing in myself and getting back on that stage every single time, scared if I was going to get booed again. But I had to believe in me first, so I became my biggest fan.

Niki Sterner:

So how did you make your voice better, like what were the specific exercises or things that you did at home while you weren't performing?

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, honestly, during that time I didn't even know anything about vocal coaching, but I was very good at mimicking, so it seemed songs that I could easily mimic to where there were no issues in my vocal ability. So I just knew what pockets to stay in.

Niki Sterner:

And then, how did you transition into writing your own songs?

Jeovana Davis:

Honestly, I've always written my own songs. Me and my siblings used to collaborate because we can all sing as well, but I've always been a freestyler, so I just always had a gift for putting words together. But my sister my younger sister she actually is, and still is to this day, my biggest inspiration, because her ability to write music is what inspired me. She taught me how to write music without boundaries. Say how you feel and don't care about who it's going to affect, because these are your feelings.

Niki Sterner:

Isn't it a much more potent song when you are truly in your own feelings, because that's more universal, as it is.

Jeovana Davis:

It is, and I think what used to get tricky is I'm a very innovative and imaginative person, so sometimes I would write things that weren't really my story and have a fear of people like connecting that to me as a person. But now I'm grown out of that. Now I'm just like it's whatever my creative mind wants to release. I give permission for that.

Niki Sterner:

And how do you get your melodies?

Jeovana Davis:

Everything literally just comes to me. I wish I had a process, but I really don't. I just am naturally gifted at freestyling. Sometimes it sounds good, sometimes it sounds terrible, sometimes it sounds crazy. But that's just my process.

Niki Sterner:

So do you record it into your phone? Do you play an instrument?

Jeovana Davis:

No, I don't play an instrument, but usually I do record like a voice note to remember, because the downside about being a freestyler is you don't remember it because you didn't write it down. You freestyle it. Even now. I'm about to get ready to start back performing again and one of the biggest things is like learning covers. But I've been freestyling for so long I'm like I don't really know a lot of songs because I would typically freestyle it and make it into something that was my own. So now I'm having to buckle down and get more discipline and actually learn a lot of music.

Niki Sterner:

And what is your process for that? What do you do?

Jeovana Davis:

Do you just pull up the lyrics on the computer and the youtube song and pull up the lyrics and we have the song on repeat constantly, and then I'll start singing with it and I'll learn it the way that the artist sings it. First, just so I'm comfortable with the melodies, and then I'll turn it into something that is more of my own, with my touch on it.

Niki Sterner:

So when you do covers, do you just pick what you're comfortable with your voice, or do you learn everything that you think will be available and they'll ask you to do?

Jeovana Davis:

Honestly, I try to go for more songs that will be challenging for me and that I'll actually be scared to sing, because I feel like that's what allows me to grow as an artist. Because I feel like that's what allows me to grow as an artist. But, like I said, I'm open and willing to feel right. So, even though that's uncomfortable, I think it challenges me as an artist vocally, and because I do have a powerhouse voice, I choose not to use it because I feel like my soft, sensual voice is that's just what I want to offer right now. I think it has a healing tune to it and that's why I'm more called to it.

Niki Sterner:

So what types of performances will you be doing with the cover? Is that like at clubs on the weekend? I don't know where people perform what is the same.

Jeovana Davis:

So for me, I'll more so be doing tiny desk type vibes, which is more like an intimate concert. It may be just live with no audience, or I may pop in at a lounge, but right now I'm just focusing on intimate live concert sessions.

Niki Sterner:

Intimate live concert. What Sections?

Jeovana Davis:

Sessions, sessions Okay.

Niki Sterner:

Do you ever share your singing on your social media?

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, sometimes, right now I have an opportunity to get more comfortable with social media because I feel like I'm just such a in the now person that it's really hard to be like. Oh yeah, let me pull up my phone and capture this moment right, but yes, I will be sharing more behind the scenes and just a journey.

Jeovana Davis:

I think I will utilize Instagram as the yearbook or the catalog for my music and TikTok for more personable behind the scenes, talking about what it feels to be going to the studio and preparing for live performances. They'll get to connect with me on a more personal level on TikTok.

Niki Sterner:

So how do you record in a studio? Do you book a studio for a couple hours and then you just go in?

Jeovana Davis:

and sing, yeah, so I just book a studio session with a producer and sometimes I'll be like, hey, I like to give disclaimers because every artist is different. So I like to tell producers like, hey, I'm like freestyling this, but so we might have to like go through it a couple of times, but they always end up loving me because the energy's there, so it's always a good time. But, yeah, I'll just book a session for a couple of hours, get in there freestyle. Sometimes I might have something prepared, sometimes I might not. It just depends on what the vibe is.

Niki Sterner:

Confidence doesn't come first. Action and habits do. That's why I created the Confidence Kickstart Morning Routine, a 15-minute free guide to help you build habits that actually work. You'll get powerful journal prompts, a guided audio meditation and my three-part confidence shortcut system Mindset, path and Action. It's the exact routine I use to get up on stage and speak up. No more shrinking or second guessing the link's in the caption. Grab it now and build the confidence to move forward every single day. Okay, so, back when you worked in corporate America and you had this other life, the musician life, will you take me back to how you felt separate and like you couldn't share your music?

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, I feel like corporate is always tricky because you don't really want to blur any lines, right, and I always felt so separated by having to be the corporate Giovanna, who was just always professional, and then the musician Giovanna, who was still professional but just more fluid, and then the musician Javonna, who was still professional but just more fluid, more comfortable in her creativity. In corporate, only certain emotions are accepted. Where, being a creative, I feel like anything is accepted, so I could be sad, angry, sensual, all the things. I think I just really got to a space where I just didn't want to feel like I had a split personality and so I just ended up choosing myself and that looked like walking away from the corporate realm and maybe finding a way to make my way back to corporate, but on my terms. So we're maybe bringing in like a creative approach to help corporate professionals just feel more comfortable being more than a title.

Niki Sterner:

Is that something that you're doing now more?

Jeovana Davis:

comfortable being more than a title. Is that something that you're doing now, something that was in the works? I think I'm going to put it on pause for now, just because I'm still focused on resetting my nervous system and getting back to the music for me. So right now, I'm just in this era of choosing Giovanna, so everything goes back to what does Giovanna want?

Niki Sterner:

How do you maintain your happiness level?

Jeovana Davis:

My foundation is rooted in God, so now he's like my first consultant how do you maintain your happiness level? If it's not aligned, I may not accept working with you. But now I'm just being very intentional on the people I work with, the things that I choose to be a part of. It has to be aligned with me and I think when you spent your life years being a spirit of service and wanting to help people, you have to sit with the fact that you neglected your own needs just to show up for other people. So now I'm in an era of just constantly showing up for myself. It's scary because some people are disappointed and I'm missing out on certain opportunities, but it's rewarding because I get to come home free and content with every decision and who I am. To compromise my well-being or my peace of mind based off of a budget or an opportunity?

Niki Sterner:

And opportunities just keep showing up for you.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, opportunities are always showing up for me and because I'm choosing to be intentional, now I have a discernment of what opportunities honor me, versus just being like, yes, that sounds amazing. Now I'm like, hmm, that sounds good and I could see how this could be good for me, but it actually doesn't honor all of me. It just honors, like this, one part of me, and I'm more than just a musician.

Niki Sterner:

That's really a powerful position to be in, where you know yourself so well and what you want, that you only say yes to things that really align with them.

Jeovana Davis:

yes to things that really align with them.

Niki Sterner:

Yes, yes.

Jeovana Davis:

And I'm still growing, I'm still learning, I'm still a hypersensitive individual, but I accept all those things about me and so, with that understanding, I go where I know it's safe. I don't want to have to create safe spaces anymore. It needs to be safe when I arrive.

Niki Sterner:

We were talking before we started about a new open mic that you are helping to co-host. Will you tell us a little bit about that?

Jeovana Davis:

Sure, so it's still very premature in the beginning stages, but there is a venue that has recently opened. It's called Code 44. They're located in College Park and, honestly, their mission and goal is to cater to the creatives, independent artists and creating a community. So I'm super excited for what they have to offer because it honestly aligns with my passions on wanting to make sure artists are treated like there is a human behind the art, and I feel like this venue is really trying to cultivate that space for that.

Niki Sterner:

Okay, so what would be on your happy list?

Jeovana Davis:

Happy list, my happy list. I crab legs, oh, crab legs, because I love seafood Perfume. I love perfume. Nature, I love nature. And I'm going to give you five. Music, I love doing music. That's like my therapy expression. Then doing nothing, I'm always doing something. And now I'm starting to realize, like when I have the space to do absolutely nothing, my mind stops racing and I'm at peace. So that is my happy list.

Niki Sterner:

What does that look like? Just sitting in a chair laying down so?

Jeovana Davis:

that is my happy list. What does that look like? Just sitting in a chair, laying down, being outside, doing nothing could be watching a movie binge, watching Netflix, reading, or just being outside laying on the grass. I'm getting used to getting more comfortable being in the water. This, essentially, it's not like doing nothing. I think doing things contributing to a goal. There's no goal here. I'm just here to a goal. There's no goal here. I'm just here to skate. There's no goal here. I'm just here to eat. Just everything that I'm doing, there's always like a goal or success attached to it.

Niki Sterner:

Yeah, there's no expected outcome, just to be present because there is sometimes that pressure when there is the goal attached to it. Yeah, I swear, as a creative, you just feel like you've got to constantly be producing, doing creating, being inspired, finding something. There's always a reason behind what we're doing.

Jeovana Davis:

That's what makes it a great opportunity to be more in tune with content, creating content, because I really enjoy just being fully present, and so now I'm learning how to create a nice balance between okay, let me capture this content from my audience so they can see, hey, here's something fun to do to relax if you're just looking for a quick getaway, nice.

Niki Sterner:

Okay, we're going to move into the confidence quick fire round. Okay, so these are five questions that I ask everybody when they come on the podcast. So the first one is I want to know how you define confidence.

Jeovana Davis:

I define confidence as accepting who you are in any room and in any environment. There is no need to ever shrink that's confidence for me. I am who I am.

Niki Sterner:

I love that. Never shrink that's a good word, because a lot of times we do. We're like, oh, not my turn.

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah, Sorry I didn't mean to.

Niki Sterner:

Yeah, I didn't mean to shine, oops.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, that was so good, you can't help it. Like you're bright, shine bright.

Niki Sterner:

My second question is what's?

Jeovana Davis:

one bold move you made before you felt ready. One bold move I made before I felt ready. I chose myself. That looked like you know what great opportunity, but I'm going to pass because I just want to focus on me right now.

Niki Sterner:

Was there a certain thing that someone brought to you to do that you were like yeah, I would say corporate.

Jeovana Davis:

Like when I left corporate twice it was scary because I was like, oh my gosh, like no value now. But I wanted to sit in that because I was starting to incorporate my identity with my title and so that was very big, very scary, because people are like well, so what do you do? I'm like I'm a full-time musician or I'm a full-time creative and people as big as it is now, people are still like it's not a real job but but it's something to take, but I'm happy.

Niki Sterner:

Yeah, how do you quiet your inner critic? And we talked about this earlier, but if you could just clarify again.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, I don't quiet my inner critic. I actually have a conversation and dialogue with my inner critic and we talk through it. I want to welcome emotions so that they don't get stuck or lost in translation.

Niki Sterner:

Do you have a name for that inner critic?

Jeovana Davis:

We don't. Sometimes I will just be like where is this coming from? And I'll start there.

Niki Sterner:

Yeah, something trigger it. Is that what you're talking about? Where did this come from? Why am I having this thought.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, why am I having this coming from?

Niki Sterner:

What wrong?

Jeovana Davis:

now, because this might not even be mine.

Niki Sterner:

Like you might be taking on something else around you as someone who's sensitive.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes.

Niki Sterner:

Yeah, that is something to regulate, for sure.

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah.

Niki Sterner:

Because that's creative as we do.

Jeovana Davis:

Because sometimes it doesn't necessarily have to be somebody else's. It could just be like the pressure of society and having to show up a certain way and when you're the first, like each of us are the first to be doing what we're doing because we're original, right. So it's always going to feel scary because nobody has done it like you, because you have to do it. So sometimes you won't have a reference. The reference is your reflection and trusting that is scary.

Niki Sterner:

A lot of life is scary when you're pushing yourself outside, pushing the edges.

Jeovana Davis:

Yeah.

Niki Sterner:

I think that's why your happy list is so important, having those things that you can bring back in when you're feeling like all I'm doing is pushing myself. Yes, like, what makes you happy, what brings you happiness? Do you bring those in on the daily? I?

Jeovana Davis:

try to.

Niki Sterner:

Some of them are a little expensive, but you have like your music that you can dance to or things like that you can do.

Jeovana Davis:

Yes, I think my baseline too is I'm just naturally a happy person, even though, like I feel deeply, I know my energy is so bright because my core, I really enjoy being happy and loving and just like a bubbly spirit.

Niki Sterner:

What's one habit that's helped you build real confidence?

Jeovana Davis:

I would have to go back to the previous answer, which is choosing myself, Choosing me. First of all, I'm not used to choosing myself because I used to be a people pleaser. I'm actually still working on getting out of that energy because I just always wanted to be accepted. I knew I was different. I knew I was the type of person who didn't typically fit in because I didn't resonate with things like fashion, I don't know. I'm a country girl so I'm okay with just like not being seen. So choosing myself and journaling, getting all of those thoughts out the paper so I can audit them and remember no, this is not you. But let's give a space for this to take place, to release it.

Niki Sterner:

Do you ever use those thoughts in your songwriting?

Jeovana Davis:

No, but they do come up sometimes and I just allow it to be there.

Niki Sterner:

Last one is what's a favorite book or resource that changed how you think?

Jeovana Davis:

So I would say podcasts. I listen to Know Thyself a lot and right now I'm listening to a young lady by the name of Jadenna and she's super phenomenal. I love watching her content. It's very spiritual based, but also you're still human and I love any body who speaks about a healing journey, but also remembering to live, because we're more than just a healing journey, and dedicating your life to heal like just sends you on a repeated cycle of just regurgitating so what's next next for you?

Jeovana Davis:

Right now I'm doing creative consulting, working on my music as well. I have some other things in the work that I won't prematurely talk about. Yet I'm learning how to continue to water the seed first before I have any outside energy. That it's growth. But yeah, creative consulting and the music is what's next. But yeah, creative consulting and the music is what's next. What's number one is then the mental and the nervous system.

Niki Sterner:

Okay, where can people find you and follow you and connect with you?

Jeovana Davis:

They can follow my main page, which is Choosing Giovanna. Noted by JV, that's the creative consultant page. Both on Instagram Choosing Giovanna is the music and the brand, and then by JV is the creative consultant.

Niki Sterner:

Okay, fantastic. This was so wonderful having a conversation with you. Thank you so much for having me. I think you just have so much to bring and share with your whole story, from helping your sister, being a caretaker, being in corporate America, being a musician, and you just continue to rebrand yourself and figure out who you truly are, your authentic person and how to live in your feelings and how to be happy, which I think is the goal for everyone. Thanks so much for listening to the Confident Shortcut. I hope today's episode woke something up in you, reminding you that your dream matters and you can start now. If this sparked something, share it with a friend who needs it too, and don't forget to follow me on Instagram at Nikki Sterner, and join our Facebook community at the Confidence Shortcut. Ready to take the next step? Check out my free guide, the Confidence Kickstart, linked in the show notes. Keep showing up, keep taking action and remember the shortcut to confidence is courage.