The bestselling author found that 85 percent of working adults second-guess themselves because of their own inner voice. His answer is not to wait for that voice to go quiet.
Most advice about self-doubt treats it as something to defeat before you can begin. Chris Sund, the bestselling author of You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self, takes a different view.
“Self-doubt does not have to disappear for you to move forward,” Sund said. “It can come along for the ride. It just does not get to drive.”
That idea sits at the center of his book and of his personal mission, which is to help as many people as possible become the best version of themselves. For Sund, waiting until doubt goes away is one of the most common reasons capable people never get started.
A Voice Almost Everyone Hears
Sund surveyed more than 200 working adults for the book. Eighty-five percent said they second-guess themselves because of their own inner voice. Seventy-eight percent said they delay action on things that matter to them, and 71 percent said they fall short of their potential daily or weekly. At the same time, 92 percent said they believe they are capable of more than they are doing.
Put those numbers side by side and a pattern appears. Most people do not doubt that they have more to give. What they lack is a way to act while the inner critic is still talking. When respondents ranked what holds them back, self-doubt and fear of failure came first, ahead of being too busy and getting comfortable. Sund is clear that none of those barriers is about ability.
Training the Inner Voice
In the book, the chapter Train Your Inner Voice shows readers how to keep moving without waiting for doubt to disappear first. Like every chapter, it ends with actions readers can take that same day, and the book closes with a Playbook that helps them put the lessons to work in their own lives.
Sund writes from experience, sharing honest personal stories that include his own setbacks. He has spent more than a decade in healthcare staffing, helping build a company from the ground up. That meant making big decisions without a playbook and long before anyone could promise they would work out. He also worked through COVID, when healthcare staffing became one of the most demanding places to work in the country almost overnight.
Through all of it, the lesson that stuck with him is the one at the heart of his book: you do not get to wait until you feel ready.
Acting on What You Already Know
Sund often returns to the idea that growth is rarely about collecting more information.
“There is more inside of you than you have been using,” he said. “Most of the time the next level is not about learning something new. It is about finally acting on what you already know.”
He has explored the same theme in his writing and interviews, including the Inc. article The Difference Between Self-Doubt and Lack of Ambition and the US Business News feature Confident People Still Hear the Voice. The titles make the point plainly. Hearing the voice is normal, and it is not the same thing as lacking ambition.
Recognition for the Message
You Are Capable of More was released on August 13, 2026 by Game Changer Publishing. It won the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival, became an Amazon bestseller, was rated a “Must Read” by Reedsy Discovery, was called “A Recommended Read” by BookViral and earned a five-star review from Literary Titan. It has been endorsed by professional athletes, Olympians and bestselling authors. Sund has also been featured in Forbes, Inc., CEO Weekly, US Business News and MSN.
Sund also shares the message as a keynote speaker at national conferences, association events, sales kickoffs and leadership retreats, and on morning TV in cities including Tampa, Austin, Kansas City, Omaha, Sioux Falls and Des Moines.
A Next Step That Costs Nothing
Sund’s mission is the reason the message lives beyond the book. At You Are Capable of More, readers will find free assessments, articles and resources designed to help anyone take their next step, whether or not they have read the book. For anyone who recognizes their own inner voice in the survey results, the free assessment is a practical place to start.
Readers can find a free assessment, articles and other free resources at You Are Capable of More. The book is available in paperback, hardcover and ebook on Amazon. To learn more about Chris Sund and his keynotes, visit chrissund.com.
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