Fred Joyal Wants You to Build Your Boldness Muscle
Fred Joyal knows something about mistakes. Over nearly three decades as co-founder and CEO of 1-800-DENTIST, the pioneering dental referral service, he steered a company that at its peak generated $45 million annually—and racked up what he describes as “millions and millions of dollars in mistakes.”
“That’s the thing about success,” Joyal says with a shrug. “The more money you make, the bigger the mistakes you can afford to make.”
But what stands out about Joyal, a bestselling author and keynote speaker, isn’t the scars of entrepreneurship. It’s his mission to help others avoid the speed bumps that nearly derailed him. His message, honed across hundreds of stages and enshrined in his 2021 book Superbold: From Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days, is deceptively simple: boldness isn’t an innate trait. It’s a life skill. And like any skill, it can be learned.
From Shy to Superbold
Joyal is quick to admit he wasn’t born bold. “I was a painfully introverted kid,” he recalls. Even into his thirties, he avoided the spotlight. That changed when he taught himself to push past discomfort—not by eliminating fear, but by leaning into it.
“It’s backwards from what people think,” he explains. “They say, ‘I’d be bold if I were confident.’ But confidence is the result of bold action, not the other way around. You build it like a muscle.”
In his workshops, Joyal prescribes “boldness reps”: small, repeatable actions like striking up conversations with strangers or offering compliments without expecting anything in return. The idea is to gradually increase intensity, much like lifting heavier weights at the gym, until approaching an intimidating investor—or striking up a conversation with a potential partner—feels natural.
Selling Boldness
Not surprisingly, sales teams flock to Joyal’s message. Prospecting, cold calling, negotiating—each requires a tolerance for discomfort and rejection. Joyal calls it “alligator skin,” the resilience that comes from failing forward.
“I tell managers, what if every one of your salespeople closed 10 percent more deals?” he says. “I can show them how. Not with tricks or hacks, but by rewiring how they approach fear and discomfort.”
Entrepreneurs, too, are a receptive audience. Starting a business, pitching investors, firing friends-turned-employees: all are acts of boldness. And Joyal believes learning to act decisively when it matters most can be transformative.
Yet some of his favorite audiences are younger ones—college students, even high schoolers. “If you learn this skill early, you stop stacking regrets,” he says. “You chase your dreams before the clock runs out.”
A Workshop in Discomfort
Joyal’s sessions are far from passive lectures. He often calls the “shyest person in the room” onto the stage and gently nudges them through an exercise, showing the entire audience what growth looks like in real time.
“I want people to feel discomfort in a safe environment,” he says. “If you can face it here, you can face it when the stakes are real.”
His “PRIDE” framework—Preparation, Relaxing, Insights, Dosage, and Everyday Action—guides participants step by step toward bolder living. The exercises begin where each individual is comfortable, whether that means smiling at strangers or role-playing a pitch, and build steadily from there.
The Business of Boldness
Joyal sold 1-800-DENTIST years ago, but he’s still building something: a movement around the idea that boldness, not talent or luck, is the cornerstone of success. His corporate clients include sales organizations, associations, and leadership teams, but he’s just as comfortable leading pre-conference workshops or three-hour deep dives.
The resonance of his message may lie in its universality. Boldness isn’t just about business. It’s about asking for a promotion, launching a passion project, or approaching the person you’ve always wanted to meet. “Life is too short to wait,” Joyal says. “You don’t want to be on your deathbed thinking, I should have tried.”
One story he often shares involves watching a terrified woman in New Zealand bungee jump off a 100-foot bridge. “She was sobbing, begging to be pushed,” he recalls. “But when she finally jumped, she came back grinning and said, ‘If I was so scared of this and it was so much fun, why would I ever be scared of anything again?’”
For Joyal, that’s the essence of boldness: acting in spite of fear, not in the absence of it. And once you’ve leapt once, the next leap comes easier.
Watch Fred’s Showcase here
