From Survival to Self-Trust: Escaping, Serving, Leading, Becoming (with Chanda Coston)

What if self-trust didn’t start as confidence — but as survival?

In this Season 3 episode of The Self-Trust Solution Podcast, Dawn Ledet sits down with Chanda Coston, a woman whose life story is a powerful testament to courage, resilience, and the quiet strength of taking the next best step.
Chanda shares her journey from escaping an abusive relationship to serving in the military, rising into corporate leadership, and ultimately stepping into entrepreneurship and coaching. Along the way, self-trust wasn’t something she set out to build — it was something she had to access in order to survive, protect what mattered, and keep moving forward when clarity was scarce.
This conversation explores how self-trust often begins long before it has a name — as instinct, devotion, responsibility, or simply the willingness to choose differently. Chanda reflects on pivotal moments that reshaped her identity, leadership, and direction, and how those decisions created not just personal change, but the potential for generational impact.
This episode is a reminder that self-trust isn’t about having it all figured out — it’s about giving yourself permission to move, pivot, and grow anyway.
In this episode, we explore:
How self-trust often begins as survival, responsibility, or love for others
Navigating life-altering transitions and identity shifts
The power of taking the next best step when certainty isn’t available
How leadership, resilience, and self-trust are built through lived experience
Why allowing yourself to change can create transformational and generational impact
Whether you’re navigating a major life transition, standing at a crossroads, or sensing that the version of you that got here isn’t the one meant to take you forward, this episode offers clarity, courage, and grounded permission to trust yourself where you are.
⏱️ Episode Chapters
00:00 – Introduction & Chanda’s story at a glance
01:36 – Military service, discipline, and resilience
05:00 – Transitioning from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship
08:13 – Personal growth, reflection, and identity shifts
19:59 – Chanda’s current work and offerings
22:35 – Final reflections and parting wisdom
🔗 Resources & Next Steps
✨ Learn more about Chanda & her work
http://chanda-co.com
✨ Chanda’s 1:1 Tiny Challenge
A focused, one-on-one experience designed to help you solve a pressing issue in your business with clarity and momentum
https://join.chanda-co.com/home-page-page
✨ Explore the Self-Trust Identity Map
A gentle, three-minute reflection to help you understand where you are in your becoming — and what your next level is asking of you:
👉 https://www.theselftrustcoach.com/identity-map
✨ Learn more about Claimed
Dawn’s private coaching experience for entrepreneurs and leaders ready to trust themselves fully and lead from alignment:
👉 https://www.theselftrustcoach.com/claimed
📩 Have a self-trust story of your own or a question for the show?
Email us at admin@theselftrustcoach.com
or share your story here:
👉 https://www.theselftrustcoach.com/yourstory
⭐ If this episode resonated, please take a moment to leave a rating and review — it helps more people find conversations like this.🎥 Prefer to watch this conversation?
The full video version of this episode is available on YouTube, where you can see the moments, expressions, and pauses that make this story even more powerful.
👉 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSelfTrustSolution