I've always been really, really aware of my insecurities - really, really aware. I never developed that thick skin that keeps you from letting things get to you.
I put myself out there; it's part of my job, and I get it: people will attack me. At first I was thrown off, but now I have a pretty thick skin about it.
Starting a business isn't for everyone, and it's not what you should do if you aren't sure what else to do. It requires thick skin and the willingness to carry a great deal of stress, sometimes alone. It's more often a life of failure than a life of success, and the majority of successes came after a long road of disappointment, and often shame.
Freud was the son of a Jewish merchant who had to move his whole family to Vienna because he couldn't get work. He, as a boy, had to watch his father be mocked and abused on the street for being Jewish... You develop a thick skin and you develop a certain kind of wit to defend yourself.
It's heavy, but I am able to carry it. Why? Because I'm an African woman. An African woman carries heavy loads anyway. That's how we are trained; we are brought up that nothing is unbearable. I use that now, positively. I use that now to have the thick skin that I have, and not fear, and move forward, and push; and push forward.
I might have to stumble a little bit more in public than others, but that's fine, I don't mind, I've developed a thick skin.
As an actor, you have to get used to being told no, develop a thick skin, and just keep persevering.
When you live in the Philippines or a country like that, you develop something of a very thick skin because you're confronted every day with all of the problems all around you.
You have to grow thick skin and that only comes with time and learning.
I do think a key to success in any walk of life is having a short memory and a thick skin - I know it has served me well over the years.