Imposter syndrome is a common barrier to achieving our greatest potential. If we can just break these chains, the sky's the limit. Is there an opportunity you’re shying away from because you think you’re not ready? Is there some sort of mental block that’s keeping you small? Let’s crush imposter syndrome and start showing up the way we deserve to. The world needs you. Listen to this episode to learn how to turn imposterish thoughts into confidence.
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Imposter syndrome is a common barrier to achieving our greatest potential. If we can just break these chains, the sky's the limit. Is there an opportunity you’re shying away from because you think you’re not ready? Is there some sort of mental block that’s keeping you small? Let’s crush imposter syndrome and start showing up the way we deserve to. The world needs you. Listen to this episode to learn how to turn imposterish thoughts into confidence.
> Order Earn More Work Less
https://www.thesolopreneurhustle.com/earnmoreworkless
> STAY CONNECTED
Website | http://www.thesolopreneurhustle.com
Instagram | @SoloprenuerHustle
Email | hello@thesolopreneurhustle.com
> EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Join our Streamline Your Business Bootcamp: https://www.subscribepage.com/streamlineyourbusiness
> Subscribe to Nia on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlCl9xBXGlyoATwat6Ebpg?view_as=subscriber
Speaker 1: (00:00)
You know the truth about all of these characteristics are that they show up when we are on the cusp of something great. Just like I was saying earlier, the devil creeps in and, plants these seeds of doubt when you're right on the cusp of changing your life, taking it to the next level, changing the world, creating that one product that will take you to the top. You're listening to the solopreneur hustle, a community that connects you with the resources you need to take the hustle out of solo entrepreneurship. I'm your host Nia Lewis, a business coach based in Charleston, South Carolina, the solopreneur hustle has a new streamline your business bootcamp. That'll walk you through how to increase your income while decreasing the amount of time you spend working in your business. Subscribe to our email list today, using the link in the description for this episode to get instant access to our free streamline your business bootcamp. All right, let's jump into this week's episode.
Speaker 1: (01:01)
Hey, y'all welcome to episode 1 25 of the solopreneur hustle podcast. Today. I wanna talk to you guys about imposter syndrome. Now, imposter syndrome is something that most of us experience at one point or another in our journey in entrepreneurship. And it's something that can really suck away our confidence. And it's also something that keeps us from charging our worth, seeing our value and going after opportunities that are opportunities. We're probably over overqualified for really imposter syndrome, keeps us from going after bigger and better things that we're ready for. We somehow convince ourselves that we need to stay small when it's time to spread our wings and go bigger, go home. And so this is what we're gonna talk about today. Imposter syndrome, if you haven't followed us on social media yet at the solopreneur hustle, we're on Instagram and Facebook at solopreneur hustle. If you haven't checked out my new book, earn more work, less, you are missing out.
Speaker 1: (02:05)
It is all about how to create freedom and build wealth in your journey in business. If you find yourself as a solopreneur wearing every hat up to your neck and work, feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. Let me tell you, it is time to stop trying to be superwoman. It's time to stop, to, to get out of this mindset of thinking. You're gonna get to your goals by doing everything yourself. No business is meant to be built in isolation. So if you've gotten your business to the, the point where it is now by yourself, and you're finally ready to start building a team and finding a few people to help you grow and expand, then earn more work less is really what you need to learn. How to build a team, how to delegate, how to outsource, how to start earning more while working less money doesn't have making money and making more money does not have to require suffering.
Speaker 1: (03:05)
You, you shouldn't be working 24 7 to build your business. And so I uncover all of the strategies I've used up to this point in my journey as a solopreneur to separate my time from making more money. A lot of times when we think, okay, I need to increase my sales. We start thinking about all the extra things we need to add to our plate, but that's really the wrong mindset we should be thinking about who we need to help us make those goals happen instead of focusing so much on how we are gonna get it done. So anyways, that is what I share in my book. Earn more, work less. If you haven't checked it out, I know that it can change your life. If you can relate to being on that hamster wheel and feeling up to your neck and burn out in your journey in solo entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1: (03:50)
All right, so let's get into this conversation today. That'll be all things imposter syndrome. So today I'm gonna share specifically how to turn imposter syndrome into confidence for me in my journey in business, the number one pitfall of imposter syndrome for me was that it held me back in the confidence area, imposter syndrome for me stole my confidence. I didn't feel confident about my business. I didn't feel confident about my abilities. I, everyone around me could see that I was capable. But when I looked in the mirror, I couldn't see it myself because I wasn't confident. And so what is imposter syndrome? If this is a term you're not familiar with or something that is new to you, you're not too sure. You know what it means. You're kind of shaky on the definition. Imposter syndrome is defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud.
Speaker 1: (04:46)
When you have evidence that you can do it. So it's kind of like when you have a client and they've asked you to do something that you've done 10 times over with 10 other people, even though you have evidence that you've done it before, or maybe if you haven't done that, you've done something similar. Even though you have evidence that you've been successful before you have evidence of doing it and doing it well, somehow in your brain, you still convince yourself that, uh, maybe I'm not capable. You know, you feel like you're taking someone's money for something that you might not be able to deliver on. Even though you logically have proof that you've done it or something similar. And so why can't I do this too? You feel like a fraud. And so imposter syndrome is really just a collection of feelings of inadequacy that aren't accurate.
Speaker 1: (05:38)
It, it, the, the feelings of inadequacy aren't really lining up with our performance. So we are telling ourselves in our head that maybe I'm not good enough when you have proof that you are girl, you have three degrees and you're still telling yourself, you might not be able to do it, or you've been running your business for the last three years. But somehow you woke up today and thought, oh my gosh, like I'm not successful yet. It's, it's like knowing that you have the ability to do great things, but there's this little seed of doubt that just overcomes you and, and tells you that maybe I can't do it. And, you know, imposter syndrome usually affects high achieving people who have so much potential, but we get in our own way. It's kind of like if you're religious or spiritual, they always say the devil gets you at your highest point and tries to bring you back down.
Speaker 1: (06:37)
That's how it is for high achieving people. You know, once we, we, we get to a place where, oh my gosh, I'm doing so well. You know, I have all the success. And then these little seeds of doubt start to, to creep in to our journey and business. And we're like, oh my gosh, like I I'm, I've reached this, this high level of success. Uh, maybe I'm not meant to be here. And so that's why that's where imposter syndrome shows up. And that's typically how it manifests in our lives and entrepreneurship. We, if we experience this, we have a hard time accepting our accomplishments and we find ourself questioning our abilities. Maybe even questioning whether or not we deserve the recognition we're getting, we may even attribute our success to luck instead of our own hard work. Oh, I was just at the right place at the right time.
Speaker 1: (07:32)
Nosis, you worked really hard for this. So yeah. You know, celebrate the hard work you've put, put in this wasn't luck. And so I've been there, I've experienced every single type or, or category of imposter syndrome you can think of. And so if you're questioning whether or not you've experienced imposter syndrome, I wanna share some characteristics that represent that you've maybe fallen victim to imposter syndrome. So how do you know if you fallen victim to imposter syndrome? How do you know if this is something that you've experienced? Well, well, here are some, some characteristics. Do you question your abilities, even when you have evidence of your success, when you know you've done it before, do you think when you have to do it again? Oh, maybe I won't be able to do it this time. That's probably imposter syndrome. Do you hesitate to go after bigger opportunities?
Speaker 1: (08:28)
Because you feel like you are not ready just yet? Oh my gosh. Like , that was me a hundred percent. Anytime there was like some sort of opportunity or my husband would see something and tell me to apply for it. I would say, oh, I don't know. Like, I'm looking at the other speaker lineup, the, the lineup of other speakers. And they kind of seem like they're farther along than me. So I probably shouldn't do this yet. Oh my gosh, that was me. Or maybe you struggle to see how valuable you really are. Maybe you look at your business and you look at what you've done. And you're like, Hmm. I mean, it's good and all, but who really needs this? You know, maybe you're struggling to see how valuable you are. Maybe you attribute your success to luck or being at the right place or the right time.
Speaker 1: (09:13)
Maybe you're not seeing that your hard work is what got you here, where you are. Maybe you are engaging in some self sabotage. Maybe you're procrastinating things that, you know, you can do because you're, you're getting in the way of your, your you're, you're getting in the way of your business. Moving forward. Maybe perfectionism is something you struggle with. You want everything to be perfect. Maybe just in general, you just have this overwhelming sense of feeling like you're not enough. Maybe there's some self-doubt, maybe you're overly critical. That is a characteristic of imposter syndrome. And a lot of times when you're overly critical of other people, it's really because you're overly critical of yourself and you take that out on others. Maybe you've gotten feedback from friends and, and they say, you know, you're really judgey that I I've had friends say that to me.
Speaker 1: (10:06)
And I had to take a look in the mirror and say, wow, you know, I'm judging others so hard because I'm judging myself too hard. You know, sometimes when we're overly judgy or overly critical of other people, it's because that's really a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. Maybe you just feel like you're not gonna live up to what people need you to be. And so in some way you feel like a fraud or like a scammer when you sell people products. You know, I experienced that as well. I had a hard time showing up to tell people about what I sold and what I created and what products I was offering, because I wasn't confident in the results I knew I could get for people. I knew I could get them results in what I created products about, but I, you know, I was overcome by imposter syndrome.
Speaker 1: (10:57)
So I wasn't really able to show up to talk about it because I had this feeling of like, not enough and feeling like a fraud. So if you experience any of this, I'm here to tell you, there is hope for overcoming imposter syndrome. You know, the truth about all of these characteristics are that they show up when we are on the cusp of something great. Just like I was saying earlier, the devil creeps in and, and plant these seeds of doubt when you're right on the cusp of changing your life, taking it to the next level, changing the world, creating that one product that will take you to the top. You've been working at your business for years. And finally you've created something that you know, is going to be your best seller. You know, the, the, the most successful product you've ever created when you're on the cusp of something great.
Speaker 1: (11:51)
That is when the imposter syndrome creeps in. When you are about to break the, on your comfort zone, when you're kind of unsure of the results, because it's new, that's when it creeps in. And so life without imposter syndrome, , if you can relate to this and you're like, okay, I need to, to overcome this, but what can my life be? Like if I just overcome this, when I think of what life is like without imposter syndrome, the first thing that comes to mind for me is Kanye energy. Did, did any of y'all watch Kanye's documentary? If you did, then I'm sure you probably felt inspired by Kanye's confidence and how he hustled, how he talked about himself. A lot of people say Kanye west is arrogant. And you know, I mean, a lot of us have mixed feelings and myself included about some of the things he's doing right now.
Speaker 1: (12:42)
But one thing I can say about Kanye west is that he is a hundred percent unapologetic about the fact that he knows that he is all that, like, he is so confident and no one can tell him otherwise, like I remember one of the things he said in his documentary was that when someone gives him a compliment, he says, yeah, I think it's great, too. You have great taste. You know, a lot of people, especially women, when people give us compliments about things, we say, oh, you think so, well, thank you. You know, I didn't, I didn't really look at it that way. Whereas Kanye is like, I'm not gonna say, oh, you think so? He's gonna say, yeah, I know it's great too, because I created it. Of course it's good. And so life without imposter syndrome is a life of just unapologetic confidence.
Speaker 1: (13:30)
You know, that self-doubt does not have a seat at your table. Self-doubt benefits, no one in any way, shape or form. It doesn't benefit us. It doesn't benefit our family. It doesn't benefit people who really need us. How can we expect other people to believe in us if we don't believe in ourselves, how can we attract opportunities when our energy is repelling opportunities? You know, I feel like imposter syndrome causes us to emanate energy that repels the opportunities where we, we really need. And so I also find that life without imposter syndrome puts us in a position to make more money because we can charge our worth. We're confident about our products and services. We're confident about the results we can get for people. And so naturally we make more money when we're promoting more. When we're promoting harder, when we're showing up for ourselves a hundred percent, because we believe in what we have.
Speaker 1: (14:34)
We make more money. When, when imposter syndrome doesn't have a choke hold on us and then life without imposter syndrome is a life filled with more success. We're able to make a greater impact. We have the confidence to go after bigger opportunities. Why? Because we genuinely believe in ourselves to the core. So now I wanna share some tips that I hope will help you reframe imposter thoughts. You may be having into confidence. I want you to turn your feelings of anything that represents imposter syndrome into confidence. Why am I sharing specifically how to turn imposter syndrome into confidence? Well, I, I believe, and this is my opinion. I don't think imposter syndrome is something we can eliminate. I think imposter syndrome is something that we'll all inevitably experience in every new season of growth. Every time we break beyond our comfort zone into a new dimension of success or growth will inevitably be met with potentially impost thoughts.
Speaker 1: (15:48)
You know, like we have no reason to feel like an imposter. If we are always in our comfort zone, like if you thrive staying in your comfort zone forever, then imposter syndrome may never be a part of your story because there's no reason to feel doubt in any form way, shape or form, if you are doing the same thing every single day, over and over, over and over and over again, like a robot, like let's just say you work at a grocery store and you've been working there for 20 years and you've been scanning groceries the same way at the same register for, for years and years. Well, you're confident about that. So you'll never at that register. Feel like an imposter. You do your job the way you've always done it. And then you go home. And so, but if your life is different, if you're not doing the same thing the same way every day for 20 years, and you're always growing and learning and evolving, if that's you, then it's inevitable, then imposter syndrome will show up again, because when you don't have evidence of doing that exact thing, then of course, there's a little bit of doubt that creeps in.
Speaker 1: (16:52)
And so when we do experience imposter syndrome, which for most of us, at some point it will be inevitable. How can we turn that imposter syndrome into confidence? You know, like if we can't eliminate it, when it arises, what can we do with it to make it something that propels us forward instead of something that holds us back. And so that's why I've framed this conversation this way, because I don't think we can eliminate imposter syndrome, but I do believe that when it arises, we can do something positive with it instead of allowing it to hold us back. So here are three strategies I think can help you turn imposter syndrome into confidence. Number one, celebrate yourself. Even when you don't feel like it. We can't wait for other people to congratulate us or tell us we're all that we have to tell ourselves. We're all that.
Speaker 1: (17:53)
And we also have to tell other people we're all that in order for others to believe that we are as great as we know we are in order for other people to see that we are the person that they need. And so we can't wait for other people to celebrate us. You know, a part of imposter syndrome for me was, oh my gosh, I haven't gotten any good reviews today. And oh my gosh, no, one's left a review on my podcast yet. Uh, maybe it's not good. You know, I was waiting on external validation instead of validating myself from within. And so even if you don't feel like you're worthy of being celebrated, I'd argue that you are. I mean, when you look at what you're doing in your day to day life, even just waking up and tackling your day, that's enough. You know, I mean, we put so much pressure on ourselves to have these just extraordinary results when just getting out of bed and giving life, another shot is worth celebrating.
Speaker 1: (18:52)
So focus on the facts about what you do every day and how you do it and who you impact, focus on those as reasons to celebrate, as opposed to celebrating some sort of external validation. I mean, that's not a reason to celebrate. We have to bring celebration from within and boost ourselves up so that we can show up as the most confident versions of ourselves. And so imposter syndrome tricks us into believing that we're not worthy of being celebrated because other people aren't talking about us. But if we celebrate ourselves and boost ourselves up, we can turn those imposter thoughts into confidence. All right. Number two, how we can reframe imposter syndrome into confidence, go after opportunities. You don't feel ready for imposter syndrome leads us to believe that we are not ready yet. Oh, I just have to get this degree. And, and before I'm ready, I just need to reach this amount of sales before I'm ready.
Speaker 1: (19:55)
I need this amount of followers before I apply for this, who cares about all these things that imposter syndrome tells us we need you're ready right now because the opportunity came across your desk because someone told you about it because you had the idea. If someone thought of you and decided to send you a link for something that could be something you can apply for. Oh my gosh, that's someone else telling you, wow. They would be great for this. So why are you telling yourself you're not , you know, or if something popped up on your Facebook and it seemed like a good opportunity. Well, you didn't stumble across that by mistake. You know? I mean, I feel like everything happens for a reason. You saw it for a reason. So take advantage of the opportunity. I've at this point in my journey in business, it's too expensive for me not to show up.
Speaker 1: (20:41)
I can't waste any days. I can't waste any opportunities. I refuse to look, look, look back on my journey and, and come to terms with the fact that there was a missed opportunity because I didn't feel ready enough. You know what I mean? What in the world? And so go after opportunities, you don't feel ready for, if it comes across your desk or it falls into your lap and you don't feel ready, do it anyway, push yourself to put yourselves in rooms where you feel like the underdog, because chances are when you get into those rooms. You'll the, the confidence of other people will start to just like, it'll start to absorb into your spirit and you'll feel more confident and you'll eventually come to, to realize you do belong to be there. So imposter syndrome looks like confidence. When deep down inside, you don't feel ready, but you put yourselves in that room anyways.
Speaker 1: (21:38)
And so now you're surrounded by high achievers and people who will help you climb as, as, as they're going up in their journey as well. So put yourself into rooms. You don't feel ready for. That is how imposter syndrome looks like confidence. So if you have the idea, you probably already have what it takes. So go after it anyways. And then my last tip here for how you can reframe imposter syndrome into confidence is to give yourself permission, to be imperfect, confident people. Don't strive to be perfect. Confidence comes from knowing what you're good at and being confident at that and not trying to be perfect at everything you don't have all the answers and you never will. You will make mistakes. This doesn't make you any less worthy. Imposter syndrome tricks us into believing that because we don't have all our ducks in a row because we don't have everything aligned perfectly because we didn't do it at just the right time.
Speaker 1: (22:44)
We're not worthy, but here's the truth. People who are confident know that they're worthy, despite the mistakes they make. Okay, I messed up. Boom, I'm gonna try again tomorrow. you know, I know that not being perfect. Doesn't make me any less worthy of making an impact and helping people and showing up to do what I can to the greatest, to my ability, you know, and so confident people don't strive to be perfect. They know what they're good at, and they know what they're not. And guess what? Confident people also outsource to overcome their weaknesses because they know what they're good at and what they're not. And so if a part of your imposter syndrome or, or confidence, or, or maybe imposter syndrome is impacting your confidence because you know that there's something you wanna be good at, but it's just not working out. And so it's tearing you down and bringing you down.
Speaker 1: (23:39)
Maybe you need to outsource some of those things that are weighing you down. Like if you've been working at social media for the last 12 years, and it's still not working out, maybe you just need to hire someone to help you with your social media. Maybe that's not your thing. Why are you trying to force something that is not your strength? It's, it's keeping you stuck. So if you can relate to that, I invite you to order my book, earn more work less, which I have an entire chapter dedicated to delegating and outsourcing and building a team, hiring independent contractors that can take things off your plate. That aren't your strength. Our businesses deserve our strengths and not our hustle. You shouldn't feel like anything you do in your business is something you're forcing to get done because you think you have to, especially if it's not something you're good at, if you're not good at it, continuing to do it is keeping your business small.
Speaker 1: (24:34)
You know, like it can be done way more effectively and probably at a higher level of excellence. If you just brought someone in to help you with it, but you could be keeping your business from having access to talent that can help you get to your business goals faster by trying to do it yourself. And so, again, stop trying to be perfect at everything. Figure out how to be perfect at one, the, the few things that you are really, really good at and give your business that stop trying to give your business everything that could be messing with your confidence and keeping you small and stuck trying to wear every hat. So today I wanna leave you guys with this imposter syndrome is probably the single most common barrier to achieving our greatest potential. So many of us as solopreneurs have so much potential the potential to change the world, the potential to impact a lot of people, the potential to make life changing money that can produce generational wealth for our families.
Speaker 1: (25:42)
We have that potential, but we can't unlock it because of our mental state. You know, mentally we're in our own way. And so if we can just break these chains, I know that the sky's the limit. So I want you to think right now, are you falling victim to imposter syndrome? Is there an opportunity you're shying away from because you think you're not ready? Is there some sort of mental block that is like keeping you in a box, keeping you small let's crush, imposter syndrome together and start showing up the way we deserve to show up. I wanna remind you that the world really needs you. The world needs your gifts, limiting your potential because you're stuck in your, your own head benefits. No one, this doesn't benefit yourself. This doesn't benefit your future. This doesn't benefit your tribe. This definitely doesn't benefit the people who want to support you.
Speaker 1: (26:37)
So stop wasting your potential and let's turn imposter syndrome into confidence. You know, we can't eliminate it all together. It'll creep up at one time or another. But if when it does creep up, we know what to do with it. I think that we can get to a place where imposter syndrome doesn't have to hold us back. So I hope today's episode gave you something you needed to push your business to the next level. If you enjoy this episode, I invite you to leave the solopreneur hustle podcast, a review on the apple podcast app. If you have an iPhone, I would be so grateful for your help in reaching my goal. I know there's someone in your circle that really needs to hear today's message on imposter syndrome. So I also invite you to share this episode with a friend or to even share this episode on social media. If you know, there's someone out there who could benefit from hearing this, don't keep a solo hustle to yourself, share it, share it, share it. I know there are solopreneurs in your circle who could benefit from hearing this episode. All right, that is all for today. I hope you guys have an amazing week and I will talk to you guys next week. Continue to move onward upward and forward until next time.
Speaker 1: (27:56)
Hey y'all thanks for listening to this week's episode to stay connected between episodes, subscribe to our email list, using the link in the description for this episode, follow us on Instagram or Facebook at solopreneur hustle. And don't forget to share the solopreneur hustle podcast with a boss friend. I hope you have a great week and thank you for supporting the solopreneur hustle podcast until next time.