Today I want to talk about Impostor Syndrome… it’s something that every entrepreneur or growth seeking individual will feel at some point. If anyone denies it, they are most likely lying.
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It’s tough out there making your dreams happen! We feel like we’ve got to act like we’re successful and that we’re already where we want to be before we’re really there.
An article on Time says that an estimated 70% of people experience these impostor feelings at some point in their lives.
I’m convinced that we are all affected by it. I totally struggle with Impostor Syndrome. I like to keep it real and be very honest and humble. I let people know that my awesome invention idea has made no money and that it was a $40,000+ science experiment that I’ve kind of put on the shelf right now.
I’m definitely nowhere near where I want to be. Like AT ALL. I can’t afford a Lamborghini (YET). But my MINDSET and my THINKING are on the millionaire level… I joke with my accountability that I’m already a millionaire. My bank account just doesn’t know it yet!
Instead of saying “I can’t afford a Lamborghini” I think “HOW can I afford it?” And the “how” is through my entrepreneurial pursuits, mainly real estate currently since I’ve put the invention idea aside for the time being.
While I like to sprinkle in bits and pieces of my life and journey with you, I don’t just want to talk about me. This message is FOR YOU so that you can get to the next level.
First of all, let’s take three deep breaths together. Life is stressful and crazy. We don’t need to be killing ourselves and freaking out because we are not on track to hit our annual goals.
I’m not joking about the three breaths. Do it right now.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
In…… out…….
In…… out…….
Feel better? Okay, know that right now, you are exactly where you need to be. Maybe you’re not as far as you thought you’d be by now. Trust me, that’s me, 100%. I’m behind on my goals, but at least I’m on TRACK. I have not given up and never will.
Be “proud, but never satisfied.” Being satisfied leads to complacency. It’s important to be grateful for all you’ve experienced and accomplished, but remember to stay hungry for more. Continue to push for the next level. And believe me, there is always another level.
One of my recent posts on Instagram had a long caption but started off by saying “life’s too short to not do what you love.”
If you’re doing what you love right now full-time, congratulations, you’re ahead of many! If you’re stuck doing something you hate, working a job that doesn’t excite you, or for a boss that drains your soul, use that as fuel to your inner fire.
Build up your savings, start making some investments, and work to build your escape vehicle so that you can move towards a life that you don’t need vacation from.
Believe it or not, everyone at every level fears losing what they’ve built. We all fear failure. Even virtual mentors that I have, who are millionaires, have admitted this during interviews.
It’s not like you magically get to a certain level where you can relax and turn down the effort. Once you achieve your goals, you set new ones.
Even with this podcast for example, to be completely honest, I had no idea where it would go. I just started recording podcasts, staying consistent and just letting it out into the wild without any idea of what was going to happen with it.
I remember being excited in January 2018 when I hit 125 downloads. A year later, my January 2019 downloads exceeded 19,000! Even now, 19,000 downloads a month seems like it’s not enough. A five year goal of mine is to grow to 100,000 monthly downloads. Once I get there, I’ll raise the bar again.
All I knew is that if I put in the work and kept doing the time and putting in the effort, that something would happen. It had to. I had hopes that the show would grow, but had no idea that it would snowball to what it is today.
Sometimes I have that feeling of “yeah, I’m a badass! I have this great podcast following and it keeps growing each month. I’m the man!”
Other times, thoughts creep in like “who am I to have a podcast? I’m not even successful yet.” Or “I don’t even have 1,000 Instagram followers… everyone who goes to follow me from my podcast will realize that I’m a fake.”
But then, I realize that I need to silence that voice. Everyone starts at 0. Winners start each day at 0 regardless of how many goals they’ve crushed. There’s always room for growth and improvement, I promise you.
Another important thing to remember is that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. It’s easy to scroll through Instagram for 10 minutes and feel depressed and behind as hell.
Everyone else is living their best life, and it can seem like we’re not. The only competition we have is with our previous selves. If you’re getting better than you were yesterday, you’re doing just fine.
Look at David Goggins. The dude lived in silence without being known for years! He was just doing his thing. Now, he’s a seemingly “overnight sensation,” and has been interviewed by people such as Tom Bilyeu with Impact Theory and Jay Shetty. As of the time of this recording, the guy has 1.3M followers. He’s such a boss, that he follows 0 people back on Instagram.
I have so many friends and contacts that reach out saying “man Chris you are killing it I’m so happy for you.” I’ve kind of smiled and been like “thanks!” when I am still trying to figure out how to get consistent real estate deals to bring in that income.
We all experience self-doubt:
- Am I really good enough to do this?
- Am I really qualified?
- Should I be making this sale?
- I don’t even know if I would buy this product from someone like me in this position
It’s a grind. We have to stay on the hustle. Get any self-doubt and limiting beliefs OUT OF YOUR HEAD. I stay extremely positive, sharing my message with the world rain or shine.
Next time you’re thinking “am I really the right person for this job” or “can I do this?”, change your thinking.
Tell yourself empowering affirmations like “I am the right person for this job. I am totally qualified. I have the experience. I’ve done the work. I have a proven method. Here are the results of the thing that I’m selling.”
You need to say these affirmations and believe them 100%. Grant Cardone talks about this when it comes to selling. You need to fully believe in what you’re selling or you aren’t going to be great at selling it. If you don’t even have that product if you don’t completely support it, then you’re not going to do a good job selling it, because you don’t truly believe in it.
You need to be the type of person who loves whatever you’re selling, whatever you’re pitching, and whatever you’re doing, because that love and that passion is going to show when you’re talking about it to others.
I like to think that this authenticity shows in my podcast and content. I post it because I love it and want to post about it. Sometimes you’ve got to do these “labors of love” without expecting any money in return. Like the saying goes, help enough people get what they want, and you will get what you want.
When you are passionate about something, it’s going to show. You’re going to have that authenticity. And the person on the other side isn’t going to feel like you’re just trying to sell them to make a commission. They will buy into your product and buy into YOU because they will start to connect with you and trust you.
So anyways, that’s my message for today. Do what you love. Do it well. Do the best you possibly can on whatever it is that you do. Sometimes, you have to do some stuff you don’t love to pay the bills until you can get whatever you do love to start making some money and support you. We all feel like impostors from time to time. We have to silence the inner voice of doubt and affirm to ourselves that we are the right person for the task at hand. We are capable of anything.
Just do you. Keep pushing, and give it your best. Get around positive and uplifting people that motivate and inspire you. That’s all we can do.
Key Takeaways
Pay no attention to the little voice in your head that says you aren’t qualified, or that you won’t make it. Focus on your WHY and you will find the HOW.
We all fear failing. But find solace in the fact that each loss brings you one step closer to a win. View failures as stepping stones to the next success. And then your fear of failure starts to decrease.
Believe in yourself. Trust yourself. And do what you feel is right. Of course, surround yourself with some people who have found success in whatever it is you want to be successful in. Success begets success.
Daily Motivation
You are exactly where you need to be. – me (today). I’m sure others have said this before, but I’m taking credit for it today!
Actionable Steps
Identify 3 limiting beliefs you tell yourself or that you have had recently and squash them.
Think of a time when you accomplished something that you thought you would fail at. Use this as fuel and PROOF that if you’ve done it before, you can absolutely do it again.
The next time you are feeling like an imposter, like a fake, remember this episode and what we talked about today. We all have those feelings from time to time. Think about what your future, best self would do, and then take the actions necessary to move forward.
At the Arete Syndicate Live event, Ryan Stewman, known as “the Hardcore Closer” made the audience do an amazing exercise. I’d like to share it with you. I had goosebumps after it…
If you’re at home or work, try to do this right now. If you’re driving or on the treadmill, seriously consider coming back and doing this later.
Stand up and close your eyes. While keeping your eyes closed, turn your head to the right.
Picture the best version of yourself.
What is your perfect self wearing?
What kind of shape is your best self in?
What kind of watch are you wearing?
Ok, are you ready to get goosebumps? While keeping your eyes closed, take a step to the right, into the shoes of your perfect self.
Do you feel empowered? Happy? Motivated?
Trust me… 1000 attendees at the event did this at the same time and it was incredible. I hope you enjoyed that exercise. I know I did. It’s certainly worth incorporating into a morning routine.
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