- Did you know that
there are actually five different types of imposter syndrome
that could be sabotaging your success
without you even knowing it.
Today, I'm sharing my own personal experience
with imposter syndrome
and how I've continually pushed passed it
again and again and again to get to where I am today.
(upbeat music)
What's silent, completely invisible,
but when it shows up at your door
can evoke insane self-doubt, anxiety, and fear?
I'll give you a hint,
it's something that 82% of the population will experience
at some point in their lifetime,
and it affects women at an alarmingly higher rate than men
but you gentlemen are no stranger to it either.
It not only fills you with dread
but feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem
and skepticism about your own talents,
skills, and capabilities.
And if it goes unchecked it may even lead
to you sabotaging your own hard work and career.
Yes, I am talking about Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter Syndrome seems to be
a pretty big buzzword these days.
Everyone has likely heard someone talking about it
but no one is really talking about it if you catch my drift.
I mean what is Imposter Syndrome anyway?
When does it pop up?
How can you recognize it?
And more importantly, how can you overcome it?
Well, that is exactly what I'm talking about
in today's video.
So get cozy and pay attention
because I'm gonna spill the tea
on my own personal experience with Imposter Syndrome
and how I've continually pushed passed it
to get to where I am today.
Hey guys, what's up?
It's Alex and today's video was highly
and I mean highly requested by my global posse.
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All right now, what is Imposter Syndrome?
Well, it was first described like this
by two psychologists in the 1970s.
Imposter phenomenon occurs among high achievers
who are unable to internalize and accept their success.
They often attribute their accomplishments to luck
rather than to ability
and fear that others will eventually unmask them as a fraud.
And even though Imposter Syndrome
isn't technically recognized as an official diagnosis,
most people including psychologists
acknowledge that it is a very real
and super common thing today.
In fact, did you know that there are actually
five different types of Imposter Syndrome?
Yeah, not everybody experiences this phenomenon
in the same way.
But before I get to that
I really wanna make sure you guys understand
something that I firmly believe,
and that is Imposter Syndrome can be a good thing.
I know, I know cue the controversy
but hear me out for just a second.
So remember a few years ago,
when a lot of people were saying that
the secret to success was to just not give a (beep)
That if you wanna succeed in life,
then you need to stop caring so much
about what other people think.
Now don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the core message
that those people were trying to send
because at the end of the day
you do got to get of your own way sometimes.
But at the same time,
I think that really messed with all of us who really do care
like a lot.
As if caring is a weakness
and therefore something must be wrong with us.
But you guys, I have literally built
my entire brand and business around giving a (beep)
Actually probably too many of them.
The truth is caring about other people is amazing.
It's how you build trust and credibility.
It's how people relate to you.
It's how you show up as authentic.
So really I think we all need to care more about others
especially with the state of the world right now.
The way I see it, when you experience Imposter Syndrome
it means you're acutely aware of how you're showing up
and how others might perceive you, which means you care.
And the more you care, the more empathy you have
which will ultimately bring you more success
in every single area of your life, including copywriting,
I promise you that.
But where Imposter Syndrome becomes really, really dangerous
is when you let it completely stop you from taking action
and this can happen in a lot of sneaky ways.
In fact, Dr. Valerie Young, who's the author of
'The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women'
has broken down Imposter Syndrome into five different types.
And understanding your type is actually pretty important
because all have slightly different habits and patterns
that can keep you stuck,
which also means that each type has specific things
that you can do to get yourself unstuck.
Now learning this was a total game changer for me
because I'm guilty of so many of these habits
that I never realized
were actually Imposter Syndrome showing up in disguise.
So I used to think that
Imposter Syndrome was just really feeling inadequate
but it is so, so much more than that.
So at the end of this video
I'm gonna break down the five types of Imposter Syndrome
and share a specific action step that you can take
to kick it to the curb
so make sure you stick around for that.
But first as promised,
I wanna share my own personal experience
with Imposter Syndrome with you.
Because no matter how many times you hear it's normal
it can still feel like an unstoppable monster
until someone shares their story that you can relate to.
So here we go.
Imposter Syndrome, level one,
I'm not smart enough.
So Imposter Syndrome veered its ugly head in my life
when I decided I didn't wanna go to law school.
I had just graduated from university
and I had this overwhelming gut feeling
that maybe I didn't wanna be a lawyer.
So I had no freaking idea what I wanted to do
but I needed money.
So there I was moving back into my parents' basement
and waiting tables in my hometown
with a full blown business degree might I add.
I knew I wanted to travel but I had no money saved up
so I started looking for jobs overseas
and that is when I found Mindvalley.
Now I will never forget the day
I looked at their website and read and I quote
"If you are a God gifted genius,
we'll give you everything you need
to realize your potential."
And thank you way back machine.org
for proving that my memory was in fact correct.
So I remember thinking,
wow, I am definitely not gonna get a job here.
I looked at all the people who worked there
insanely smart developers and marketers and writers
and I thought, me, a God gifted genius?
Not even a little bit.
I am not smart enough to work here
but you can probably guess what I did.
I said, what do I got to lose?
So I applied anyway and guess what?
I got the freaking job.
So imagine if I had let my imposter syndrome
stop me from applying.
But then what happened next?
Yep, Imposter Syndrome level two.
I don't belong here.
So fast forward a few months
and I actually started working at Mindvalley.
And let me tell you, hello Imposter Syndrome McGee.
I started at the bottom as an intern
answering customer support emails
and every single day I was surrounded with actual geniuses.
I'm talking about people straight out of Silicon Valley
and big tech companies.
So just being in the same room
as these insanely smart people
gave me major Imposter Syndrome,
even if I was just the customer support girl.
But as a small startup company that was growing fast
there were a lot of opportunities to learn and grow
and to take on more responsibilities.
So I started to step in and support where I could
in project management, content and copywriting,
paid media buying and launches
and yes, there was that Imposter Syndrome again.
I mean, who was I to think that I could do all of that?
I knew absolutely nothing about marketing at the time
and not only was I battling serious feelings of inadequacy
but I was also the youngest person
at the company at the time.
So of course, I had Imposter Syndrome about my age too.
I'd go to a lot of mostly male dominated conferences
and everyone that met me was constantly saying things like
"Oh my gosh, look at you.
You are so young."
Which of course, just further fueled my fire of
what are you doing?
You don't belong here.
No one will take you seriously.
So at the time I had acted overconfident
to hide my deep insecurities,
but I just kept moving forward.
Three years later,
I was the event director of Mindvalley's A-Fest
which is now one of the world's
largest personal development events.
And I was the creative director of the then
$12 million company all by the age of 25.
Look, there I am again on the website.
Thanks again to way back machine.org.
But not so bad, right?
I would say that at the time
I felt like I had successfully beat Imposter Syndrome
once and for all and I was feeling pretty dang confident.
And then I quit my job and moved back to Canada.
Enter Imposter Syndrome level three,
I'll never measure up.
So I went from living the dream
as a top marketing executive for Mindvalley
to sleeping on an air mattress back in Canada
to start my freelancing career.
I had no clients, no income,
and no idea how to start a business.
I was living in the spare room of my best friend's apartment
and paying a super discounted rent
because her dad was the landlord.
Thank you, Greg.
I literally had to start from scratch
and let me tell you my Imposter Syndrome was huge.
So while I had learned copywriting
from many of the legends of the marketing world,
I had never actually been paid to write copy before
because it was never my official title at Mindvalley.
So naturally I thought,
who am I to call myself a copywriter?
I do not measure up to these guys.
And I told myself that for years.
I would take on clients as a marketing consultant,
but when it came to copywriting
I was constantly downplaying my skills
saying that I could sort of do it
if they really, really needed it.
So basically, I played super small
in the beginning of my business because I was scared
that one of those greats that I had learned from
would find out what I was doing
and call me up and call me a fraud.
And this was despite the feedback that I was getting
from my clients saying that my work was amazing.
Despite the multi-million dollar launches I was executing,
despite the fact that I was making
multiple six figures a year as a freelance copywriter.
I still kept it a secret
because I didn't want people to look at me and say
you're not a real copywriter.
So it took me a long, long time to own that title.
And then Imposter Syndrome level four,
am I a joke?
(giggles)
So in 2019, I decided to start my YouTube channel
and I'd own that title in a whole other way
by stepping out from behind the scenes for people, you guys
possibly the entire internet to see and possibly judge me.
And yep, all those impostery feels
that I had just worked so hard to overcome
came back in full force.
So my fear was once again,
that the people who I learned from, looked up to
and consider to be the best copywriters in the industry
would see my videos and think I was a joke.
But I pushed past my comfort zone and I did it anyway,
and PS, now some of those same copywriters are messaging me
asking for strategy, tips and advice.
True story.
Now that is a massive validation if you ask me,
but did the Imposter Syndrome stop there?
Hell no.
Enter Imposter Syndrome, level five.
I am not worthy.
So a year after starting my channel
I decided to launch my first ever copywriting program
and of course Imposter Syndrome came right on back again
like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Sure I can do this and talk about it on YouTube
but I can't actually charge people for this education,
I am not worthy of making money from teaching this.
So I really thought that people would see me
as under-qualified or not good enough to be their teacher
despite the fact that I'd been doing it for 10 years.
It was terrifying, but I did it anyway.
And today I've helped thousands of people
through my coaching program and YouTube videos
all because I kept showing up.
I felt the fear and I did it anyway.
I cared what people thought and I did it anyway
even when I felt like I was a fraud,
even when my ego was taking a major hit
and I honestly think that is the biggest lesson
that anyone can take from this video.
Care a lot and do it anyway
because Imposter Syndrome will never go away completely.
It like grows with you.
It might decrease as your confidence and skills grow
but then you try something different or you do something new
and, there's Imposter Syndrome level 6 or 19 or 100
or whatever that looks like for you.
Actually one of my launchpad grads missy
said something I wanna share with you.
She said, "Don't be the one to tell yourself no"
and there's so much truth in that.
Remember that you'll never know what could have happened
if you don't try.
So in my opinion, the best thing you can do is
start recognizing Imposter Syndrome.
That way, when it shows up you can be like
oh hey, Imposter Syndrome I see you over there
and then just keep doing your thing anyway.
Because I really believe that if you fail to recognize it
you may fall victim to that doubt and fear
that it will stir up and quit that thing
that could turn out to be your biggest success in life
or worse not even try at all.
So with that, let's talk about
the five types of Imposter Syndrome
identified by Dr. Valerie Young,
along with an action step you can take to overcome it.
So the first type is The Perfectionist.
I am no stranger to this one.
I mean, if you think about it
perfectionism and Imposter Syndrome
really do go hand in hand.
Perfectionists will often set extraordinarily high goals,
standards, and expectations for themselves.
And then when they fail to reach those goals
or expectations, they experience major self doubt
and feel like they might actually be a total fraud.
So an action step you can do to overcome this is
first and foremost, accept that it is literally impossible
to be perfect all of the time.
There will always be something you could have done better.
So try to give yourself a little bit more grace there
and start celebrating your small wins along the way.
Oftentimes you can be so focused on that one big goal
that you're never satisfied even if you have been doing
some pretty amazing things along the way.
All right, now the second type of Imposter Syndrome
is The Superhuman.
So this group is filled with so much self doubt
and believe so strongly that they're phonies
that they'll push themselves to work even harder
than everybody else combined so that they can measure up
and avoid being exposed as a fraud.
Now this type of workaholism can lead to serious burnout,
mental fatigue, and it can even sabotage your relationships.
So here is an action step:
Stop comparing yourself to others.
Listen, we are all guilty of it,
but when your sense of validation comes directly from
how you measure up to others
or how you think you measure up to others,
you will never, ever, ever feel good enough.
You need to learn to be confident in your own abilities
and where you are at right now.
There is absolutely no one out there
that is expecting a newbie
to have the same skills as a seasoned pro.
So just let off the gas a little and let yourself grow
without that insane and unrealistic pressure.
And the third type of Imposter Syndrome is
The Natural Genius.
So these types of imposters
set their internal bar ridiculously high
just like perfectionists.
But natural genius types don't only judge themselves
based on ridiculous expectations, they also judge themselves
based on getting things right on the very first try.
So if they can't master something immediately
with ease and grace,
that's when they start to feel like an imposter.
So here's an action step.
One of the biggest faults of this type is
to not try anything new
out of fear of failing or getting it wrong.
So the best thing you can do to overcome it is
yup, try something new and just own the fact
that you probably won't be a natural the first time
or maybe even the first dozen times
which is totally okay because no one else is either.
So stop playing small out of fear of striking out.
You won't hit any home runs that way anyway.
And the fourth type of Imposter Syndrome is The Soloist.
So if you believe that asking for help
means that you're a fraud or a phony
who actually has no clue what they're doing
then you're probably a soloist.
Soloists are independent to a fault.
They'll refuse help from others even when they need it
out of fear of being seen as incompetent.
So here's an action step.
Practice asking for help.
You may need to give yourself a little pep talk first
and that's okay.
Just remember that there is no shame in asking for help.
Trust me, it is easier to ask for help early on
than try to stumble along and figure it out for yourself.
And finally,
the fifth type of Imposter Syndrome is The Expert.
So this type usually measures their competence
based on how much they know.
So typically they put off starting anything new
until they know all there is to know about the subject
out of fear of being exposed as inexperienced
or unknowledgeable.
So an action step.
To combat this, you should first and foremost
stop trying to learn all the things
simply for the sake of hoarding knowledge for comfort.
So try learning new skills
and then putting what you learn into practice right away.
Because at the end of the day
you can only really learn through doing anyway.
So which Imposter Syndrome personality
do you identify with most?
I think I'm a mix of all five if I'm being honest.
Drop me a comment below and let me know.
Until next time I'm Alex and I believe in you.
Ciao for now.
(upbeat music)
All right guys, if you enjoyed that video
make sure to check out the next one from me right here
and you can click right here to get a free gift.
Yes, I learned the hard way so you don't have to.
If you're in the throws of starting or scaling
your copywriting business, allow me to save you some time
as I shed light on five of the most surprising lessons
I've learned over the last eight years.
(upbeat music)