“Don’t listen to those who say ‘you’re taking too big a chance.’ Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most important, don’t listen when the little voice of fear inside you rears its ugly head and says ‘they all smarter than you out there. They’re more talented, they’re taller, blonder, prettier, luckier, and they have connections.” I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts—and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live—the chances are you’ll be a person worthy of your own respects.”
…but while it was responsive it did not have custom posts, hence, back to the old look. Click the image for things to think about when choosing a theme…
Earlier this year I ‘discovered’ the ‘imposter complex’ thanks to my yogi Jackie Dumaine. The more I learned about it the more I understood why I haven’t finished my epic book on ‘Becoming Known’. I believe, you see, that if you can name it you can ‘fix it’. If something has a name, that means you can google it and find tools to help. There are a few reasons why my book remains 70% completed — one of them is that as soon as you put your thoughts into words and declare your expertise in an area, someone smarter can come along and prove that you’re a moron…
A few days ago, Tanya Geisler [the author of the following quote] was kind enough to track me down in Twitter and share her TEDx Women talk on the same subject — how I missed this, I’ll never know but as the Buddha said ‘when the student is ready the teacher comes along‘. She says:
Ever since November 2012, I knew that there would be a moment that my TEDxWomen talk would be available for all to see. And that I’d need to find a way to share it with my corner of the world. That is, YOU. I’d love to say that I was excited, but the reality is, I’ve been a little, well…nervous.
I mean, I KNEW I’d be proud of it…I spent weeks (and weeks) preparing, researching, training, practicing, finessing and getting it under the requisite 18 minutes. And I KNEW the content would be good…I know the Impostor Complex like the back of my hand.
But asking everyone, YOU, to go check out my TEDxWomen talk is just…so…selfish, right?
Me, me, me, me, me.
I’ve started and stopped this very post about 15 times. Each time I approached with this question:: “what huge, massive, COLOSSAL value can I bring to my readers AND STILL let them know that my talk is available for viewing?”…as though the two were mutually exclusive.
So I’m about to take a leap of faith. The huge value of this post IS my talk.
Whoa. Whoa. Whooooooooa.
That seriously just kind of took my breath away. The sheer audacity.
But there it is.
My friends, I know A LOT about the Impostor Complex. So much so, that I am indeed becoming an Authority on the topic.
I’m claiming that.
In my perfectly imperfect talk, I’ve outlined a process that moves us from feeling like an Impostor to feeling like an Authority. I use it with my coaching clients, and in my own life. It’s also the backbone of my Step into Your Starring Role program.
If you ever, EVER struggle with the Impostor Complex, then you WILL get value from watching this talk…because I wrote the talk for you.
And now, I leave it in your loving hands, and will go and celebrate (an ever-important step in the process, you’ll see) by busting my Kid out of after-school care early for an ice cream cone.
Because
I did it. I really, really did it.
And if you want to do it too, you can and will too. ”How do you begin? The answer is simple: you decide to.” – Anne Lamott
Can I recommend you take the time to watch her talk? I just did…
I believe that the danger and the opportunity of social media and transformational thought leadership is walking the fine line and finding the ‘golden mean’ between imposter syndrome and narcissism. This is such an important impediment to transformational thought leadership that I’m going to start a resource page here. I’ll keep adding to it so come back often…
Gemma Stone writes this about our mutual friend Farhana Dhalla:
Sometimes a crisis is a summons to reconfigure our entire lives.
Even though we are resilient creatures, we are still easily hurt. There are times when living hurts. A lot.
There is purpose in pain; often life falls apart exactly when it needs to be rebuilt.
Our stories become burdensome & false.
Our defenses become exhausting & crumble.
When we are no longer able to maintain the stories and defenses that protect us, we can easily dissolve to bits.
When our lives fall apart, it’s the perfect opportunity to build something newer, truer, fuller.
When Farhana’s life crumbled, she used it as a catalyst for transformation. She courageously ventured within herself, found truth, and emerged glowing with love and light.
And that is why I rely on to her to pull me along when I’m dragging my feet and to shine some light when all I see is darkness.
Thank You for Leaving Me is being released today. Farhana’s story is a heartfelt, refreshingly real account of her journey through divorce.
If you’re moving through the end of a relationship, struggling with heartache, or questioning your relationship patterns, I’m confident this book will be helpful. If you’re hesitant, check out this video. If this sounds like the medicine you need, head over here to pick up her book.
Bright, shiny objects! 
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