The Menace of Imposter Syndrome

You are a talented xyz, and have been training, skilling up, and practicing for years, even decades, yet when you are faced with opportunities, you self-sabotage, not because of anything, other than you feel extremely inadequate and you kind of freeze. 

Some of the ways you self-sabotage include:

1. Not marketing your products and services

2. Not selling your products or services, instead you give them out for free

3. Underpricing yourself grossly, and later you find yourself building resentment, if not for the client, for the work itself, and even use words like "burn out"

4. Not calling your prospects when you have been referred by others

5. When asked for a quotation, you drag your feet for days or even weeks. Once you send the quotation, the prospect has moved on. 

6. You keep on taking more and more training, listening to 1000s of podcasts, and reading a lot of books trying to be "good enough"

I have (still am) done all the above, trickling my taps of income to a stop. The tap is dry, or drying. I've even convinced myself that I don't even need a lot of money ... If I just had 4 clients paying me a total of 50k per month, I'll be able to get by.

Why? When there is so much money in the world? So many opportunities? So many who know much much less than you and are scamming thousands of people?

Here's what you and I need to do:

1. When you get to quote, let the client give you their best-expected outcome then quote your price accordingly, and take the downpayment, even if you are unsure of yourself. Trust me, the creativity of how you will deliver will come. 

2. Shout out to the world, especially those who know you (we know you hide from them) about your products and services. Let as many people as possible know what you offer and that you are ready to provide those services.

3. Congratulate yourself and be proud of yourself for having those skills, knowledge and expertise. Be your number one fan.  Look at yourself in the mirror with admiration. All those years of learning, practicing, and skilling up have led to this very expert person. 

4. Go out there and DELIVER. Let every job you do speak for itself. Don't fear to charge for it properly and work!

Some of the people who suffer from this syndrome the most are women. I can't really explain why. The reasons are many out there. But let this stop. Please.