The Imposter Advantage

The upside of doubting yourself… and winning with it.

I’ve been reading my arrived posts for a while now and here’s one I'd love to share with you:

How do I achieve something when I feel like I can’t or I’m not good enough or I’m at a disadvantage or I don’t have what it takes?

How exactly does this work?

In 2002, Vusi Thembekwayo was competing in a public speaking world championship in London, his Chaperone who trained him and a group of other guys, noticed the word ‘imposter’ tattooed all over his face after a conversation he had with one of the organizers, walked up to him and said one of the most profound words ever. “Tomorrow, when the bell rings, everyone starts at zero, just be the most prepared”

Everyone starts at zero? Yes!

When it comes to pursuing new opportunities, everyone starts at zero.

Imposter syndrome is like a right of passage, many successful people are successful precisely because of it. That’s the imposter advantage. Let’s call it the advantage of disadvantage (TAOD). Look I just postulated a theory! 🤣

Back to business.

The imposter advantage is that it can drive you to prepare more. It can drive you to do more work if you let it, and here is a tip that works from Vusi — Focus on the thing you can do better, not the people you’re competing with.

Often times we feel overwhelmed, distracted, terrified, and sometimes sad, because we are focused on the people we’re competing with, the people ahead, how fast they got it, what they can do, what they have…

You may not have what they have or what everyone sees as the advantage but you have an advantage… your advantage. And if you focus on what you can do next… your next presentation, your next customer, your next Instagram post, your next poem, your next opportunity, your next… your next…

And if you ramp up your preparation every time you go at it, you’ll nail it soon enough.

Your dreams are valid, and if that’s all you have, you’re qualified… just do the next thing and after that, do the next thing.

Gary Vee said in a video “you can be richer than me, speak better than me, be smarter than me but no one will ever give tf (care) about their audience more than me”

Your advantage is with you, right here, right now, but first, you have to see it.