What Is Imposter Syndrome & How Do You Know If It’s Sabotaging Your Success?

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 past it again and again and again to get to where I am today. What's silent, completely invisible, but when it shows up at your door can evoke insane, 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. Ding, ding, ding, ding. 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 going to spill the tea on my own personal experience with imposter syndrome and how I've continually pushed past it to get to where I today. Hey guys, what's up? It's Alex. And today's video was highly, and I mean highly requested by my global posse. So if you're already part of the crew here on YouTube, give me a thumbs up below to let me know you're here. And if you're new to my channel, welcome. Here you'll find tons of practical tutorials on copywriting, marketing and freelancing, as well as a few mindset gems like this one designed to hopefully inspire and motivate you in your business or career. So go ahead and subscribe below and don't forget to hit that bell so that you'll never miss another video from me. Alright 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 tests, types of imposter syndrome? Yeah. Not everybody experiences this phenomenon in the same way. But before I get to that, I really want to 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. That if you want to 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 out 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. 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. 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 am guilty of so many of these habits that I never realized were actually imposter syndrome showing up in disguise. So I. 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 going to 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 want to 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. Story that you can relate to. So here we go. Imposter syndrome level one. I'm not smart enough. So imposter syndrome first reared its ugly head in my life when I decided I didn't want to go to law school. I had just graduated from university and I had this overwhelming gut feeling that maybe I didn't want to 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 waybackmachine.org for proving that my memory was in fact correct. So I remember thinking, wow, I am definitely not going to get a job here. I looked at all the people who worked there, insanely smart developers and marketers and writers, and I thought, me and 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 gotta 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 2. 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 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 a 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 dollar company, all by the age of 25. Look, there I am again on the website. Thanks again to waybackmachine.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 any 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 multimillion 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? So in 2019, I decided to start my YouTube channel, and I had to 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 considered 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 P.S. now some of those same copywriters are messaging me, asking for strategy tips and advice. True story. Now that is some massive validation if you ask me. But did the imposter syndrome stop there? Hell no. Enter imposter syndrome level 5. 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, okay? 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 bam, 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 want to share with you. She said, don't be the one to tell yourself no. And there is 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 start 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 believes 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 could 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 perfectionist. 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 is 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 is either. So stop playing small out of fear of striking out. You won't hit any home runs that way anyway. Alright. 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 here's 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 Ciao for now. Alright 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 throes 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.