The speaker admits to feeling like a fraud and shares three ways he manages imposter syndrome: reframing anxiety as useful fear, remembering that Tom Hanks and Sheryl Sandberg feel it too, and scripting worst-case scenarios to reduce their emotional sting.
I am a fraud. I've gotten lucky. I'm not actually that good. Guys, let's talk about imposter syndrome. I have it. Tons of successful people have it. And odds are you have it too. Now, if this sounds familiar to you, here are 3 ways that I face my imposter syndrome every single day. First, I try to use it as a positive. While uncomfortable at times, I believe that my imposter syndrome creates a fear of failure that pushes me never to be complacent in my career. Second, I draw comparison. I generally don't like comparing myself to others, but with imposter syndrome, realizing that people like Tom Hanks or Sheryl Sandberg experience it normalizes my own feelings. And third, I embrace the worst-case scenario. I write a script that literally accepts my fear. I say to myself, I'm a fraud, my success is luck, and I'm wildly unqualified. And by repeating this over and over, It makes me less reactive to imposter syndrome. For more startup advice, throw me a follow.
SF startup Eve just raised $103 million led by Spark Capital with backing from a16z and Lightspeed.
