Self Employed Success

Do you feel like a fake? Are you waiting for the day that someone will discover that all your success was brought about by luck?

You’re not alone.

According to this article in Inc. Magazine, as many as 70% of all people feel like a fake at some time. Back in the 1970’s, psychologists studied this phenomenon, dubbed “The Imposter Syndrome.”

The Imposter Syndrome is divided into three sub-categories:

• Feeling like a fake
• Attributing success to luck
• Discounting and downplaying success

And it isn’t just new entrepreneurs that feel this way. It’s the high-achievers and the already-successful who suffer the most. According to an article from Harvard Business Review, there are ways to overcome your Imposter feelings.

This topic came up recently at one of my mastermind group meetings. A mastermind participant, a highly-successful and sought-after author and entrepreneur, said she was just waiting for someone to discover that she didn’t know anything, really, about her topic because she didn’t have a Ph.D. Although she’s written three books on the topic, has studied it for over 15 years, has major sponsorship endorsements from large corporations, and an education and product line to go along with the books, she still felt like she wasn’t an expert. Her worst fear: that some interviewer will ask, “Who are YOU to write about this topic??”

In the end analysis, a reality-check is in order. Have you accomplished things because of your intellect, your creativity, your tenacity, your heart? For every failure you’ve had, haven’t you also had an equal success?

Each day, when you catch yourself in the bad habit of moaning about everything that went wrong, reach for balance and remind yourself of all the things you did right. And when you have a big success, reward yourself and celebrate this wonderful moment!

Have you seen this wonderful, funny, inspiring video on YouTube yet?

Meet Susan Boyle, a 47-year old woman from “a collection of villages” in Scotland. Everyone in the audience of Britian’s Got Talent laughed at her when she said she wanted to be a successful singer. By the end of her performance, they were cheering and crying and giving her a standing ovation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

This same thing happened in 2007, when Paul Potts took the stage. I wrote about it here in my blog and you can watch his triumphant performance and be inspired as well.

These two people show us one very important trait that we should culivate: they didn’t let others tell them “You can’t do that” or “You can’t have what you want in life.” They took the bull by the horns and shouted to the world, “I have something to share with the world and I’m not going to rest until I get what I want!”

What do YOU want?  Go out and get it! Don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way.

As many of you know, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is one of my all-time favorite books. I can remember reading it back in the 1980s and I always re-read it every five years or so.

Written in the 1930s, this book is both a classic AND very modern. But the older version had some dated references to culture, politics, business and life during the Great Depression. Now the best thing has happened: They’ve given the book a face-lift, updating it for today’s reader without losing all the wisdom held within.

If you haven’t read Think and Grow Rich, now is your time! And if you’ve read an older version, I think this updated version will be a welcome addition to your self-development library.