Read on Twitter
Impostor syndrome...
Everyone struggles with it.
Common advice: to overcome it, you have to "believe" you are as special as those changing the world.
But the opposite is easier.
Overcome impostor syndrome by realizing those changing the world aren't that special.
Thread...
Everyone struggles with it.
Common advice: to overcome it, you have to "believe" you are as special as those changing the world.
But the opposite is easier.
Overcome impostor syndrome by realizing those changing the world aren't that special.
Thread...
1/
Think of all the people you consider "successful."
For me, this thought jumps to mind:
"They must have it all figured out."
We build up these personas of successful people.
And so we assume that if we want to achieve anything, we need to have everything figured out too.
Think of all the people you consider "successful."
For me, this thought jumps to mind:
"They must have it all figured out."
We build up these personas of successful people.
And so we assume that if we want to achieve anything, we need to have everything figured out too.
2/
This encourages procrastination.
We delay getting started on anything until conditions are right.
We come up with reason after reason for why we can't start, yet.
We will! But not yet.
This encourages procrastination.
We delay getting started on anything until conditions are right.
We come up with reason after reason for why we can't start, yet.
We will! But not yet.
3/
But here's some truth.
No one has it all figured out.
Every successful person you admire is really flying blind.
They've stumbled into something that worked.
They've boarded a rocket ship in midair.
And now, they have to learn how to fly.
But here's some truth.
No one has it all figured out.
Every successful person you admire is really flying blind.
They've stumbled into something that worked.
They've boarded a rocket ship in midair.
And now, they have to learn how to fly.
4/
When you realize the people you look up to are no more special than you, everything becomes possible.
And the closer you look, the more examples you'll find of successful individuals preaching this exact thing.
Here are some good examples:
When you realize the people you look up to are no more special than you, everything becomes possible.
And the closer you look, the more examples you'll find of successful individuals preaching this exact thing.
Here are some good examples:
5/
Steve Jobs
"Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."
Steve Jobs
"Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."
6/
Matthew McConaughey
In his book Greenlights, @McConaughey sums it up perfectly:
"Less impressed, more involved."
Once you bring those you admire down to eye-level, the sooner you become less impressed with them, the sooner you can get involved.
Matthew McConaughey
In his book Greenlights, @McConaughey sums it up perfectly:
"Less impressed, more involved."
Once you bring those you admire down to eye-level, the sooner you become less impressed with them, the sooner you can get involved.
7/
In his epic megathread, this point stood out to me from @sweatystartup https://twitter.com/sweatystartup/status/1345870615849398273?s=21
In his epic megathread, this point stood out to me from @sweatystartup https://twitter.com/sweatystartup/status/1345870615849398273?s=21
8/
And @jackbutcher puts it perfectly: https://twitter.com/jackbutcher/status/1344675067599482881?s=21
And @jackbutcher puts it perfectly: https://twitter.com/jackbutcher/status/1344675067599482881?s=21
10/
And after asking dozens of prolific online writers for advice they'd give to a writer in their first week, this idea came up over and over and over again:
No one has it all figured out. https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1337202614736461825?s=21
And after asking dozens of prolific online writers for advice they'd give to a writer in their first week, this idea came up over and over and over again:
No one has it all figured out. https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1337202614736461825?s=21
11/
So here's the TLDR:
No one has it all figured out.
Everyone is flying blind.
The people you find successful are no more special than you.
And nearly every one of those people you consider successful figured this out early on.
And so they just got started.
So here's the TLDR:
No one has it all figured out.
Everyone is flying blind.
The people you find successful are no more special than you.
And nearly every one of those people you consider successful figured this out early on.
And so they just got started.
