Imposter syndrome. It can be very real. And it keeps coming up in conversations that I have with people. Feeling like a phony. Feeling like you shouldn’t be doing what you’re doing. Feeling like you’re not the person that you say you are. You see, when you’re just getting started, and you don’t have clients or customers yet, and you’re just spending time tweaking your website and poking around on social media, it can feel like you’re just going through the motions. You’re telling people you’re an expert in ‘that thing you do’, but you’re looking for others to verify your claims. You’re looking to others to provide your own confidence in yourself. For some, it can be hard to believe in yourself and to take what you already know and make money from that through your own business. There can be a lot of self doubt or negative thinking… ‘I don’t have enough degrees.’ Or ‘Who am I to get paid for this, when others know so much more?’ Or you may be in the beginning stages of reinventing yourself. I’ve talked about that from time to time. And that’s a valid concern. You’ve been doing something else for a couple of decades and you’re taking a new path with a new dream. This is the new you. You’re not being dishonest. You’re not deceiving anyone. It’s just that you’re starting something totally different. And you’re having a hard time convincing yourself that this is the new you. Really, the negative thoughts can go on and on. We’re wired, for some reason to think negatively first, not positively. Why is that? Why is it so easy to think negative thoughts about ourselves first and to put ourselves down? Is anyone LITERALLY calling you an imposter, or a phony, or in any way putting you down? Is anyone LITTERALLY stopping you from doing what you want to do, or saying that you CAN’T do what you want? I’ll bet all day long, that the answer is no. because I’ve never seen that happen yet. Now, will everyone understand what you want to do? Will everyone support you in what you want to do? No. There will be some that don’t support you, but will they stop you? Probably not. But the fear of imposter syndrome can stop you in your tracks. The fear of ‘what will others think’ could prevent you from a brand new future that’s just waiting for you out there. Now, there are some that struggle with not having credibility, because they don’t have credibility. They haven’t proven themselves yet to anyone. They may be just making stuff up about who they are and what they claim they can do. Not everyone is honest out there in the land of the Internet. Some people may not be who they say they are. But I’m not going to address that in this episode, I’m going to focus more on those that are who they say they are, but they’re just in the very beginning stages of their business. They’re a great speaker, or trainer, or teacher, or author, but they’re trying to figure out how to make money doing what they love to do. They’re trying to get past their own insecurities. But friends, if, or when we feel insecure, people can pick up on that. It will be noticeable in one way or another. And it’ll be those little insecurities that will hold you back. It’ll be those insecurities that keep you thinking you’re an imposter. But we both know that that’s not true, right? We both know that you’re great at what you do, but you’re just trying to get your business off the ground. We all have to start somewhere. We all have to start sometime.   Should I care about how others see me or what they think of me? Will my friends and family ever really understand what I do and why I do it? Some may, but the rest, probably not. I don’t need them to understand and give me their approval. I’m going to do what God has put in my heart and go with that. That’s the approval I need. What will the future bring? Who really knows? You can plan it all out if you want, but the goal is not to