We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Reed. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.
Rebecca , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I am overcoming imposter syndrome by digging into the truth about who I am and what I’m created to do. I find truth in reading the Bible and going to my maker, God, to find my purpose. An accurate self awareness, rooted in truth, is the antidote for imposter syndrome.
When I can distinguish the difference between truth (what God says about me) and any other perspective, I can make an accurate self assessment. Truth gives me a purpose and assures me that I am capable. I have everything within me and at my disposable to walk out my calling. Imposter syndrome fills me with a paralyzing fear that I am not enough.
Imposter syndrome leads me to compare myself to other people instead of running my race. It goes hand in hand with perfectionism, where I put pressure and unrealistic expectations on myself to be flawless. The truth is I am far from perfect and comparing myself to other people will only steal my joy. I know that is not how I’m supposed to live.
I keep myself from falling into imposter syndrome while I’m filtering through taking on opportunities by reminding myself that fear can come disguised as wisdom. There is truth in wisdom. Some opportunities I do not have the bandwidth to take on but I have to be careful not to listen to fear of failure and say no to good prospects. I need to have a real sense of myself and capabilities. Having the support of family, friends, and trusted colleagues is helpful too. The people that are the closest to you are the best at this.
I was encouraged by my husband, Ben, to fill out an online casting call application. I honestly didn’t really want to do it at first, because I did not think I was good enough, or pretty enough, or reality tv crazy enough, or any of the not enough symptoms of imposter syndrome. I trusted him enough to realize that he was encouraging me because if I was cast on a show, showcasing my craft on a tv platform would help take my career to the next level, and it did. I’m thankful I listened to him and have been tuning my ears to listen to people that speak the truth into me and help me get out of imposter syndrome.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m Rebecca Reed. I’m a wife, mother, sister, friend, peloton enthusiast and plant lover. But the thing you’re probably most interested in hearing about is my career as a pastry chef. I feel incrediably fortunate to get to do something I love so much as my profession. I still pinch myself someones when I realize it’s my job to taste the brownie batter! However, becoming a pastry chef was actually my second choice of career. I originally wanted to be a therapist, but I quickly learned I really love to make people happy and the way that I can do that best is through food.
Of course everyone needs to eat to nourish their bodies, but eating a dessert feeds the soul on a whole other level. I get to bring joy to people with the works of my hands. It makes me passionate about sharing my vocation with the world. I’ve found that people seem to perk up and get excited when they find out I’m a pastry chef, then I get excited to tell them all what I’m up to!
I have been a pastry chef for over 10 years now, but what really started to draw attention to my career was appearing and winning an episode of Chopped Sweets on the Food Network in 2020. Since then, I was a finalist on The Dr Seuss Baking Challenge in 2022 on Amazon Prime and hosted my very own show, Plated, that’s available now on YouTube. You could say I’ve got the bug for being in front of the camera. I am still in the process of honing my craft and career. I have known that my purpose is to feed people delicious food and connect with people through the joy of eating dessert. I’m excited to see where this journey takes me. I hope you’ll follow along, You can see what I’m baking on IG I’m @thebakerreed.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Learning specific skill sets for your craft are certainly important, but I think anchoring yourself with your mindset is of paramount importance for creating the most impact in your journey. Here are some of the values that reflect my worldview that have served me well.
1. Treat people how you would want to be treated. Kindness and honesty go a long way.
2. Live with integrity. Make sure that your words and your actions reflect the things that you say you value. It’s easy to describe a dream, or claim to value something but do nothing. I’ve found that it’s not the things we say, it’s the things we do that create impact and exemplify who we are.
3. Never give up. In this world you will face all sorts of trails. Expect them, because they are inevitable. There will be plenty of times that are challenging that make you question yourself and make giving up on the dream or pivoting to a lesser version of yourself very tempting. In those moments you have to persevere and not give up because they are developing something within you that will make you stronger and more resilient. The world needs your unique gifts, talents, and abilities. I’ll say it again-do not give up.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
A book that has played an important role in my development has been Herding Tigers by Todd Henry. I know the dreams in my heart are much bigger than I can accomplish with my two hands, so I am constantly reading books on leadership to help me hone my interpersonal skills. Reading books on leadership helps me to be better at bringing my vision into the world as I am working with people. This book has helped me change my mindset to go from maker to manager. It has really shifted the way I lead by learning to empower my coworkers and be the leader creative people need.
Contact Info:
- Website: ChefRebeccaReed.com
- Instagram: @thebakerreed
- Facebook: Rebecca Reed
- Linkedin: Rebecca Reed
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9geo_Ccod0
Image Credits
Jon Volk, Nate Watson
