We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Elise a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Caroline , thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I’ve come a long way in battling imposter syndrome. I decided to go into acting and film making after nearly a decade of working in tech, and I felt like such a wannabe calling myself an actress as a fledgling artist with no experience or credits to my name. Here’s what worked for me:
1. Classes/learning. I took classes in secret for months and learned skills that gave me confidence
2. Network. I “accidentally” moved abroad and met a group of entrepreneurs who inspired me to forge my own path.
3. Fake it til you make it: I slowly began telling people about my aspirations and while some people were skeptical, many (especially my new network of entrepreneurial friends) were super encouraging. I remember one day saying “I want to be an actor” and my friend corrected me saying “You ARE an actor”.
4. You get multiple chances. Whatever product you’re putting out there, you aren’t limited to just producing one thing for the rest of your life. You can test it out, iterate, and try again on the next one.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an actor and filmmaker who focuses on impact storytelling. I believe entertainment is the fastest and most effective way to spread a message. I love doing work that focuses on social issues. Lately I’ve written and produced a short film called “Ugly Pig” that makes you laugh but also highlights the dangers of being chronically online and rampant consumerism.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
For me those qualities are resilience, delusional optimism, and finishing things. Progress is non-linear and if you persevere you always end up where you were meant to be. I think being a competitive runner helped my resilience because it taught me how to be mentally strong under extreme stress and physical pressure. The work ethic I developed from training informs how I approach my work and art today.
I’m still working on being optimistic, and books like “Steal like an Artist” and anything by Brené Brown have helped me shift my mindset.
Finishing things is probably the most important skill, no matter what you’re doing. Many people have ideas, few people act on those ideas, and remarkably few finish the execution. So often we fear finishing things because we’re unsure if the result will be good. I’ve worked a lot on this fear to retrain myself to prioritize something that is “finished + good” over “unfinished + perfect”.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest area of growth has been taking on initiative and actually fully executing my ideas. I have always kept an ideas notebook and so often it would be an idea graveyard, where I wrote down ideas and never paid them any attention after. Now, I work my way through my list and am not afraid to test things out and fail/reiterate/ try again.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.caroelise.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caro4ever/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@plnt.based.mami
