Meet Keisha Zollar

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keisha Zollar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Keisha, 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.

Anxiety around personal worthiness is often my trigger for imposter syndrome. Instead of running away from the intense feelings of inadequacy, fear of humiliation, and the grief of opportunity lost–I pause and question…Why I am feeling this?

“Do I care too much about what I am a about to do?” “Am I prepared enough?” “Am I struggling with a lack of control over the situation?” “Am I overwhelmed with so much desire for this opportunity to go well, that failure could destroy me?”

Vulnerability becomes my solution. I let myself experience the complexities of feeling phony, which grounds me. I don’t need to be perfect to show up for my passion. And I’m not an imposter because sometimes I can’t show up the way I want to and I don’t have all the answers.

Imposter syndrome is a reminder that there are stakes in whatever I’m about to participate in, but also of my ability to press on. No single act of my career will destroy me or the most essential relationships in my life. I am not an imposter, I’m imperfect and if someone can’t accept that I am not the imposter.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m devoted to creating comedic narratives that delight audiences and startle them with uncomfortable realities that we fear bringing up in polite society. My goal isn’t irreverence, but rather to unearth the emotional terror we feel around certain topics, ideas and identity politics to humanize people. My mismatched “guru” vibe with my low brow comedy approach is how I catch audiences off guard–no one expects the absurdist juvenile humor from the intellectual Black chick.

Yes, this means, I might use skibidi toilet as a prompt to talke about American healthcare.

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?

In my career, I’ve always tried to stay curious, be open about my goals and let myself grieve when things go sideways. Letting myself cry about the losses in my life has helped me not internalize all the things I can’t control. Grief and failure are okay and can teach you so much about where you need to go in your life.

If I you’re early on in your career don’t be afraid to refine your values, live by them, and be okay with failing hurting A LOT.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

2024 has been my year of personal losses. Close family members are sick, I lost my mother, I had to cancel shows, dealt with horrific people, and even lost the chance to expand my family. Getting out of bed and finding purpose has been my greatest challenge of this year. It’s easy to tell people to be gentle with themselves when their life is awful, but it’s another thing to take that advice and live it. Being stuck in loss has renewed my commitment to being optimistic. My optimism has had to be my lifeboat, because there were times this year things were actually just that bad. Death sucks. Cancer sucks. Not achieving career goals sucks. But being present and grateful for the reprevies of joy is actually awesome.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://keishazollar.com
• Instagram: @keishazollar
• Facebook: Keisha Zollar
• Linkedin: Keisha Zollar
• Twitter: KeishaZ
• Youtube: keishazollar

Image Credits

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