Meet Lynn Oldshue

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

Hi Lynn, 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’m from a newspaper family in Mississippi. I grew up in Yazoo City, the hometown of Willie Morris and Jerry Clower. My grandmother grew up with Eudora Welty and lived around the corner from her until she died. I was a reader who dreamed of being a writer. When outsiders criticize Mississippi, listing our writers is our first defense. It’s our state pride. I struggled to get a B in my creative writing class at Mississippi State, and my newspaper stories were nothing to get excited about. So I gave up and majored in PR, accepting that I can’t write. But I gave it another try in my 40s and created my own path into writing. I was an imposter with zero confidence, but at least I was giving myself a chance to figure it out. I have been writing stories for 12 years, and it has evolved along the way. I’m not a creative writer like Eudora or an investigative storyteller like Wright Thompson, but there are other ways to tell a good story. I’m an average writer, but a good reporter who loves walking up to strangers and finding stories in the field. Good ingredients and good editors make a good story. I’ve done enough reporting and writing to finally feel like I know my zone and have a place at the table. Maybe one day I’ll have the confidence to say I’m a writer from Mississippi.

After I wrote this I found this advice: When you have some success, the feeling of being an imposter can be real. Who am I fooling? But when you create things that only you with your unique talents and experiences can do, then you are not an imposter. You are the ordained.

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 have Our Southern Souls blog and Facebook group that tells the stories of the people around us. For nine years, I’ve walked up to strangers and listened to their stories. I’ve met them in parks, in grocery stores, on sidewalks, standing in the rubble of their home after a tornado or hurricane, or after they said “I do” in a wedding on the beach. The stories cover every side of real life: opening a bakery, getting out of jail, recovering from addiction, graduating from high school, coming to the U.S., finding love, losing the love of your life, or just fishing. We are built for connection–stories are how we get there. I have done this thousands of times and can never guess anyone’s story. Never. Their story may differ from mine, but there is always something to learn or unlearn. The secret is to walk up to each person with warmth and love and then just listen. We rarely get the chance to talk about ourselves; sometimes it’s easier to open up with a stranger.

I’ve just released the second book of Souls stories, Our Southern Souls, Vol. II, has 160 stories from the last few years. It’s available at www.BuyOurSouthernSouls.com.

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?

I’m curious. I want to know where a person comes from. What they care about and why. What motivates them. I also like wandering around a city looking for stories or photographs. It’s putting the phone down and getting interested in what is happening around you.

I’m a reader. I love reading a bunch of books or digging through the archives to research a story for Lagniappe or Alabama Public Radio. I read good writers who show me how I can improve.

I’m pretty disciplined and determined. If I get an idea, I’m going to figure out how to do it. My dad calls this “root hog through.”

I’m not a naturally gifted writer, but my curiosity, reporting, and determination make up for that. Other strengths can make up for a weakness.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Writer/NYT columnist David Brooks is the mentor I’ve never met. He wrote a column about the “nation of weavers.” The first core idea was that social isolation is the problem underlying a lot of our other problems. The second was that this problem is being solved by people around the country, at the local level, who are building community and weaving the social fabric. I took this idea and do a series about local Weavers each year around Thanksgiving. They are the ones showing us a better way.

I recommend Brooks’ book “How to Know a Person” and use it when I give talks. This is one of my favorite paragraphs: “We don’t start conversations because we’re bad at predicting how much we’ll enjoy them. We underestimate how much others want to talk; we underestimate how much we will learn; we underestimate how quickly people want to go deep and get personal…People are eager, often desperate, to be seen, heard, and understood…Ask people to tell you their stories.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.OurSouthernSouls.com
• Instagram: OurSouthernSouls
• Facebook: Our Southern Souls

Image Credits

The panel picture is from Fenaxion Photography