We were lucky to catch up with Carolyn Daughters recently and have shared our conversation below.
Carolyn, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I overcame imposter syndrome by not overcoming it. I live with and face imposter syndrome head on every day. Like many of us, I’m a work in progress.
For many years, I took on here-and-there contract work for dozens of companies, big and small. Some hired me to write content. Others wanted me to copyedit something they had written. Still others wanted me to lead a brand strategy session or help them build a proposal strategy.
Brand strategy, teaching, writing, and editing are four of my superpowers. However, clients who hired me for one of my superpowers rarely recognized the others.
Clients hired me to teach persuasive writing workshops and hired someone else to handle their brand strategy. Or they hired me for a brand strategy session and turned their marketing strategy over to someone else. More often than not, they hired me to write website content or e-books and hired someone else to lead their marketing team.
Imposter syndrome used to stop me in my tracks. Was I overreaching? Did people somehow instinctually know that I wasn’t good enough for the gig? Could they see right through me?
Was this my real-world reality check?
What I’ve learned is that superpowers aren’t recognized everywhere, and they don’t have a set, universally accepted value. Let’s say you’re an ace SEO strategist. If your employer or clients don’t care about or understand SEO, they may not value your superpower. Or if you’re top of your game but some other less-talented guy or gal has the gift of salesgab, you may come across as weak in comparison. Or if you’re Annie Leibovitz behind the lens but accept bottom-dollar freelance bids, you may end up attracting box-checkers with a Fiverr budget.
Sometimes you make a breakthrough. Your employer or clients already know you have superpower A, and you’re able to successfully introduce them to superpower B. Win-win!
Other times, the brick wall you hit is so high that you would need to be Spiderman to scale it. You wave your superpower flag with a flourish, but your employer or clients are incapable of seeing it. It’s like colorblindness, only here what’s hard to see is evolutionary development.
In many families, children are identified by various traits and skills. This one’s the life of the party. That one’s the dutiful party planner. This other one’s the pretty one or the artsy one or the smart one.
Try stepping outside your designated role in your family, and you may well feel like an imposter.
Thing is, we tend to snapshot people, capturing an initial image that never fully disappears from view no matter how many images come after it. We often snapshot ourselves in the same way.
What work gives you a sense of accomplishment? What sought-after skills have you been determined to master come hell or high water? What are you passionate about doing with the limited time you have on this earth?
Here’s a three-step strategy that I’ve found helpful:
1. Identify your superpowers.
2. Acknowledge that, like most people, you will at times feel like an imposter; find the courage to own your superpowers, nonetheless.
3. Fly your superpower flags sky high – on warm, sunny days and in the snow, sleet, wind, and rain.
In sum, do everything you can to make sure you see you for who you really are. Then do everything you can to make sure others recognize the depth and breadth of the value you bring to the table.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve long known that life is too short to check boxes and take on work simply for the sake of cashing checks.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t come from money, and I have bills to pay like everyone else. However, the more time and energy I spend on work that feeds me financially but starves the core of my being, the less time and energy I have to consciously choose work that feeds me in every possible way.
In 2024, I look forward to continuing to teach my proprietary, daylong persuasive writing workshops to teams at companies, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Air Force. I’m excited to launch another year of the Tea, Tonic & Toxin book club and podcast. As part owner of Linden Botanicals, I’m ready to help position the company to achieve next-level growth. And I’m committed to taking on brand strategy and marketing strategy work that I find valuable or rewarding – both for myself and for clients that I respect and that respect me in turn.
I see 2024 as the year that – more than ever – I do what I love. The work that I love will often be challenging or even frustrating. Much of that work will be on my mind when I wake, and at times it may keep me up at night. But make no mistake, it will be work worth doing.
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 one that matter most, which skills or qualities would you focus on?
On the first day of kindergarten, I sat next to a girl who spoke in strangely erudite sentences and rattled off the spelling of words like “apple” and “eraser” and “barrette.” (That young girl would later become the high school valedictorian.) At the time, I couldn’t spell my own name. In fact, by the time I started the second grade I still couldn’t read and was at one point on the verge of being held back a grade.
Book learning doesn’t come naturally to me. Neither do street smarts. I’m not being modest when I say I have few natural talents – not singing or dancing, not drawing or painting, not even writing. I earned every one of my superpowers by (1) obsessively reading every book I could get my hands on from age eight onward, (2) thriving on hard work, and (3) picking myself up, dusting myself off, and starting over and over and over again.
My advice to those early in their journey: Do as I did (and still do). Arrive early and give it your all. Find the courage to make big, embarrassing mistakes. Fess up, ask for forgiveness, and give it another go – and another and another. Sit up front. Assist, support, sub, and volunteer. Always raise your hand. Listen to and respect mentors and elders. Speak your truth even if your face reddens and you stumble over every third word. And finally, make your word your bond.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I partner extremely well with angel investors, funded startups, and early-stage businesses that want to build an identity, along with a marketing and content strategy that makes good business sense. I travel around the country to lead onsite sessions with key stakeholders to turn brands from vanilla dullsville to amazing chocolate fudge brownie. (Plug in your favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor, though it should probably be chocolate fudge brownie, because c’mon now.)
Promising young businesses often “save” money by nickeling and diming brand identity, strategic content, and digital presence. Those weird Wix websites populated with generic blahspeak (you know, the one that cousin Timmy built in exchange for a case of beer)? Those online calling cards are where good ideas go to die.
Investing in brand identity, strategic content, and digital presence pays dividends. When I work with companies, we cover a lot of ground and make the journey worthwhile. For example:
• Vision and Story – where did you come from, what prompted you to start your company, and how did you get where you are today?
• Value Proposition – what strategic elements about your value can you and your clients rally behind to accelerate target audience awareness?
• Elevator Pitch – When a prospective client asks what you do, what do you tell them? What makes their eyes light up? What makes them smile politely and tune out?
• Competitive Positioning – How can you position yourself to accelerate market buy-in?
• SWOT – What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats?
• Target Audience – What industry segments should you focus on? Who are your ideal clients?
• Primary Competition – Who are your primary competitors? Why might your target audience choose them? Why might your target audience choose you instead?
• Offerings – What exactly is your service or product offering? How can we describe it to your audience in the clearest manner possible to elicit immediate understanding, curiosity, and outreach?
By the time we’re done, my clients’ brand identity is so clear that even their mother knows what they do and can send qualified leads their way. In addition, the marketing/content strategy is so clear that my clients stand an honest-to-God fighting chance at reinforcing their credibility and communicating their message to the people who matter most – even in an oversaturated marketplace.
Looking to connect? I would love it. You can reach me at [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolyndaughters.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carodaughters/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carodaughters
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyndaughters/
- Other: https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com https://www.lindenbotanicals.com
