We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Champion recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessica , 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’d like to preface my response by stating that imposter syndrome, for me, isn’t necessarily something to overcome as much as it’s something to learn how to dance with. I’m a work in progress, and I’ve learned to view imposter syndrome as an invitation to get curious about where I am on my journey, how I can better support myself, and what resources are available to help me navigate the complexity and nuance of the situation at hand.
With that being said, I think it’s also important to share how my specific brand of imposter syndrome was developed, because I believe it’s different for everyone. As a child, all signs pointed to me becoming a top achiever. I was no stranger to superlative nominations like “most likely to succeed” and “most likely to be famous.” I proudly donned the nicknames given to me by my peers as if they were medals — “walking talking dictionary,” “human thesaurus,” and “girl who never spells anything wrong” were just a few of the shinier ones. A scholastic career full of straight As, Honor Roll, Principal’s List, Dean’s List, honors designations, leading roles, vocal competitions, awards, and extracurricular spotlight had primed me for “success” (or at least society’s definition of it). There was no confidence problem until I realized I was a big fish in a small pond. It was my first lesson in probability and statistics. I’ve never been a math whiz, but it probably wasn’t that extraordinary to be recognized as a star student in a school of (maybe) 1,500 kids with varying interests. Not all were singers and writers and honor students. Some were brilliant athletes, debaters, and artists. So the culture shock of my life came when I landed on my first college campus in 2003 and realized that I was one of many people with similar abilities. Floating to the top was no longer sufficient — it was time to sink or swim. Easy for a guppie in an aquarium. Not as easy for a perch in a lake.
At the age of 19, my imposter syndrome wore the mask of practicality.
In college, I enjoyed studying the subjects of my interest, in which I had a natural propensity. Classical opera training, multiple foreign languages, music theory, and literature — the fine arts were my playing field and I had plenty of cheerleaders. But when push came to shove and “the real world” threatened to raise the stakes on these passions of mine, the transition from humble student to working adult proved difficult. More prone to black-and-white thinking in those days, I quickly decided that, to my chagrin, the path I’d chosen was impractical and that I should switch majors to afford myself more security in the job market after graduation. I didn’t share the same drive to monetize my talents as that of my peers, who I’d observe practicing until 3 a.m. and booking countless auditions while studying and working. Don’t get me wrong, I was a very hard worker — I held two, sometimes three jobs on a full course-load my entire college career and excelled. But there was something about the concept of college as I’d come to understand it and the thought of becoming a “starving artist” that I couldn’t quite reconcile. In my mind, a college degree was a sort of guarantee that I’d be employable and more likely to get hired for a certain type of job. As a vocal performance major however, a degree did not assure me any type of leading role, visibility, or paid gig. I knew that I’d have to grunt it out in audition rooms like everyone else, relying on sheer chops and sometimes, maybe, connections and pedigree. This didn’t seem right to me. I was paying for this college education and experience (which I loved), but what came next was the great unknown. My degree wouldn’t necessarily help me survive or pay back my loans, no matter what kind of label it helped me slap on the bottle. It was then that the fine arts started to feel more like chores. My passion began to dwindle as the pit in my stomach grew bigger every day. How would I break it to my cheerleaders that I didn’t want to accumulate another $80,000 in debt for an education that wouldn’t guarantee me a profession in my chosen field? How was I to tell them I was turning my back on singing?
By promising them that the answer was my other talent, languages. I made the most responsible decision I could make at the time with the knowledge that I had. As a sophomore in college I couldn’t predict that I’d graduate in tandem with the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. All I knew was that I was the first in my immediate family to go to college and I felt pressure to live up to the beliefs and expectations of others. I wholeheartedly believed in the importance of a college education and I understood the benefits of having a degree. I just didn’t understand how rigged the whole system is and how badly it would work against many young adults in my age group and demographic, especially at that particularly volatile time in our history. Armed with the decision that made the most sense at the time, I transferred to another private university, out-of-state, and became a dual major in two languages with the intent to become a language teacher. I completed my coursework swiftly in order to “catch up” and still managed to graduate “on time” and with honors. Being a student was easy for me. My advisor called in a favor to get me a great student teaching position and I had my eye on alternate route certification. I passed my Praxis and went on interviews, but ultimately turned down a job as a high school French teacher because I was sure I couldn’t adequately discipline a classroom full of teens when I, myself, was only 22.
At age 22 my impostor syndrome wore the mask of inexperience.
Over the years the masks have changed. Sometimes they’re undetectable. In my professional life, I’ve done everything from settling to breaking ground, from climbing the ladder to meandering, from experimenting to hitting home runs. We’re all cut from different cloth but, for me, the comfiest sweater is making my own mark on the world and serving in a way that most closely aligns with who I am today. Which means that my career is on an evolutionary path and that it’s ever-changing, just like me. In the past decade I’ve been a freelance marketing professional, creative, writer, astrologer, and coach. With every endeavor I’ve brought to life, of course I’ve thought “Who am I to claim this? Why would anyone believe me?,” which is where support and community come in.
Even as solopreneurs, freelancers are not meant to be an island. We all need guidance and, in my opinion, the best part of aligning with any community or mentor is reflection. In recent years I’ve partnered with wise healers, facilitators, guides, and groups of like-minded individuals who have all shared their own unique perspectives, journeys, visions, and reflections. In such collaborative partnerships we often act as mirrors for one another. During a particularly impactful group experience, my imposter syndrome wasn’t masked at all, it was out on full display. After listening to me try to talk myself out of a business idea that wove creativity and intuition into a professional offering, another woman gave me the biggest permission slip of my life. She said (something along the lines of) “Who cares? You get to throw it all in a pot and sell it as soup.” The truth is, none of us ever “arrive” or know what we’re doing. We’re all chasing some sort of elusive mastery, and we’re all multidimensional human beings on a journey of deepening into our own maturation. My impostor syndrome wanted to keep me small and claim only one identity and path; to believe the lie that “it has to make sense.” Somewhere deep inside, I’ve always known I can reinvent myself and my path as many times as I change my wardrobe, but somehow I’d become disconnected from that truth.
Even empowered by this attitude, imposter syndrome can knock on the door from time to time. These days, I open up and invite it in. I offer it coffee and I interview it, like a detective. Peeling back the layers of what my life looks like and what I’ve been feeling usually helps me locate the source of any blockage. Whether I’ve been functioning on auto-pilot and letting life run me, or just outsourcing my power and failing to check in with myself, the solution is usually the same: reclaim my agency. I don’t mean to over-simplify this process either — sometimes it takes weeks or months of trial and error, waiting and praying. Trusting that it’s a journey, not a destination, is key.
In addition to seeking support, another way I dance with impostor syndrome is through self discovery that is fueled by insatiable curiosity. Studying modalities and tools like human design, astrology, the Enneagram, Myers Briggs, journaling, and meditation is one of my favorite ways to approach my imposter syndrome like a guest on my podcast instead of allowing it to make me feel less-than. After all, I didn’t come here to be less than myself. When I feel misaligned in some way, or sense that I’m feeding into a limiting belief or outdated narrative, I ask my inner wisdom and my support system “Who am I really?” and that’s when imposter syndrome gets to be a yellow light, not a full stop.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Thanks to my relationship with imposter syndrome, I am a classically trained opera singer, avid writer, and foreign language enthusiast who is also a former corporate marketing professional with a background in financial services and technology. My first “big girl job” out of college was in a bank (yep – it had nothing to do with my degree), and I thought that was so much smarter and easier than pursuing my passions or teaching them to others.
Fortunately, my boss at the time was very insightful and knew that this bank position was misaligned. Not that I was unqualified (I wasn’t), but that it might be unsatisfying. In order to understand how to best motivate me and make my time there as fulfilling as possible, he gave me a DISC assessment (dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness) to catch a glimpse into my personality. This was a pivotal introduction to self discovery tools that would spark a dormant curiosity years later.
Because my boss had enough awareness to know that I was very different from my mostly male, business school graduate counterparts, he uncovered crucial information about how to best craft a role for me that would give me a sense of mastery and ownership. I worked there (in evolving capacities) for eight years before I transitioned to a technology services firm that needed a marketing department built from the ground-up. I was confident in my ability to take everything I’d learned from my roles at the bank and the programs I’d created to do exactly what the new company was asking. I did, and then I realized that I wanted to turn that formula into a recipe I could replicate over and over again on my own terms, for as many people as I wanted.
In 2015 I started my own company, named 25 Hours Consulting. The idea behind the name was that hiring me would feel like getting an extra hour added back into a business owner’s day. It was subtle enough that people often assumed they heard me say “24 Hours,” and would then back-track to ask me about the name. I offered digital marketing services (like website design, email marketing and automation, social media marketing, graphic design, blogging, and copywriting) that many business owners didn’t have the time or expertise to handle themselves. Personal circumstances led me away from my practical nature and turned me into a risk taker — I didn’t have the flexibility I needed at the corporate job and it conflicted severely with my ethos, so I bet on myself for the first time in my life. It was a real “if you build it, they will come” moment (combined with a ton of faith and prayer). I was mentally prepared to struggle for the first six to twelve months, reminding myself daily that most startups don’t hit the ground running in their first year and that it would be hard but that I had what it takes.
Well, after posting an ad for my services, a client contacted me and was big enough to nearly replace my corporate paycheck. The thing that clinched the deal was a moment of synchronicity: the pen I took to the interview was from my church, and the leaders of this company happened to also be of Christian faith. They felt comforted by our shared values, and I saw it as a sign from the Universe that I’d made the right choice. That was my first taste of blazing my own trail, and to this day, that client is still with me.
I continued to pick up clients over the years, fine-tuning my service offerings and learning lessons about how I showed up in the world. I reinvented my mission a few times and had to grow through many of the things entrepreneurs navigate, like self-worth, time management, and value propositions. Thankfully, the vast majority of my experiences were overwhelmingly positive and served as reinforcement for my confidence and self belief. I was able to support my loved ones the way I wanted, I had flexible hours, and I was doing what I wanted to do while following my own rules. It worked until it didn’t.
After becoming a mother at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, an undeniable shift took place. It started as a whisper of ennui, and turned into a raging fire inside. I told myself I was just feeling restless and isolated. I told myself I was just wrestling with the pressures of parenthood and postpartum during the winter months and a global pandemic. I told myself a lot of things but none of them helped. After determining that I must be oblivious to some mysterious truth, I embarked on a mental health journey that turned into a journey of self-discovery. I enlisted the support of a therapist, who prescribed me antidepressants that I didn’t want, and I ended up feeling much worse. I then confided in a close friend who introduced me to a wise mentor in the holistic healing space, which was new to me but also felt like a long-lost companion.
This relationship branched off in a few different directions and changed the trajectory of my life forever, and for the better. It led me to reconnect with my newly awakened feminine intuition (many people say this is something that comes online for the first time or deeply strengthens when we become mothers), and that intuition confronted me with the painful truth that my current reality was grossly incongruent with my needs, desires, and purpose. I was betraying myself daily and sacrificing myself on the altar of societal expectations. Sound familiar? Fast forward a few years, and personal circumstances led to the dissolution of my entire life as I knew it, down to the threads. In the midst of a failing marriage, raising a new child, a global pandemic, and a life that felt five sizes too small, I pursued my inner callings and reinvented my business: Guidepost Creative was born.
From the ashes of 25 Hours Consulting and with the support of other mentors I’d chosen, I became a certified astrologer and rewired my offerings to be more spiritually oriented. I continue to offer digital marketing services, but now I do it through a holistic lens. Guidepost Creative is a haven for anyone, individual or business, who prioritizes authenticity in their messaging and in the way they show up in the world. I provide services that facilitate creative alchemy so that all roads lead to a single destination: undeniable beauty. I offer individual support in the form of astrological guidance and lunar coaching for those who wish to explore the relationship between the universe and their own intrinsic blueprint, and this support is uniquely designed according to each individual’s life circumstances and overarching themes. No two programs are the same. As a guidepost, I often connect these clients with other specialists in the holistic space who are trained in complementary modalities. I believe that I am just one point on someone’s path, and that if I can light the way to the next point, I’ve done my job. I also provide group and corporate analysis for modern leadership, compatibility profiling for couples, and personalized sacred space design for anyone whose environment directly impacts their work and wellbeing.
My marketing services have expanded into the business development realm, as I now consider myself a reinvention specialist, an idea person, and someone who is highly gifted at elevating others. I craft modern and visually impactful resumes that tell a narrative story and circumvent applicant tracking software, deviating from the standard black-and-white bullet-point approach to which most employers and job seekers are accustomed. I offer prospective clients “readings” or compose questionnaires that will give me insight into their core personalities so that when I design the marketing tool they’ve requested, they feel like I really “get” them, like I’m speaking their language, and like the truest version of themselves and their business is out in the world (instead of some cookie cutter representation). I coach clients on workflow efficiency, time management, and outreach strategies with a proven track record of success and satisfaction.
This is the work I do in the world, and it feels truer than ever. In addition, I’ve recently prioritized sharing my self-expression. A dear client, who turned into a friend, was an author with whom I shared some of the writing I’ve always kept private. She encouraged me to bring it out of hiding and breathe life into it. In her memory, I’ve just self-published my first book, titled “Unravel: The Road to Remembering,” which is available on Amazon in print and digital formats. Following my inner inklings and infusing them into “my work” feels so expansive and supportive. And to think I owe it all to imposter syndrome 😉
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I’d say the three qualities and traits that have had the most impact on my journey are curiosity, self-trust, and resilience. No, these aren’t necessarily teachable skills that are learned in school or buzzwords to list on a resume, but they’re traits that help me transcend industry, labels, and the boxes that modern life and society try to put us in so that I can show up authentically in everything I do and serve my clients from that vantage point as well. I have always known that I can’t be neatly categorized, compartmentalized, or contained — I, like all of us, contain multitudes.
If it weren’t for my sense of curiosity and wonder, I wouldn’t have been able to live into the questions that shaped my journey into what it is today. If it weren’t for my sense of self-trust, I may not have been honest with myself about what I was doing (or not doing) and why. Perhaps I would’ve stayed in an unfulfilling career just for the stability, feeling under-utilized and living with the constant tension of being misaligned. If it weren’t for my resilience, I wouldn’t have had the courage to deconstruct and rebuild my life brick by brick. I think resilience is a muscle that helps us carry courage. Some might say that courage comes first and resilience is the result, but I’m not so sure. I think that our life experiences give us the ability to flex and strengthen that muscle and that our courageousness grows proportionately — and I’m not talking the sheer-confidence-and-blind-optimism kind of courage, but the kind that feels like a trustworthy passenger when fear tries to take the wheel.
A runner-up would be the ability to reach out and seek support. Recognizing that you don’t know what you don’t know and not being ashamed to ask for guidance.
If you’re early in your journey, I would say that the best way to develop these qualities in yourself is to simply tune in. Witness and observe yourself in times of bliss, in times of trial, doing what you love, doing what you dislike. Pay attention to where you feel hesitation and where you feel a full-body “yes.” Notice what feels like expansion and what feels like contraction. And write it all down. How do you respond? Ask yourself a ton of questions. Every day, ask yourself “how am I really?” and “who am I now?” These questions will be your guiding light, or your guidepost. See what I did there?
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I love to collaborate and would welcome partnerships with anyone in the world of holistic healing, marketing and business development, or media. I enjoy speaking as a guest on podcasts and offering insights on a variety of topics in the aforementioned fields. It would be amazing to create impactful and perhaps unexpected programs with aligned collaborators to bridge gaps, connect worlds, and expand the mission of bringing self-discovery and authenticity to the professional realm.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.guidepostcreative.com
- Instagram: @guidepost_creative
- Other: Writer account on Instagram: @jchampion_writer Book: https://www.amazon.com/Unravel-Road-Remembering-J-Champion/dp/B0CQXXXGBW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=375XGH1TAV4Q9&keywords=unravel+j+champion&qid=1707952080&sprefix=unravel+j+champion%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-1
Image Credits
Brianna Spause Jeremy Miyagi Daniela McDonald
