We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Justine Feitelson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Justine below.
Hi Justine, 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.
You can’t be an imposter if you’re being yourself. It’s scary to put your ideas out there, but at the end of the day your work is a culmination of your expertise and your experience. That is a unique combination. If you tie yourself to your effort rather than the outcome and are honestly working your hardest to be the best you can be at what you do, you will develop skills and have experiences that create confidence in what you do and the results you get.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I work with patients in chronic pain, particularly a poorly understood, excruciating disease called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome which is the focus of my own business, Resilient Warrior Coaching. There I work 1:1 with patients and provide or host various courses and group programs. It is so meaningful because these are the patients who are given up on, left with poor treatment options, and made often to feel like they’re crazy and have no hope. This illness is progress and incurable, but can also be dramatically impacted by things patients themselves control if approached in a novel way through my MARSMethod.
I also co-host a soon to be released podcast called It’s Not in Your Head with Dr. Dan Bates out of Australia which focuses on teaching pain science in a far more empowering way, and helping both patients and practitioners better identify and overcome the challenges what we face in trying to treat chronic pain in the current system. We aim to change the way we treat, and prevent chronic pain and complex diagnosis.
I also help run a global chronic pain foundation, Empower You which works to improve access and education around pain intervention and various therapies and treatments depending on your diagnosis. This mission is incredibly important due to how little patients get to participate in these discussions. We work to bring patients, practitioners and industry together so we can all learn from each other in a collaborative way.
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?
The experience of playing basketball all my youth helped me begin to understand how to lead people, and appreciate working hard at something to get better at it. Really, doing so much work behind the scenes no one ever sees being expected.
The quality of just being determined and not taking others lack of belief in something as a sign it can’t happen. When I started my business RWC, there was nothing else like it out there as far as a CRPS patient working with CRPS patients in the way I was. It was unproven and not many initially believed I’d be able to convince people is such extreme pain to impact it through conservative measures when they’re in such states of desperation.
Genuinely enjoying empowering others has made the journey such a joy and much more fulfilling. I’ve gained many meaningful friends and memories by having the intention of bringing others up with me and being collaborative in how I approach opportunities. Live in abundance. More for everyone = everyone wins
My advice would be to lean into the process. Divorce yourself from the outcome so it doesn’t cause you to get discouraged and give up, plus you’ll be less miserable while you grind. Learn how to do things in ways that work for you and you enjoy so it’s sustainable despite how hard it is. It’s supposed to be hard. You’re starting a business. A tiny percent succeed. Entrepreneurship is like making it to pro sports. But it doesn’t have to be miserable. There’s a difference.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
Go all in on your strengths – they’re what make you YOU. That doesn’t mean you don’t bring up your weaknesses though. I was quite simply, terrified of tech especially for someone starting an online business after living for a brain injury for 9 years prior to developing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and barely using a computer over the time. But to pursue my dream I had to learn and get more comfortable with it. I had to get over being so extremely nervous of public speaking to be able to convey and refine my messaging. I cared about my dream more than those fears, but it was really hard and took daily commitment to improve. That being said, I do things in general in a way that work for my goals/values, the way my brain works, how I like to organize my days and manage my energy, and is in alignment with aspects of my personality even if I have to gain comfort with the specific skill itself. So, expand your boundaries always to continue to grow as a person and business owner, but be true to who you are and how you enjoy running your business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.resilientwarriorcoachingllc.com
- Instagram: @resilientwarriorcoaching
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justine.feitelson
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-feitelson/
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Matthew Brown
