Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mandy Green. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mandy , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Ever since I was a child I enjoyed singing and writing songs, but I grew up playing sports and my parents didn’t value music as much. When I was a senior in high school, I started playing acoustic guitar and really enjoyed it, but I always felt like I couldn’t compare to others who came from a musical family or who had been doing music for years. So, I focused on what I excelled at during that time, which was playing volleyball. I went off the college, still playing the guitar on and off, and eventually got married and had 3 kids. When it came to singing, I had a terrible fear of being on stage and the feeling of being vulnerable made it easy for me to push that part of me away. Over the years I wondered what I could have done if I would have put more energy into music. I still was writing parts of songs that I never completed. There were a series of events that helped me to push outside of my comfort zone, which are the following:
1) I took on a wellness/fitness side hustle that required me to participate in social media. I was really awkward and horrible at it, and truly I still am, but it forced me to be vulnerable.
2) I work with some amazing people who are very encouraging. They are also doing great things with their lives, which again inspired me to find the thing I’m passionate about.
3) I didn’t enjoy my online wellness/fitness side hustle, and I began to search for something I was good at doing outside of my full time job which is physical therapy.
4) I tried blogging; I thought about opening up a restaurant (then covid hit); considered doing short term rentals. None of these panned out due to various reasons.
5) After some soul searching, I told myself that I’m getting older and music has been the only thing I wished I had tried years ago. If I didn’t do it now, then I may never get a chance. I didn’t want to lay on my death bed wishing I had done something.
Therefore, I dusted off my acoustic guitar and started practicing. And, I was horrible at first. This time, the big difference was I told people what my goals were. I would video record myself and would send the video to my friends. These were friends that I had told my goals to, people who I felt comfortable being vulnerable around. This is a very important step in my opinion. I began to build my confidence. I was terrified, but I reached out to my church praise band leader. Graciously, another band member who played acoustic guitar took me under their wing. I’ve been playing in the band for almost 2 years now.
Another crucial part of my journey is I invested money in myself. I purchased a virtual songwriting course (I think I spent $600), so I could meet via zoom with other like-minded people interested in songwriting. This was really hard because I had a lot of mom guilt. I was not only spending a lot of money on myself, but it involved time away from my family. This class showed me that there are other people just like me. There were experienced people with EP’s out, and there were total beginners. I felt like I fell in the middle which gave me a boost in confidence. I was able to collaborate, and I met some great folks with whom I could pick their brain.
This journey began a little over 3 years ago. Now, I play in my church band regularly. I’ve finished writing over 10 songs. I’ve had 1 song professionally recorded which is called “Little Memories”. And I’m collaborating with a producer on a Halloween song I wrote which will hopefully be out by this Halloween.
So, in short, the following helped me “gain control over”, my imposter syndrome. I say that, because I still have it every once in a while, but I’ve been able to deal with it because of the people I surround myself with, as well as using positive self-talk.
1) I told people I trusted what my goals were, and then shared my fears and progress with them.
2) Invested money in myself
3) collaborated with like minded individuals
4) made myself vulnerable by joining a band (even when I sucked really bad)
5) Waited until the right moment to invest more money in myself (you’ll know when this is the right time, just listen to your instincts)
6) Keep in mind getting over imposter syndrome is not a quick process, I am still working on myself. But, if you are moving forward, then that’s all that matters.
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 am a folk singer/songwriter and a mother. I am learning music production and hope to be producing my songs in the next couple of years. I recently found my niche which is children’s music. I have a Halloween song coming out soon (we are still in the production phase). It’s call “Misfit Monsters”. My current single I have out is called “Little Memories”. You can find my music on all streaming services and on IG @mandygmusic. I am also in the process of submitting my song to several publishers in hopes to make it a children’s book.
The best part of what I do is watching my kids being inspired. I get to write songs and record vocals with them. If I don’t end up going any further with music, I’d like to believe I’m showing my kids to work towards their dreams.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1) If there’s something you are talented in, lean into it. Tell people you trust about your goals, then share your fears and your progress with them. I owe much of my success to those people I told early on. 2) Invest in yourself. You’ll have periods of learning, then growth, then repeat. Each period of growth, be willing to be vulnerable, it can be something big or small. The only thing that matters is to keep moving forward.
3.) You’re going to suck at first. You become good unless you are willing to be terrible at first. And don’t compare yourself to others who are farther along in their journey.
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 would love to collaborate with anyone who is in the music industry. I would say my greatest strengths would be songwriting and as a vocalist. You can find me on IG @mandygmusic
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @mandygmusic
- Youtube: @mandygmusic
- Other: mandygmusic@gmail.com
