We were lucky to catch up with Omar Zaki recently and have shared our conversation below.
Omar, 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.
If I’m being honest, overcoming imposter syndrome is something I’m actively working to fully beating or atleast getting a better handle on. I recently began working with a personal coach which is an amazing relationship because his sole purpose in the dynamic of our relationship is to question me, find out what drives me and how to shift that so stronger motives and beliefs drive your actions. What is really helping me is looking at myself, the things I’ve accomplished, and the skills I’ve attained as if I’m a different person and trying to objectively “judge or place” that person. And looking at myself in the 3rd person makes me respect and value myself incredibly more from the outside. It’s always incredibly difficult to be objective when it comes to ourself because it’s too personal and familiar but that has certainly helped me take steps towards imposter syndrome having less of a control over me.
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 am a Professional Stuntman, Motion Capture performer in Video Games and YouTuber. My YouTube content focuses on action, movement, and superheroes. My friends and I do everything from re-creating epic Star Wars lightsaber fights, creating our own Jackie Chan fight scenes as well as follow myself in personal journeys to learn new skills and overcome challenges.
I am incredibly thankful to be where I am and have gotten to the point in my career professional by having worked on Productions like Star Wars, Spider-Man, S.W.A.T, and worked with companies like Nike, TJ Maxx, and LG but none of that would have been possible without my passion and love for action and movement. I began learning Parkour when I was 17 and that alone changed the entire course of my life. I now realize how important learning movement and physical skills were to my success and career and I want to pass on that love and passion for movement and physical skills like parkour, martial arts, stunt skills, etc through my YouTube Channel and eventually creating online courses. I’d love to begin traveling and doing seminars to help other young athletes all over the country discover the passion and craft for parkour and action skills that ultimately gave me the life of freedom I’m now living.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I would say the 3 skills/qualities that helped me get to where I am are;
– Do it yourself. Period. It’s that simple. If no one is helping you, you need to help yourself. I had these big ideas of things I wanted to do and create but it was a big ask for others because the gap between my abilities and what I wanted to do was so big. So I learned. I learned how to edit videos, I learned about cameras and about how to film, which in turn helped my performing and physical skills. I ended up becoming proficient in parkour, boxing, weapon work, filming, editing, and storytelling which ultimately allowed me to tell my own stories and create my own big projects. Now, because I had developed all these skills, I’m seen as “valuable” and it’s much easier to work with other people and make great things together because I actually have a set of skills that is beneficial and valuable but it all began with “doing it yourself” (AKA, 100s of YouTube tutorials, and thousands of hours of solo work/training).
– Next thing is contradictory to doing it yourself, but it’s asking for help. I’ve only been able to achieve what I’ve done because of the incredible help from my friends. People will say no in the beginning and that’s okay. That’s important because it can be a reflection of your current state of skills and reputation. The better you get, the more skills you acquire, and the better track track record you have, the more people and the higher quality people will begin saying yes and wanting to help you, so ask for help.
– Final thing is perspective and perseverance. I’ve always understood that the Entertainment industry is NOT EASY. Most people don’t “make it”. Therefore if I wanted to be one of the few that did, I would have to work hard to create videos of myself, learn lots of skills, get really good, and continually advertise myself and my abilities. I’ve probably made over 1000 videos of myself for various platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. All to put myself and my abilities out there. It’s been an insane amount of work, an insane amount of dedication and saying “no” to a lot of things like movies and birthday parties and video games, but it all ultimately comes down to goals and dreams. I prioritize building the type of life I want and the kind of success I want over anything else, thus I will sacrifice anything that isn’t on that path towards building a great life.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did was they believed in me. After my 2nd year of college, I wanted to take a “gap year” and focus on training and competing in parkour, and making YouTube videos and moving to Los Angeles. I feel like most parents would have shut that down immediately and not entertained the idea. But my parents said yes. I’m sure it was for a number of reasons like the life they’d seen me lead up until that point and a lot of the concrete things that were happening around that. The amount of support and love I felt from that is still fueling me to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.omar-zaki.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/omarzaki0
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/omarzaki
