Learning from one another is what BoldJourney is all about. Below, we’ve shared stories and insights from phenomenal artists, creatives and entrepreneurs who’ve successfully managed to overcome imposter syndrome.
Seyoung Jang
I have never overcome mine and I honestly think I’d never will. But this isn’t me being a drama queen and sinking into the negative realm. Read more>>
Ana Mero
I’ve faced numerous struggles, feeling small and grappling with imposter syndrome in my role as a business owner. Many voices, including those I trusted, discouragingly told me I wasn’t good enough for the journey. These doubts took me back to my past, where I was always seen as rebellious for wanting things done my way. Read more>>
Shanice Williamson
I’m a writer and director whose dream is to write and direct for television and film. Everyone can write, but not everyone is great at writing at a high level. I want to write at a high level and, sometimes, imposter syndrome has crippled me from writing. While I haven’t completely overcome imposter syndrome, I have, at times, been successful in quieting the voice to a murmur when it creeps up. Read more>>
Anicka Martin
I created a list that addressed the reasons why I started my company and what I aimed to achieve. Anytime I felt less confident I went back to read my list. I focus on consistency. Stay consistent with your craft and the confidence will follow. Read more>>
Alexandra Nyman
Honestly, working in the fashion industry it is hard to ever think that your work is good enough. You are constantly comparing your work to others and trying to best yourself. For me, I was finally able to overcome my imposter syndrome when I added a philanthropic element to my artistry. Read more>>
Adam Ramey
You just have to harness your main character energy. Just know and understand; more importantly, BELIEVE that you were destined for this. It all starts and ends there. If you think you don’t deserve what you have now, it will leak into the frame of other people’s perception. How can anyone believe in you if you don’t yourself? Read more>>
Antonello Stornelli
Sometime I wonder if I ever did overcome it. When I won an Emmy Award at Disney I definitely had feelings of imposter syndrome. However, during my time on “Monsters at Work”, these feelings were mitigated. Read more>>
Dani Ledbetter
I truly want everyone to succeed. I know that for myself imposter syndrome is. something I really struggled with at the beginning of building.I have sense turned it into motivation. If they can succeed so can I. There is enough room at the top for everyone to win. Read more>>
AnnaGrace Dessez
Imposter syndrome is one of those things that can instantly take away your creativity and motivation. Social media is the worst about seeing everyone work harder, moving faster, and doing more than you. Everyone moves at their own pace, but no one sees that online. I have struggled with imposter syndrome off and on for a few years. Read more>>
Gerry Doot
I love this question. I don’t actually know that it’s possible to completely overcome imposter syndrome, but I don’t think that really matters. We are artists doing what we love to do and that should be the reason, not trying to compare ourselves to the greats, or even to someone in a bar who is killing it. Everyone is at a different level. Read more>>
Cee Lashley
I began seeing my work and ideas replicated by my then superiors, who didn’t acknowledgement or credit for it, publicly or privately. It stung initially because these were very successful creatives and business owners that I looked up to. Then I realized that they’d only plagiarize my ideas if they had value. Read more>>
Sarah Reynolds
To be honest, I’m not over my imposter syndrome. But I believe that my mindfulness and agency determine whether or not it’s kept to a manageable level. My imposter syndrome is the least disruptive when: I maintain boundaries around social media consumption and interaction, I am in full alignment with the projects that I am working on, and I have prioritized the right working relationships. Read more>>
Ashley Ketch
Imposter syndrome is a prevalent experience that often affects individuals to varying degrees. In our age of ubiquitous social media, it becomes especially challenging to resist the temptation of comparing ourselves with seemingly flawless counterparts. The relentless cycle of scrolling and comparing can lead us down a seemingly endless rabbit hole. Read more>>
Kristin Farmer
I paint it away with my watercolors. Read more>>
Cody Montes
Oh wow, in all honesty, I have not overcome the imposter syndrome, yet. It is actually something that I struggle with on a regular basis. Where I live, my industry is highly saturated. There are so many amazing photographers that it truly is difficult to not have imposter syndrome. Read more>>
Dakota Hodge
Imposter Syndrome is so common, especially in any type of creative industry. For a long time I felt like I couldn’t call myself a Music Producer or a Songwriter because I hadn’t made as much money as my peers. Money and dreams can get intertwined in such a toxic way inside the music industry. Read more>>
Candance Campbell
Imposter syndrome is very real, especially within a creative industry such as elopement and wedding photography. It is very easy to look around us and see all of these other creatives and the gorgeous work they are sharing and then immediately start to compare yourself. Read more>>
Estee Combs
As I have grown older, I have wondered over and over again when or, at what age, I would finally feel like I had it all figured out. Like, figured out in ways I always thought my parents did when I was younger. However, as I am now growing older than the age my parents were when they first had me, I have started to learn and accept that just maybe, part of the beauty in life is letting go of perfection and accepting things as they are. Read more>>
Jay Bradley
I suffered from imposter syndrome and low self esteem for most of my life. I think for me, it started as a kid from ongoing bullying. I have tried many healing modalities over the years, along with traditional therapy and the most powerful tool I’ve ever discovered to blast through limiting beliefs and stuck emotions, has been Breathwork. I believe that my regular Breathwork practice has been the main catalyst for me gaining confidence and a sense of self love and self acceptance. Read more>>
Andreas Danner
I don’t know – did I?! For real though – I think imposter syndrome is something a lot of us are struggling with on a regular basis. I feel like there’s no clear path for how to overcome it for good, there will always be good and bad days. Read more>>
Larry Harris Jr
I love this question because many people, especially young people, seem often paralyzed by the feeling that they need to be perfect, overly prepared and a leading expert in their field before launching a project. Read more>>
Cary Colleran
In 2016 I decided to go back to school. After finishing my bachelor’s degree in 1993, I ended up staying home to raise three children. During that time, everything I did outside the home was volunteer work, so when I finished my coaching education through ADDCA, it was the first time in 23 years that I was in the workforce. Read more>>
Alexandra Shearer
I think imposter syndrome is such a common experience and in my opinion, it comes and goes. There are absolutely times where I still feel imposter syndrome. I have to take a moment to reflect on what I am doing and remember that I worked hard to get here. Read more>>
Michael Campas
During my time in massage school, I grappled with numerous fears. I worried about whether I’d truly make a difference, the possibility of accidentally hurting someone, and whether I had made a mistake by pursuing this course. I questioned my ability to feel anything beneath the skin and wondered if I lacked the necessary touch or intuition. Financial concerns also loomed, and I feared receiving criticism from everyone. Read more>>
Ashlee Hayden
As a photographer, I’ve spent countless hours capturing the beauty of the world through my lens. However, there have been moments when I’ve grappled with an uninvited guest in my journey – imposter syndrome. It’s that nagging doubt that creeps in, making me question my abilities and my place in the world of photography. Read more>>
Salome Smith
For years I ‘enjoyed’ creating with my hands, including floral design, but I never had any proper training, so once I started taking on weddings I refused to call myself a florist. I would stumble across the phrase as if I didn’t quite know who I was/what I was. Because I didn’t. I still saw myself as an imposter, & I think that is why I thought that others may as well. Read more>>
Rosa LePelch
I really struggled with this, In fact, I still do to an extent! How could I, someone who didn’t go to culinary school, call myself a pastry chef?! I really used to beat myself up about this all the time. The best advice I could give, is to simply own the new reality you’ve created for yourself. Read more>>
FERNANDA SCHEIN
I think I just learned to use it to my own advantage. If you listen to your own thoughts closely, you can analyze the insecurities that show up in a particular situation, observe its emotional patterns and peel out the layers that are just saying “you’re not good enough” to find what skills you are actually missing that are making you feel that way. Read more>>
Alyssa Contreras
As someone who has both ADHD and anxiety, I’ve always had to work harder to stay organized and focused on a daily basis. Things that seem easy for some, can often feel like obstacles for me just because of how my mind works. Imposter Syndrome goes hand in hand with all of this. Read more>>
Efrain Sahagun
The technical definition of imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments. Pretty much meaning that you feel like a phony and that all the work you’ve done was all luck and you have no idea what youre doing. BUT NEWSFLASH none of us know truly what we are doing. For me I don’t know where all the good creative ideas come from they just show up. Read more>>
Celene Stanley
I struggled with this for a long time actually. When I started, I had my “dream job” as a teacher, and photography served as my creative outlet or “passion project” of sorts. Read more>>
Will Knight
I never really overcame imposter syndrome, but I’ve come to appreciate it as a barometer for how much I’m growing as an artist. Every time I take a new job or start a project, I’m hit with the familiar thought, “this is it, they’re all going to find out I don’t know what I’m doing”. Most artists I know are also no stranger to these anxious ruminations. But I’ve come to see imposter syndrome as a good thing; when I’m too comfortable with my work, it’s probably because I’m doing something I’ve already done before, perhaps many times. Read more>>
Beth Inglish
Overcoming imposter syndrome is an ongoing journey for me. I’ve come to realize that expecting to completely eliminate it is an unrealistic goal, so I’ve chosen to focus on effectively managing it instead. Read more>>
Dakota Schlager
Imposter syndrome is that feeling of self-doubt and inadequacy, often accompanied by the fear that others will discover you’re not as competent as they think you are. You fear that you’re not good enough to be rubbing elbows with those in the same position as you. For me I experience this phenomenon quite a bit actually. Read more>>
Asikpo Bassey
I don’t think anyone overcomes imposter syndrome. I think it is something that people will constantly deal with, but how you react to it is the most important part. Will you let it consume you or will you continue to make strides to your goal? Read more>>
Danielle Dallas Roosa
Being the granddaughter of an Apollo astronaut, you can definitely say there was a high bar growing up. My sister was an exceptional reader and I struggled, she was great at math and I was….well, terrible at it. However, you put me in a social situation and I *thrive*. Read more>>
Moesha Smith
I grew up in the very small town of Pioneer, LA and technically, it’s not even considered a “town”, if you google it you will see it referred to as a “village.” Pioneer is so small that we don’t even have traffic lights so you can only imagine how scarce the resources are. I left Pioneer to attend college at the age of 17, and at the time, I didn’t know if I would make it in the real world. Read more>>
katt newlon
I haven’t and honestly think I never will. I walk into every experience wondering if this is the time I’ll be found out, but I feel like maybe that’s a very secret and very humbling gift. Read more>>
Que Maxwell
Honestly, I haven’t. Life is still surreal to me, especially, when it comes to my business. I have been in business five years. It’s been days , where I wanted to give up, when I wanted to close. I days I didn’t feel like I deserved the recognition and being in the limelight. It was like the more I progressed in my business the more my anxiety flared. Read more>>
Aftann Taijeron
I didn’t get on the health and fitness path to look good; I got here to help people feel better and get healthier. But to learn something new of any significance, you have to be willing to admit you don’t know everything. Read more>>
Michael A. Levine
The short answer is, “I haven’t.” But that’s not a bad thing. Let me explain. Read more>>
Abby Borden
My career in Events started working for well-established catering and production companies. I started as an assistant, then coordinator, and made my way up in each position, learning as much as I could. Each time, I always thought “someday, I’ll go out on my own.” Read more>>
Jessica Hargis
It’s impossible not to feel this way when you first start out, and heck, I still feel this way all of the time. What I remind myself, is that everyone who knows so much more than me and is so much more successful than me, they all started out where I was too. I have always just pushed through that feeling and aimed to accomplish my goals despite what anyone else is doing or saying around me. Read more>>
Joy Greene
Overcoming imposter syndrome has been quite the journey for me. It all began during my pregnancy, a time when I was deeply involved in aerial competitions. COVID closures shut down studios annd the world, and the physical changes brought on by pregnancy and motherhood limited my abilities in ways I never expected. Read more>>
