Hey, my friend, and welcome back to another episode of Do Life Big. I am so excited to have you here today. Today's episode is going to be all about Impostor Syndrome and tips on how we can actually overcome that. And I came up with this topic for this week because it was something that I was personally struggling with in my life, in my business over the last week, and I was talking to my husband. And I was like, You know what, this is going to be next week's podcast episode. And so here we are in that moment right now. And so get ready because we're gonna be talking all about impostor syndrome and how to work through that and truly realize that you are qualified and worthy of doing what it is you're doing.
And like I said, I was going through this myself personally over the past week. I had this pop up for myself in my own business this past week. And so let me kind of explain to you about how this happened to me. So I got chosen for the Top Six for this Case Study Business Panel for my business course that I'm a part of. And it was just a really crappy week last week. It just felt like one thing after the next between three out of the five of us here getting like this massive big bug, which had me legit in bed not being able to get out of bed, and every time that I would get out of bed or move, I would get sick again. And my three-year-old had at the exact same time as I did. So it was no joke. It was the sickest I've been in forever.
And then, on top of that, my dad had just found out that he was having issues with his kidneys and was going to be flying back up to Boston to get a kidney biopsy done to find out exactly what the heck was actually going on. And then come up with a plan of how they were going to treat it going forward. So all of this was going on at one time. And it was also emotional too because it's coming to the end of the year when the kids are finishing school. And my son is going to be leaving his elementary school, which was Grade K to five. And it was this adorable, super special little island school that we loved so much. And it's been so incredible for him, and he's loved every single year and every single teacher. And he's made such incredible memories. And this chapter is about to end. And he's about to go into a new school. So it was just a lot of different emotions going on.
On top of not feeling well. It was just a lot in one week. You ever have one of those weeks where it's just like one thing after the next well, that was me last week. And then, all of a sudden, I got this notification from my business mentor popped up on Facebook. And my business mentor is James Wedmore. And he's the host of the Mind Your Business Podcast. And he announced that I was one of the top six finalists for the case studies. Now, my first initial thought was, oh my god, this is like so freakin amazing. Because I had casted this vision to be chosen as top six last year when I first enrolled to be a part of his program when I first enrolled to actually work with him and have him as my business mentor, I put this out there into the universe. I wanted to be top six when he did it again this year. And now here I was getting selected, like, oh my gosh, we're here. It's the top six, I cannot believe it. I was so excited. And I was like, Thank God something positive just happened, and now I have something good to focus on.
And then, I continued to read the message that went along with the top six finalists. And as I read further down the message from him, it said that I need to present my story live with these other five contestants to everyone else who is also a part of his program currently, which there are like 1000s and 1000s of people as well as to all the other new entrepreneurs who are considering working with him going forward. So I was like, oh my god, okay, here we go. Let me go and listen to the other videos from these five other contestants got chosen so that I can listen to their story and see what I'm up against. Right? Like, what's their story? Where are they at in their business? What am I going to be competing against when I go to share my story and my journey as an entrepreneur live? So I go through each one.
And oh, you know, this person had been doing this program and had been working with James for four years. And there was this other one who was earning $400,000 a month. And the stories just went on and on. And immediately, I felt a pit in my stomach. Like, I could just feel the knot in my stomach. And then there was, it was that stupid friggin voice in my head? How the heck are you going to compete against these people? Kathi, they've been in business far longer than you have. You've only been doing this for ten months in this course creation, online space, and they're all way out earning you. That was a story going on in my head. How am I supposed to get up there live with my business mentor in front of these other contestants, and 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of other entrepreneurs listening and exude all this confidence that I should be the chosen one?
I should be top number one. Like I don't feel qualified to be here. How the hell was I even chosen out of all these other people? That's what I was thinking in my mind. And the imposter syndrome was hitting me so hard. It was hitting me so hard. It was actually causing me so much stress. I was feeling sick every single day. And it was because I was having this impostor syndrome gone. And I just could not shake it. And so this entire week, I just felt like crap. And I just needed to get through this. I needed to work through this because I couldn't stand the way that it was making me feel, right? Have you ever had that happen, where you wanted something so bad to happen? And then when you finally have the opportunity, you just felt like you really weren't qualified to be there, or you weren't deserving and worthy of it. I'm sure you can relate. It's a really sucky feeling when all of a sudden, that wave comes over you. But it happens to all of us. So you're not alone.
Because I just went through it this past week, I experienced all of these kinds of things, too, just like you do. And especially if you're someone who sets high standards and has really high expectations for yourself, you're more likely to experience impostor syndrome. That's me to a tee because I set the bar a little too high sometimes. But that's okay. That's how I roll. So how can we actually overcome this is the question like, What can we do to work through this because you don't want to be feeling like this, you don't want to be telling yourself these kinds of negative stories every single day, either about yourself and what you're capable of doing. Because it doesn't really matter how successful you are. This can affect anyone.
As a matter of fact, I was reading a study on this the other week that said that 85% of entrepreneurs experienced this; that's a lot. I really had to pull myself together the other day and get it under control. Because this feeling of not being good enough was consuming me. And I was feeling like garbage. And like I said, my anxiety was through the roof; I was getting stressed out, I could barely eat, when I would eat, I felt like I was going to be sick. And it was all because of this imposter syndrome that was just taking over my day-to-day. So I was in the car driving to pick up the kids the other day from school. And I was like, You know what, I need to shake this. I just need to get out of this. And I know that whenever you're in that kind of mental state, that anxiety, mental state, where you're feeling like that, you have to change your mental state by doing some deep breathing. And so I didn't put my music on in the car for once, which is a shock. Because every time I drive anywhere, I got my music blasting, I got my tunes on, I'm singing, I'm pumped up, you know, I'm feeling good, getting the energy up, keeping the energy up. And the other day, I was like, You need to just tone it down here and get it in control. And so the music was off.
And I did some deep breathing in my car just for like three to five minutes. It wasn't anything crazy. I just did some deep breaths in and some deep breaths out. I did some positive affirmations to myself and just kept saying you know, you are a successful entrepreneur. What you have to say and teach does impact the lives of others around you. You do have what it takes. Earning a certain amount of income doesn't make someone more worthy than you. You're worthy right here right now, just as you are. You have a gift to offer to others. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been selected as top six in the first place. And I started to think about all the successes that I have had in the past up to this point. And all the lives that I have positively impacted over the last ten years of being in business. And I started to feel so much better, and I was able to get myself into a much better place and a much better mental state.
And I could feel like I felt literally sick in the car because of the stress and the worry and the anxiety. I could feel it literally just lift off, I felt so much better after doing this. And so I want to talk with you about just a couple of tips that you can do to help yourself overcome impostor syndrome if it pops up in your life because, like I said, if you're a high achiever, and you're someone who sets high standards for yourself, and you know, the bar is constantly high, and it's high, high, high, you are going to be more likely to anyways to have this happen.
So definitely, number one, focus on some deep breathing in a quiet place when you're alone, just in through the nose and out through the mouth for just two minutes. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, just you can do it when you're alone in the car, or do it when you're in the shower.
Number two, think about your successes. Focus on the things that have worked out well for you, in your business or in your life. Focus on those things, really. Remember those things focus, and think on and remember how you felt when you were having those successes in your life.
The third one is to remember your achievements. Because here's the thing, impostor syndrome purposely makes you ignore or block out any of your past achievements. It will come across and make you say things like, Yeah, that wasn't really that big of a deal, or Oh, well, that was nothing. That was nothing; that was no big deal. And that's how it will come across as, but you can't listen to that. You have to remember your achievements. And be proud of yourself, and know that those achievements were earned. And that you're freaking amazing, right?
Number four, share as much of your knowledge and experience with others as you can. Because the more that you're sharing about what you're doing, and sharing your knowledge and sharing your mission with what you're doing, and why you're doing what you're doing, why you want to be able to do what you're doing to impact others, you automatically are going to attract more like minded people to you. So when you do this, you'll just be surrounded by more positivity, more positive people, more uplifting people. And remember, your circle of influence is everything. It is everything. It really matters who you are surrounding yourself with.
And the last one, number five, and this is just talking about, and celebrating every single small win. Oh my gosh, it's so easy. Just to overlook the small little wins that we do, they get overlooked so often because we're too busy focusing on the big goal, the end goal where I want to be at the end, that big vision, and we just want to get there, and we want to get there. Now we don't care about these little small little celebrations along the way. We just want to get there now. And you will eventually get there.
But you don't get there without hitting small win after small win after small win first. It's those small wins that are going to compound, that are going to lead you to that end goal, that big vision of how you see your business down the road, how you see yourself, living your life with your family down the road. So we have to remember not to discredit those small wins. They are so important. Those small wins when you talk about them, and you share them is oftentimes the inspiration and the motivation that somebody else needs to see who's watching you.
So remember that it may seem like no big deal to you. But it should be a big deal to you. And it deserves to be celebrated. And you deserve to take a second to stop and pause and put the go-getting attitude and the hustler attitude and all of that aside to just remember how far you've come and celebrate those small wins. And remember, there's always somebody watching you, there's always someone watching you looking to you, you are somebody else's source of inspiration and motivation.
Somebody else is looking at you constantly saying and thinking, Can I do what they're doing? Oh my gosh, it's amazing what they just did. Even if it seems like the smallest little thing to you, that little small win is that person's piece of inspiration that they are going to hold on to that's going to drive them to continue to keep moving so that they can have the successes that they want to have in their business in their life. So celebrate every single freaking small win that you can, because you should and you're amazing.
And so I hope that this episode helped you out. I hope that talking about impostor syndrome and just realizing that you're not alone that this is really common for people to go through. And that as long as we have ways to overcome it, then we'll be able to go out there and Do Life Big, and we'll be able to go out there and live our best life because our dreams and our goals that we have and I'm talking about the biggest ones are not meant to be sitting on the back burner for the rest of our life.
We're meant to reach and achieve all of those big dreams. They're not meant to sit there on the back burner and not be achieved. We're meant to reach our full potential. And this is how we do it. Just understanding that we're only human, this happens to most people, and that you can overcome it. And as long as you're someone who is honest with yourself, and who gets vulnerable, and who's willing to work through these things, acknowledges that the process is never going to be perfect and you're not going to be perfect, then you will continue to grow and get closer and closer and closer to where you want to go. So see yourself in the positive light that others do. And you'll watch that imposter syndrome just go right out the window.
So, wish me luck when I do my interview in the next week or so against these other five contestants or the case study. I am ready to crush it. No more impostor syndrome here for me, and I hope that you found this episode. Really helpful. You know, I love you. I think you're awesome. Keep crushing life, and I will see you the next time. Bye.
