A mentor I follow has a friend who just sold his business for one billion dollars. When he asked him, how did he do it? What was his plan? He said, “We had no plan. We just rolled with the punches and successfully stepped out, even when we were unsure of everything.”
This was good for me to hear. I know for me, sometimes I feel like an imposter. In over 20 years of coaching, I have noticed this trend with highly successful people. They, too, feel like imposters when they step out beyond where they’ve ever gone. But they keep pushing themselves to go beyond what they’ve ever done. And when you push yourself to do what you’ve never done, you’ll experience greater levels of success. Most people think being successful is a calculated strategy, but more often than not, it’s a journey of figuring things out as you roll with the ebbs and flow of success and failure. And failure usually outweighs your success in terms of what you experience along the way. In fact, if you’re not making mistakes, you’re likely playing it way too safe.
When I embarked on my coaching journey, I was well-versed in leadership. However, I was uncertain about how to develop training programs and resources that would truly elevate people. I was unsure about how to step into an organization and facilitate success beyond my own experiences. But I embraced the uncertainty, investing countless hours and energy into studying, testing, experimenting, refining, and seeking feedback. This relentless pursuit of knowledge and growth has allowed me to build a thriving coaching business that serves leaders globally.
I would have probably laughed if you had told me years ago what I would be doing today. I would’ve felt way out of my league. But now, I can walk in into situations confidently because of all those years of pushing myself. And what do I attribute my success to? It would not be my natural talent but my insatiable drive to figure things out. The common denominator of my success has been my willingness to put myself out there and not hide in the shadows of my insecurities. And now, after many years of the journey, I have learned to be confident. That confidence pushes me further, and I am continually growing and willing to step up and lead, even when I don’t have all the answers on the front end.
If you’re not feeling a little fear, you’re likely not pushing yourself hard enough. All growth, all progress, takes place outside our comfort zones. We must dispel the myth that great leaders are born with all the answers. Leadership is a journey of self-discovery, of pushing ourselves to do what we’ve never done before to achieve what we’ve never achieved. It’s in the face of fear and uncertainty that we truly find our strength and potential.
What areas might you be holding back or playing it safe because of fear? What are you not stepping out to do because imposter syndrome says you can’t do it? You have to understand that great leaders aren’t smarter than everyone else; they just push themselves further than everyone else.
So step out and do it, be afraid, do it with fear, do it with anxieties, do it without all the answers, do it wholeheartedly, and you’ll grow into the next level along the way. You don’t get all you need and then step out; you get all you need AS you step out.
I believe in you…now start believing in yourself!
