I’ve never met anyone who puts themselves out there on YouTube, who at some stage doesn’t feel like a fraud or imposter, myself included. In this podcast episode, I discuss ways to slay the imposter syndrome dragon for good. I’ll be exploring why we get overwhelmed with feelings of self doubt and inadequacy. How to recognize when it’s happening to us and how to start conquering this beast for good.
Episode 25: Slaying Imposter Syndrome for Good – Podcast Transcript
Hey, Thrivers. I’m Sara Nguyen, creator of the Thriving Creator Academy, and I’m here to help you go from stuck and overwhelmed to becoming a confident, profitable, and thriving YouTube creator. Join me here each week for honest conversations about what it really takes to be a successful YouTube creator.
Without compromising your creativity, sacrificing cheeky drinks with the people you love or downtime for yourself. You’ll hear about the hard lessons I’ve gone through so you can avoid making the same slow and costly mistakes on your journey. As well as my secret weapons to help you dig deep and do the work it takes.
I’m honoured and grateful to have this opportunity to share this together with you. Right here on the Thriving Creator Podcast. I’m glad you’re here. Let’s get started.
The thing about imposter syndrome, especially for YouTube, is that it feels incredibly isolating. It feels so real. And we often tell ourselves that no one else feels this way. No one else gets it.
Some people think these imposter syndrome feeling and fear goes away when you get more subscribers or when you start to make more money from your channel. But honestly, this is not the case.
You still get scared. You still feel not ready and you always have doubts. In 2021. I was invited to speak at a huge livestream event. There was some big names attending like the marketing guru and author Seth Godin and some other really big YouTube creators with millions of subscribers.
When the event team reached out to me and asked me to speak, I literally thought, are you sure you want me to speak? Have you guys made a mistake? Why was I chosen? Is someone pranking me? Ha ha Jenny, you’re so funny. But it was legitimate.
They wanted little introverted, odd me. Major waves of imposter syndrome came over me. But I accepted it and I gave it my all, despite being terrified and very nervous.
There were over 3000 people who tuned into my segment, which blew me away. And the feedback was positive. And that was probably one of the largest audience I’ve spoken live to.
So you can go into YouTube knowing it will be scary, but also with knowing you’re going to figure it out. It is possible and it will be worth it. So, like the saying goes, you’ve got to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Shimmy the shivers and make your move anyway. Dance your doubts and strut your stuff. But how do you deal with the fear and slay imposter syndrome so it doesn’t keep you from being stuck? Here are two things you can do. The first thing is to teach what you know.
I know, and you know that there are a couple of things that you are genuinely good at. Actually you’re probably genuinely great at however, sometimes we discount what we know because we think everyone has seen it already, or it’s too simple or it’s too obvious.
But I want you to buckle down and start teaching these gems. You’re not just sharing your knowledge. You’re lifting up people who haven’t made it to your rung of the ladder yet. And who are not at your level of fabulousness yet.
Remember that not everyone knows what you know. Even if you think everyone has seen it, there’s always someone who it will be completely new to or who needs a different perspective on it.
Think about some things you could help people with and start creating your YouTube videos about that. There’s a real market for breaking things down into real basic things. And not assuming that people know how to do all the things.
This really helps with that feeling of being an imposter because you’re not trying to be anything that you’re not, you’re just showing up and helping people and that’s authentic. And that’s who you are.
In the early days of YouTube for me, I remember talking to a very established YouTube creator about what topics I should focus on. And one of them was how to use Canva. This was back in the day when Canva was still very new, but starting to make waves in their space.
I asked this creator, if what I was teaching was too basic and he said to me, basic is best. You underestimate how much, you know, and what it takes for people to learn something. So teach it. Now my Canva tutorials have become some of the highest viewed videos on my channel.
And I wouldn’t have gotten there if I hadn’t taken that advice. Just because, you know, it doesn’t mean other people do. And it doesn’t mean that others won’t find it useful either. It’s so easy to create stories in our head that assume the worst, and they don’t really have any basis in reality, most of the time.
The second thing is to create a process and plan so you follow through. A clear plan can be your secret weapon against imposter syndrome. I’m talking about crafting a YouTube content process that syncs with your personal goals, sketching out your YouTube process will lead you to a reusable system.
As you start putting this plan into action. You’ll see yourself making strides. And guess what, when you witness the success of your process, it will dawn on you. It’s not just a happy accident.
You’re no imposter. The system reflects your hard work. Expertise and experience. It allows you to channel your energy into creating impactful content instead of being sidetracked by those pesky imposter syndrome whispers.
Now, you’ve probably heard this generic advice before. So what does it actually look like in practice? For me, I use Asana as a task management system and there are others out there, but Asana is what works for me because their free plan is great.
And my team and I use it easily. You’ll find with YouTube that creating videos becomes a little like groundhog day, but this is a good thing. The process is predictable and repeatable and it’s easy to document.
So you can break down a YouTube video into the key tasks, like one, keyword research, two, video scripting, three, video recording, editing, publishing, and promoting. You get the idea.
And within these tasks, you can break the steps into a checklist even further. I have each task up in Asana as a template. So when I create a video, I can duplicate and copy the task template.
Which already has everything I need to do. And then I move it into my workflow. I just have to adapt it for the actual topic I’m doing. I use a simple Kanban style workflow, which has columns labeled, ready to start, in progress, ready for review, changes needed, and done.
Having a process and a plan is more than just an organisational tool. It’s a powerful antidote to imposter syndrome. You will see tangible progress reassuring you of your capabilities. You’re not mimicking someone else’s success.
You’re charting your own course. And every task you accomplish and every video you upload is a testament to your growth and your expertise. A structured approach fosters authenticity and allows your true potential to shine through.
So don’t let imposter syndrome hold you back, give it a shot. And remember, I believe in you and it’s time you did too.
The episode is over, but it doesn’t have to end here. If you’d like to have your YouTube channel running like a perfectly synchronized clock, attracting a growing audience and bringing in a steady income for you.
I’m here to tell you this isn’t just a pipe dream. It’s well within your reach, join me in my YouTube masterclass to unlock the hidden magic of my YouTube framework.
You’ll get access to my four step plan that will melt away any YouTube confusion and help you transform your passion into profit.
Sign up for the master class now at thrivingcreatormasterclass.com
