Listen to this episode on the From Imposter to Empowered podcast:
Imposter Syndrome can creep up in what seems like a million different ways, you can really feel like you’re on the struggle bus because there are so many ways it can show up in your life.
One of the ways it’s come through for me in the past was when I was trying to work on content. Content being the topics I’d want to talk about, the posts I’d want to make for social media, podcasts, etc. I would always think that the content I was putting out into the world was unoriginal, and that someone else had said all this before. It would go hand in hand with the fear that someone would call me out on a topic I spoke about because it wasn’t 100% my own. It made me fearful that my community would reject me.
It made me hold back some ideas that I had about a concept I would come across. I would see how it would apply to me but then I would never go through with implementing it into my content. It made me not show up in my business. It made me hide away and put out content that wasn’t truly how I felt because I couldn’t get my thoughts out on paper without that staggering fear.
I also started fearing repeating myself on my content. I was fearful my followers would call me out by saying: “Oh, you’ve said that before, you don’t have anything new to give me so why would I waste my time reading your stuff?”
Then (in my mind) they would - Swipe away and unfollow me.
It’s funny how these fearful episodes start out small, and slowly creep up and turn into a gigantic issue that blocks any of your progress. That is how Imposter Syndrome can morph into so many different aspects of our lives. Imposter Syndrome will make you THINK your content is unoriginal and that you don’t know what you’re doing.
We’re responsible for creating the content and coming up with original ways to entertain people and to attract people to work with us. Entrepreneurs are usually the type of people to be very action driven and very forward with their thoughts and ideas. In turn, sometimes having periods where you have a lack of creativity and inspiration can be so debilitating that it can make you question if you’re even cut out to be an entrepreneur!
When I started out talking about Imposter Syndrome and wanting that topic to be a big part of my business, I couldn’t imagine actually niching down and talking about the same topic for years to come. I was in the thick of my own issues with Imposter Syndrome, I was living exactly what I wanted to help people with. When you decide to concentrate on a certain topic, you are used to have a big variety of topics to choose from, it’s a totally different ball game when you niche into something so specific. I would stress over it since I felt like I was supposed to know everything about it, and I didn’t then, so I felt like I was a huge FRAUD.
I remember sitting down to write content at first and just think to myself, “Fuck, I’ve said that before.” or “This has already been said by someone else”. I would have a total mental block, even going to the point of feeling like I would have to cite everything like I used to do in my University days, since none of the papers you write in University is 100% your own original thought. University somewhat conditioned me to make me feel like all my thoughts were unoriginal. That conditioning trickled into my entrepreneurship and my trying to work on my content.
In real life though - THERE IS NO CONTENT POLICE.
Now, don’t get me wrong, you should NEVER go online and copy/paste someone’s idea, it’s in poor taste, you are then seen as someone who regurgitates information that is 100% never your own.
The way content can help inspire you is by doing just that - INSPIRE YOU!
You can read a passage somewhere and end up having fireworks go off in your mind, it gives you the opportunity to elaborate on what you’ve just read. In the long run, the original idea wasn’t yours, BUT you’ve made an improved adaptation of something that’s come before you.
Think about it - TRULY unique ideas are few and far between.
Let’s think of an example - let's say you’re at a Tony Robbins live conference. I’m sure that Tony Robbins didn’t come up with the idea of doing live events. There have been live events FOREVER. He’s just put his spin on it, to make it work with his business. This spin has made him millions over the years! The adaptation of an original idea doesn’t make it wrong to base your own idea on those original beliefs.
You can always acknowledge that the idea belongs to someone else but you can still apply your own voice and story to it. People relate to you and your story, it doesn’t make you any less credible!
If you talk about a concept that's been written about before, you can figure out how it relates to you and your business and how you can use it to inform your audience. Just because you are saying something that somebody else said, it doesn't mean you can't say: “Yep, this is so-and-so’s concept, and this is how it worked for him!”
Seeing a quote someone you look up to posted can make you feel inspired. It can inspire you enough to share how it’s changed you and helped you in your life. The next time you feel uninspired, take a moment to look at your old content, or look up people who inspire you. It may spark something in you to feed your creativity for weeks to come!
As a person’s following grows in Social Media, you often see people re-introducing themselves. Every 200-300 new followers they post something saying what their purpose is, what they do etc. It’s a repetitive type of post but it can be helpful for new followers who may not know the person yet!
Sometimes that fearfulness of putting out the same content may creep in again, and some people may not like seeing that you’ve posted the same post you put out a couple months ago. That’s ok. They’re probably never going to work with you anyway, and you honestly don’t want that negative energy around! Most people who follow someone will go through posts from the last month or two, but not the whole years worth!
There’s no shame in the game for repurposing content- it honestly helps your sanity!
Many people repurpose in different ways, turning a podcast into a blog, or turning a Instagram Live into a podcast and then into an email. The world is your oyster. You can help ease the fearful feeling of recycling content, there’s no rule on just creating one post on an idea and that be it.
Let your creative juices flow!
Please remember that people take time to check you out because you’ve shared your personal story, and you’ve explained things in your way/voice. People connect with someone who has a genuine presence. Saying that someone said such and such a thing and this is what you think about it isn’t wrong, it shows that you’re always doing research, that you scope out things that inspire you!
Don’t let that fear of rejection squash your big entrepreneurial dreams.
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