Impostor Syndrome
The Amplified Impact Podcast
January 17th, 2023
In this episode of Amplified Impact, host Anthony delves into the topic of imposter syndrome.
He references a tweet from Ryan Holiday that got him thinking about why the imposter syndrome is so prevalent among high achieving individuals, and why he himself still struggles with it despite being a rational and self-enlightened entrepreneur.
Anthony disagrees with Ryan’s message that nobody is thinking about you and that you’re worrying about other people’s opinions of you more than they are in reality.
Anthony believes that people do sometimes think others are imposters, but that ultimately their judgments don’t matter and should not inhibit you from pursuing your goals and living your best life.
He encourages listeners to take action and not be held back by fear of other people’s judgments.
TWEETABLE QUOTE:
“Their judgments don’t matter. Live your life accordingly.” – Anthony Vicino
LEAVE A REVIEW if you liked this episode!!
Let’s Connect On Social Media!
instagram.com/theanthonyvicino
Join an exclusive community of peak performers at Beyond the Apex University learning how to build a business, invest in real estate, and develop hyperfocus.
Learn More About Investing With Anthony
Invictus Capital: www.invictusmultifamily.com
Multifamily Investing Made Simple Podcast
Passive Investing Made Simple Book: www.thepassiveinvestingbook.com
Episode Transcript:
Anthony: [00:00:00] What’s up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Amplified Impact. I’ve been thinking a lot about the topic of the imposter syndrome recently. There was a tweet a couple weeks or months, depending on when you’re listening to this ago from Ryan Holliday who I love Ryan Holliday’s content.
Anthony: He wrote a bunch of books like The Obstacles, the Way, all about Stoicism, Stok philosophy. I enjoy him generally, but his tweet was something that I just really disagreed with and it got me spiraling down this rabbit hole of really thinking about the imposter syndrome and why I think it’s so prevalent, even amongst high achieving individuals and why it is that I feel I’ve never outgrown it despite being
Anthony: I believe I’m a pretty rational human being. I feel like I’m fairly self-enlightened and I feel like I am a fairly well adjusted, [00:01:00] entrepreneur who’s done a bunch of things. And so I’m like, why do I still struggle with imposter syndrome? Why is this the thing? And so the, the tweet that Ryan put out, I don’t have it in front of me, but it was a, it was, I’ll paraphrase, it was something to the effect of you’re, you’re sitting here worried about everybody else thinking you’re an imposter, when in reality nobody’s thinking about you.
Anthony: And I think that’s true. Like we spend a lot of time worrying what the world around us is thinking and the fact that like, oh, people think I don’t belong. They think I’m an imposter. And Ryan’s message is that that’s not true. You think people are thinking about you far more than they really are. And I do agree that we believe people-
Anthony: We think people are thinking about us way more frequently than they in reality do. Like people spend very, very little time not thinking about you unless you’re right in front of them, or you’re dealing with them in some like ongoing relational capacity. People are not [00:02:00] thinking about you. But I disagree with Brian in that I do believe people sometimes think that people are imposters.
Anthony: I do think that, like I have been in rooms with people. I’m like, that person doesn’t fit here. They are an imposter. And so I had a tweet that, I responded to this and, and here’s the takeaway message of this whole podcast today, people, is that I am, I’m, if you want, if you want more, From me. Go over to Twitter, Anthony Vicino.
Anthony: Check me out there because I tweet a lot of these days. But I’m loving Twitter. It’s a really cool place where you can have awesome, deep, insightful conversations with deep thinkers. I love it. So my tweet was strictly speaking, this isn’t true. Plenty of people are judging you. That’s just the reality of being a community oriented animal.
Anthony: But here’s the more important truth: Their judgments don’t matter. Live your life accordingly. So here’s the takeaway: on the one hand, Ryan is saying that we spend a lot of time worrying what that other people are thinking. We’re imposter, that we don’t fit in, and we’re worried about their judgments.
Anthony: And he’s saying they’re not actually thinking about us. My point is they are, they are thinking about you and there’s no [00:03:00] escaping that. But the, the, the real important takeaway is that their judgments do not matter. They do not inhibit you from going out and living your best life and doing the things that you want to do, right.
Anthony: That’s. Allowing them to do that. If that’s the case, if you allow their judgments to hold you back, your judgments of your parents, your friends, your family, the world around you, and this is why so many people, they, they want to create something amazing, but they’re so afraid to put it out into the world.
Anthony: And that’s then, yeah, it’s never going to, it’s never going to thrive if you can’t put it out there into the sunlight. and so many people are afraid of what’s going to happen to it once everybody can see it, and that they never actually take action. But a what I’ve discovered, and I had a heated conversation with somebody else on social media about this, where they said it does matter, the people’s judgments of you do matter.
Anthony: Sure, people’s judgments can hold you back from getting into certain doors. They can make it harder for you, but they can’t stop you. There are no gatekeepers anymore in this world where they can just straight up stop you from living your best life unless you let them. But I wanted to go even deeper into this [00:04:00] because it wasn’t enough like-
Anthony: That whole exchange like just got me going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of the imposter syndrome and why I feel, and why I’ve come to the conclusion that the imposter syndrome is not a bad thing. It’s actually not a bad thing. It doesn’t feel good, definitely can hold us back and it can make us feel afraid to step into environments where we don’t belong.
Anthony: And, but at the, at its core. Here’s my thoughts on this. If you don’t ever feel like an imposter, it’s probably because you’ve stopped growing. You’ve stopped reaching for goals beyond your current capacity. You’ve stopped stepping into rooms with people operating beyond your level. And the cure for imposter syndrome then is worse than the disease.
Anthony: So think about this. If you’re constantly reaching for goals, it means you’re trying to accomplish something you’ve never done before. And if you’re a rational, reasonable human being, of course you’re going to feel like an imposter reaching and to do something, to accomplish something that you’ve never done before
Anthony: [00:05:00] because you look at it and say, well, I’ve never done this. You’re not yet the type of person, you do not yet have the skills, the belief. The traits of a person capable of doing that thing, because you have not done that thing. If you had those skills, those beliefs, that if you were that person, you would’ve done the thing by now.
Anthony: But because you’re reaching for something beyond your current capacity, you’re going to feel like an imposter because you’re reasonable And you know, like I don’t quite yet belong here to do this thing. I’m reaching for something I shouldn’t be reaching for because I can’t do it where I’m at. But I’m still committed to taking the steps to learning to grow and to becoming the person capable of grabbing that thing.
Anthony: and you’re going to feel like an imposter. When you step into rooms with people who are smarter, better, further along in the journey. They’re just, they’re on a different level than you. And it’s scary because you sit down with these people and you’re like, I have nothing to contribute. I do not belong here. But the only way to grow is to be stepping into those rooms, to be reaching for our dreams, to be, to be striving, and to be comfortable with the discomfort of realizing that we don’t yet fit in, but that [00:06:00] we’re committed to sticking around long enough
Anthony: that we become a local, that we become capable and competent, and that we’re no longer an imposter in that environment. Because if you keep showing up to that room with those smart people, you’re the average of the five people that you associate with, eventually you’re going to rise to their level, right?
Anthony: And you’re going to start fitting in there. But then here’s the crazy thing is as you ascend to these levels and you attain these goals, we move the goalpost and we create another goal and we say, I can now do this. I’m a person capable of doing this thing. Now it’s time to set the sights even further. And so you’re going to be in a constant state of perpetual imposter syndrome.
Anthony: Like you’re going to feel that forever. And if you don’t, if you don’t feel that, or if you don’t want to feel that, then the cure for imposter syndrome is to stop striving, to stop reaching, to stop stepping outside of your comfort zone. It is to be content with exactly who and where you are right now, and never, never take another step [00:07:00] forward.
Anthony: Stay where you are if you don’t want to feel like an imposter ever again. And if that sounds better to you than living every single day with that nagging voice in the back of your head telling you don’t belong, that you don’t fit in, that you’re an imposter if staying put stagnant in stasis and never moving forward again.
Anthony: If that sounds better than just dealing with the discomfort of your mind telling you I don’t fit in, then stay there. But I’m telling you that cure is worse than the disease. That’s all I got guys. So if you don’t know who I am, I’m Anthony Vicino. I’ve written a bunch of books. I’ve published, what is it, 12 Science Fiction Fantasy novels, and also a book on investing.
Anthony: And, I make this podcast because my biggest accomplishment in life was this, that I turned my ADHD into a superpower, managed to build a bunch of businesses and invest in a ton of real estate. And, through that [00:08:00] process, have figured out how to live a life of maximum. And I want to share that with you guys so that you can, you can share in that.
Anthony: And I’m not saying by any means that I got this whole thing figured out. I’m just saying like, through stumbles and trials and errors, I’ve discovered some things that work really well for me. And hopefully by sharing it with you, some of that will work and a lot of it won’t. And that’s okay, but maybe it can help you along this journey.
Anthony: And here’s the thing, guys, in gals, this is a two way street. It’s a, it’s a conversation. Have you here to talk to. So I need you to go leave a review, go leave some comments on social media, find me on Twitter at Anthony Vicino and let me know what did you think. Let’s have a conversation about this so I can learn and grow with you as well.
Anthony: So that’s all I got guys. I’ll see you in the next episode. Bye.
This Week On YouTube
These 3 Daily Habits Made Me A Millionaire in 3 Years
Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:
1. Unleash your hyperfocused mind to dominate life, business, and everything in between? Here’s how:
→ The Hyperfocused Masterclass: the exact system I used to overcome ADHD, write 12 books, build 4 businesses, and acquire $70M of real estate.
There are a handful of spaces left in The Hyperfocus Masterclass for those who want to snag the early bird preorder special discount of $49.
Email anthony@anthonyvicino.com to let me know you want on the waitlist.
2. Learn to passively invest in commercial real estate with better returns, less risk, and zeo hassle.
→ Invictus Capital: my real estate private equity firm.
→ Multifamily Investing Made Simple: Top Apple Podcast.
→ Passive Investing Made Simple: Amazon Best Selling Book with 100 5 star reviews.
3. Want more like this? Check out these 3 popular articles from the vault:
