Imposter Syndrome In Entrepreneurs

In episode 89 of the Biz Alchemy podcast, Jacquelyn explores why you may experience imposter syndrome when you show up in your business. She explores where the sense of imposter syndrome may come from, and the link that this belief has with your solar plexus chakra.

Transcript

Welcome back,

Back to a new podcast episode,

A new week.

Lovely to have you here.

Thanks so much for listening.

In today's episode,

I'm going to chat with you about imposter syndrome.

Now,

This has been one of those topics that has been on my possible podcast topic list for a long time,

Probably since I began the podcast.

And it's just never felt quite right.

And I don't know what came up through the week,

But something came up and I thought,

Oh,

It's time to talk about imposter syndrome.

Because over my years of working with entrepreneurs in their business,

This has come up many times.

This energy around imposter syndrome,

Around being an imposter.

So I want to talk about that a little bit today and give some different perspectives on it.

Firstly,

I'm going to share with you a definition,

A couple of definitions,

Actually,

The definition of an imposter.

A person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others,

Especially for fraudulent gain.

And imposter syndrome,

Which is now also in the Oxford Dictionary,

Is the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills.

Now,

That's quite interesting because that's really talking about feeling an imposter after a level of success.

And yet I find that many clients who describe to me what they're experiencing in business or who just say,

Look,

I feel like an imposter,

I've got imposter syndrome.

They haven't necessarily been in business that long and maybe are yet to have what they would call a level of success.

So I'm just going to look at it at different angles today.

And even if you are someone who,

You know,

Imposter syndrome is just not a part of your world,

There's still it's still interesting to listen about it and to to hear my perspective.

And maybe that could come up with some,

It could give you some ideas about maybe how it is showing up a little bit in your business.

Because for me and my business journey,

Although I would have never identified myself as having imposter syndrome,

There probably have been elements of feeling an imposter in the environment.

And,

You know,

Let's face it,

When you first go into the business world,

You are in some ways an imposter.

It's a new environment.

So it is almost like you are pretending to be someone else.

But like,

Isn't that the case?

You know,

You think if you're a kid and went to a new school or if you're going to a new workplace,

If you're moving to a new town,

In some ways you feel like an imposter because energetically you are,

Because you're entering a new energetic matrix,

If you like,

And your energy has not been a part of that matrix.

And so it takes a while for you when you move into that new environment for you to sort of plug in,

Let's say,

To that energetic matrix.

And that's the same whenever we do something new.

So I think for entrepreneurs moving into the business space,

Especially if it's the first time in business,

You are going to feel like an imposter.

Not that the fraudulent gain bit,

Forget that,

But just that it's new.

And because of that and because you're uncomfortable in that,

Maybe there is a sense that you are deceiving others because it's like fake it till you make it in some ways.

You know,

So there could be that sense of being an imposter.

And because of that,

It's not always that you feel an imposter in the work you do or the gifts you offer or the skills that you're sharing.

Although you might think it's that,

It could just be that you feel an imposter in the business world because it is it is a whole new world,

You know,

And if you haven't been in business before or you haven't had an online business before,

You know,

There's a whole lingo that goes with that.

It's it's very,

Very new,

Lots of new systems.

Like it's new on so many levels and you are learning so much at once.

So it can be daunting.

And then on top of all that,

You are showing up as yourself.

With your gifts and your skills in this foreign environment and you can feel out of your depth.

And so it's very easy to label that imposter syndrome.

So from a chakra perspective,

The imposter syndrome is linked to the solar plexus chakra,

The I am chakra.

So just to give you a little recap on the solar plexus,

The solar plexus is the third chakra that sits between your belly button and the bottom of your rib cage.

And as I say,

It's the I am chakra.

It's your power center.

It has two really obvious yin and yang aspects.

It's one of the chakras for me looking at it clairvoyantly,

Where the yin and the yang is really obvious.

And the yin aspect of the solar plexus or the feminine aspect,

If you want to call it that,

Or the energy that goes inward is the self-esteem,

Self-worth,

Self-belief,

Self-trust,

Self-love,

All of those things that obviously have a part to play when it comes to imposter syndrome.

So that's the yin side of the solar plexus.

And the yang side,

The energy that goes out is about your power,

Taking action,

Your will.

And there's a beautifully balanced solar plexus,

Has a harmony between this yin and yang,

Where the more that you believe in yourself,

That you honor yourself,

That you are true to yourself,

That you trust yourself,

The more aligned your actions are,

The more empowered you are.

So the energy that goes out to the world from your I am space is truly aligned with who you are.

It is a very powerful chakra and very important for business.

And if you want to know more about it,

Check out episode 25,

Five common blocks in the solar plexus of your business.

And I'll I go into depth there about the importance of the solar plexus in business.

And although I'm specifically looking at your business solar plexus in that podcast episode,

It's very linked into your solar plexus.

So because of this,

This self-belief,

Self-worth side,

The solar plexus is pretty filled up with stories and beliefs we have that do not support this,

That do not support you believing in yourself.

Now,

The thing is,

When you go into business,

It's like you're saying,

OK,

I am ready to look at these stories because you may be in your day to day life.

They're not showing up so much.

Perhaps they are in a relationship.

Maybe they are in a work situation.

But it's as though part of your choice to go into business.

And I truly believe this is that we choose the business path to support our self-development journey,

Because some of these old,

Denser energies that we hold in our energy body,

Which can be maybe just ignored in normal life without having a business.

Suddenly,

As soon as you go into business,

It's like in your face.

And this imposter syndrome and some of these solar plexus stories around not being good enough,

Not being of value.

Oh,

My gosh.

Soon as you step into business,

This is just going to be like flashing light straight in your face.

You can't avoid it anymore.

Now,

As I was contemplating this topic,

I realized there's sort of another side to this imposter syndrome story in that going into business actually helps reveal to you where you've been an imposter in your own life.

And,

You know,

This is a lot of what I'm talking about with energetically attracting your clients and the new business paradigm,

Because we wear so many masks.

We have learned to put these masks on through our life,

To behave in ways that we think are expected of us by others,

By our our environment,

To protect ourselves,

To protect our truth and our vulnerability.

And when you go into business,

It actually reveals to you,

Well,

If you choose to go into business with intention and awareness and consciousness,

Being conscious of the journey,

If you choose to go into business that way,

You will be shown where you've been an imposter in your life.

What masks have you put on?

How have you hidden your truth?

Because if you have been doing that,

You will struggle to be in business.

You will struggle to attract in your ideal clients because you are being inauthentic.

So here's a flip side of it.

We're going into business shows you where have you been an imposter in your life?

In what ways have you been pretending to be someone else?

Because the longer you're in business,

The more those masks will reveal themselves.

So if it's important to you to be authentically you,

To show up in your business authentically,

To create an authentic business that is following your business's unique business path,

Then it's time to take stock of where this imposter energy might be coming in.

Is it coming in because you are feeling like an imposter in the business world,

In the entrepreneurial world?

Is it showing up because you feel like an imposter with the skillset that you have,

The gifts that you are sharing?

And if that's the case,

That's because you are looking into other people's lanes too often.

And if that's the case,

You might also like to listen to episode eight,

The Curse of Comparisonitis,

Which is also a denser energy that shows up in the solar plexus,

Just like imposter syndrome.

Or is it that you are feeling like an imposter in your own life,

That the imposter is revealing herself?

And maybe it is time to look at what is being revealed and what mask you no longer want to wear.

The thing is,

In this new paradigm of business where you are showing up as yourself,

Leading from your heart,

Creating a business the way you want your business to look.

You cannot be an imposter.

You can only be yourself.

And ultimately,

That's why we are all here on the planet.

To be ourselves,

To shine our unique light.

Not someone else's light,

To shine our light.

And the only imposter syndrome that exists comes from not being true to yourself.

Not doing things your way.

Hiding behind masks that hide your essence.

And maybe at the end of the day,

The ultimate I am statement is I am me.

There's only one of you.

Allow that light to shine to the world.

Until next time,

Have an alchemical week in your biz.

Reviews

Love this one!

Now I’m going to do an episode on imposter syndrome as an herbalist. It’s real 💚

This was so clear and eye opening! Will be listening to your other podcasts. Thank you!