[DAY 43 OF THE DEEP END PROJECT]
I wrote about a mind trick to cure Impostor Syndrome before.
Today I want to share a different perspective. I came across this blog by Seth Godin.
As you know I am writing my book and in this article Seth gives not 1, not 2 but 19 great advice for anyone who’s writing a book.
All the points were great, but there’s one that stood out to me.
#4 Understand that a non-fiction book is a souvenir, just a vessel for the ideas themselves. You don’t want the ideas to get stuck in the book… you want them to spread. Which means that you shouldn’t hoard the idea! The more you give away, the better you will do.
I found it so profound.
I think all of us can learn from it, whether you are writing a book or not.
Because at the end of the day, we are all doing the same thing. We are sharing our ideas with one another.
And just like a book, your social media, your blog, youtube channel are also just vessels for your ideas. Isn’t it?
You don’t want the ideas to get stuck in the book, you want them to spread. You don’t want to hoard them.
Another way to look at this is how my book coach, Emily explained to me.
I was having a “but it’s all been done before. Who am I to write this, blah, blah, blah….”
And she said to me “Deepshikha, yes it may all have been done before. It’s not about being the first one to write about an idea. Your book is joining the conversation that’s already been going on. By writing this book, you’ll become part of the conversation.”
Now that sounded absolutely thrilling!!
Wanna write about courage, vulnerability and shame? Join the conversation with Brené Brown.
Wanna write about travel and food? You are joining the conversation Anthony Bourdain started
Wanna write about Marketing? You are joining Seth Godin’s conversation.
And what an honor it is to join a conversation with these legends.
So next time, you worry about being an Impostor, think about these three things:
- You are just a vessel for the ideas
- Ideas shouldn’t be hoarded. The more you’ll give away, the better you’ll do
- By writing/talking about something that’s already been done before, you are joining a conversation
What do you think? Would that help ease the Impostor Syndrome, next time it strikes?