Feeling Like an Impostor

Rick Kitagawa (he/him)
3 min readJan 18, 2022

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Although — what if that’s normal?

Photo by Sammy Williams on Unsplash

I’m giving a workshop next week, and I’m already scared.

There’s so much that could go wrong.

I’m not running registration — what if no one has signed up so far? What if a hundred people have signed up and I’m not ready to run a workshop of that size?

What if people show up completely unwilling to engage? After all, I’m running a workshop — audience participation is what makes it impactful. You need to show up and put in the effort if you want to see the intended outcome.

What if people think that I’m a fraud? Or not experienced enough. Or not qualified enough. Or, because it’s meant for creatives, I’m not a good enough artist?

I guess generally I’m just afraid I won’t be enough.

And here’s the thing — it’s a workshop for creatives and creative people around impostor syndrome.

It’s about acknowledging that EVERYONE feels like a fraud sometimes.

We’re all scared, doing our best to appear confident and calm, which can be especially hard to do online, or with strangers. And especially when we’re trying to sell our artwork which is judged completely subjectively.

But this is actually the core of the workshop. EVERYONE, including me, gets nervous and can feel like an impostor.

It doesn’t matter that I work regularly with best-selling authors and artists much more skilled (and famous) than myself.

It doesn’t matter that I’ve coached C-levels executives of Fortune 50 companies, or that I’ve literally written a book on trusting in oneself.

I still get scared, and uncertain, and worried.

Because I’m human.

But I’m teaching this workshop because I get it. I know how terrifying it can be thinking about publishing a piece of work on Instagram. Or sending off a portfolio to an art director. Or confidently stating a price when people ask how much my art is (and then dealing with them going.. “oh wow, that’s more than I expected” and then walking away). Hell, I know how hard it can be just to make art.

I know what’s it’s like to struggle with impostor syndrome, AND I’ve learned how to redefine success, face my fears, and show up in spaces where I literally am an impostor in that I’ve never done it before.

And this has changed my life.

I grew up terrified of public speaking. Since then, all my jobs in the past decade have been based on my ability to speak in public.

If I, a kid who grew up being teased for a speech impediment, can make public speaking into a living, then I guarantee that you can befriend the inner impostor monsters within you and redefine how those voices in your head show up.

I’m not promising overnight success — you’re not going to become a millionaire artist next week. But I am promising a clear way forward towards the creative life that you’re hoping to lead, and the tools you’ll need to reframe your fears and move towards a life where you’re not holding yourself back anymore.

If that sounds good to you, I invite you to join me in a safe space where we’ll work through the fear to develop practical ways to flip the script on the voice in your head.

Join me and register now.

Originally published at https://kaijucoaching.com on January 18, 2022.

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Rick Kitagawa (he/him)

Amzn best-selling author talking trust, leadership, #NFTs, creativity, and horror fiction — Co-Founder, https://spotlighttrust.com. https://rickkitagawa.com