Listen to this episode if you struggle with the what-ifs and the imposter syndrome inside of your business.
This is a topic that I talk to so many of my clients about, so many people in the DMs of people saying, you know, Maddie, what if I invest all of this time, all of this money, all of this effort into this idea and it doesn't work or
What if it never really pays off for me?What if I just wasted all this time?And what if people judge me?All of these what ifs can cloud our brain as a business owner.
I like to say building a business is one of the biggest personal growth journeys you will ever go on.And that's because all of your insecurities will pop up.
Now, I have so many podcast episodes talking about insecurities, talking about mindset shifts, but today I really want to talk about one of my favorite shifts that I use in real time to really fight this imposter syndrome.
I've talked about this with guests, with so many people, and if you really look at it, Everybody feels imposter syndrome.The people that are doing things anyway are the ones that are the successful ones.
You don't see these people that are suffering from imposter syndrome and allowing themselves to stay stuck where they are and not actually taking action, those aren't the ones that are winning.
And so for me, what I always look at when I'm listening to other episodes, other podcast episodes, other interviews, following celebrities or influencers or business owners on Instagram is I see and I try to find the places that everybody is feeling imposter syndrome, even just
talking to my friends.Sometimes I have friends that I'm like, man, you are so cool.You're so confident in everything you're doing.And then they ask a question and I'm like, there's your imposter syndrome.
And so we kind of always want to identify the fact that everybody is going through that.And this isn't even the major mindset shift that I was talking about, but really identifying and just understanding and normalizing the fact that
that, to some degree, everybody out there feels imposter syndrome sometimes.Everybody feels like, oh my gosh, what am I doing?Everybody feels like, how is that goal even possible for me?Is this something that I'm going to be able to accomplish?
Does that feel a little too big for people like me?Can I be successful?What happens if I am successful?There's a big fear around actually being successful, and what does that mean for you?And we can start to kind of spiral.
And so a mindset shift that I like to have in this time is I try to flip these negative what-ifs into the opposite.Because at the end of the day, it is just as likely for the positive to happen as the negative to happen.
And if not, it might be more likely to have the positive happen. And most of the time, I forget the statistic, but they say like 80% of the things that we worry about never actually happen, never actually come to fruition.
And so what I like to say is if I think of when I'm trying to plan things out and I'm saying, is that too big of a goal?Or like, what if that doesn't work out?Or what if I invest this money and I see no result from it?
I actually flip that on its head and I say, what if this is something that actually does work?What if this investment pays off tenfold? What if I invest in this person and, oh my gosh, I gain all of this visibility and it totally works out?
What if everything I do does work?What if I invest in this and it was the best investment I ever made?What if I do this and it is the turning point of what makes me wildly successful?What if all of my hard work pays off?
And so those moments when it's 10 p.m.and you're like, oh my gosh, I've been working so long at this, this just isn't working for me.
What if I keep doing all of this time and all of this effort and I keep putting all of this stuff into this business and it just doesn't pay off for me?I want you to stop
understand that you just said something that was a negative belief that popped up, that was a limiting belief that popped up, that was your imposter syndrome coming up and showing its mean little face, and you say, no, what if it does?
What if I work hard and then I'm able to be on a podcast in 10 years saying, I remember sitting there working till 10 p.m.wondering if this was ever going to work.I like to think of my limiting beliefs as
These are the moments that I am going to say, man, can you believe that I did this and this happened?These are the turning points of me saying, oh my gosh, I worked until 10 p.m.for months and now I'm able to say that I'm here.
Or I invested in this person and it totally made sense.Or I upgraded my packaging and it literally was the thing that made the difference in my business.
And so what you want to do is take those negative beliefs and actually flip them on their head, turn them over and say, oh my gosh, what if this is the thing that makes my business blow up?
What if this is the thing, what if I apply for Shark Tank and it works and I get on the show and I make a million dollars and I have a shark on my team?
What if I start that YouTube channel that I've always wanted to start and it finally takes off and it actually happens for me? How can you actually in the moment disprove your imposter syndrome?
How can you take the negative feeling in your brain and actually make it feel like the most ridiculous thought ever?How can you make it be like, no, actually this is going to be the turning point of my business.
This is going to be what actually makes the difference. when people say that and they think of this thing.And in my client calls, I have people that say negative beliefs all the time.
I have people say, yeah, Maddie, but who's going to care if I put my personal brand out there?Who's going to care if I put my face out there?What if nobody comments on my personal content?
And then I can say, all right, but what if it is literally the thing that changes your business?Would you still do it? If you would, that is your answer.
If you knew that this is something that you would do that could make your business tenfold, then why would you not do it?This was something with my blog.I didn't want to show my face.I didn't want people to know back in 2016.
I didn't want people to know that it was me, so I started the Instagram, I started the website without my face on it anywhere. And I was like, okay, I don't want anybody to know this is me.
I remember being so mortified when some of my friends sent it to me and they're like, is this you?Like, oh my gosh.And I was like, oh no, people are starting to figure me out.And I remember, if you know my story, nobody bought from me.And
one of the major pieces when I went through the holiday season without anybody buying from me and I said, you know what?This is my turning point.I'm going all in.I did the courses.I spent all this time.
I was in the library at my college reading journal entries, reading like textbooks.Oh my gosh.All of the things.And I remember like starting to really realize that the connection and the personal brand behind it made all of the difference.
And I remember making the decision that I was going to start baby stepping, putting my face out there and building the personal brand behind my blog.And I remember being like, holy cow, what if people judge me?
What if, like, what are people going to say?What is my mom going to say?What are my cousins going to say?What are my friends going to say?Like, this is so weird.And
I remember all of these feelings coming up and now I can go back and I can say that was literally one of the turning points of my blog and my products really taking off selling online.
That was one of the major pieces that I was able to say, man, like it worked.It allowed me to sell products.It allowed me to start this business.
Like it is literally what I'm telling you right now is the point that you can go back in an interview or in a story and say, I remember when I had this feeling. Now I don't.I overcame it and it literally made all of the difference in the world.
And I can tell that to my clients.And something else that I just want to put into your mind that I think is really helpful and that to me, it really helps.I'm a tough love girl to myself.I'm I'm like, you know what, Maddie?
You can frickin' do this, all right?Why are you disproving yourself?Why are you discrediting yourself?What is the fact behind that feeling of you not being able to do this?
There are so many people out there that are just like you, or you are more skilled than, that are doing this and either more successful than you, or accomplishing what they're trying to accomplish.
There are so many people out there, and this is what I see when I look at influencers.People are like, oh, I wanna be an influencer so bad.
And it's like, well, there's so many people out there that have done it that were just like you that have accomplished it.So what makes you feel like you are different than them?What makes it feel like that they are more deserving of this?
And so one other thing, one other perspective that I want to put into your mind is business owners are relentless.If you look at characteristics of your most successful quote unquote business owners out there, like your CEOs, your
top level executives, whatever, they are people that are relentless.They are passionate when they are stubborn.They get on an idea and they're stuck with it and they're creative beings and they're like, oh my gosh, I need to make this happen.
For me, when I look at my big goals, I am like, I need to make this happen.This is something that needs to be in my life.I am going to do it and I can't wait for it to be my reality.
And so for me, something that I tell myself is, is staying where I am or what I've been struggling with for a long time better than making this investment or making this decision or looking forward at what else this could be?
Or is it worse to not try?Is it worse to not try and not put your all into it?Would you be able to, at the end of the day, would you be able to give up and quit without making some of these big decisions?Would you be able to say, you know what?
I'm throwing in the towel.This isn't worth it, knowing that you haven't tried some of these big things, knowing that you didn't go all in on content, knowing that you didn't learn the proper strategy.
Knowing that you didn't launch that collection because you thought it was kind of weird.Knowing that you didn't make the personal brand because you were worried about what people said.
Knowing that you didn't go all in on your business because you were afraid if it was going to fail.Are you okay never actually chasing that dream?Are you okay?
Are you going to be able to fall asleep at night knowing that you wanted to build this life for you, for your family, for
your kids, for your husband, for you to be able to chase your dreams and have this reality that you absolutely love, are you okay saying, you know what, I'm not willing to try this just because I would rather keep doing what I'm doing?
Is it better to stay where you are than to live with the fear of actually doing the thing? And some things you're like, yeah, you know what?Honestly, it might be, all right?
I'm not saying that you have to do everything just because you have this desire to.Sometimes it's good to hold back from desire.But when we're talking about a business, it's been on your heart for a while.You deserve to put everything into it.
You deserve to go all in.You deserve to really make things happen.Why would you hold yourself back?Because of the possibility of a what if.
Because again, if you look at that what if, flip it on its head and make it a positive, what if this is the thing that changes the game for me?Are you willing to gamble with, ah, it's probably not going to be successful?
Are you willing to sit in that and say, you know what?
yeah what if what if this doesn't work for me or what if this is the thing that changes the game and finally works are you willing to gamble on the yep nope it's probably not going to be the thing that changes the game i'm just gonna stay where i'm at and keep struggling with what i'm doing and living the same life that i'm living
Or are you willing to put this time, put this money, put this energy into something else to say, you know what?I'm going to make this thing happen.
So when you're being interviewed on that podcast or for that magazine, or you're writing something up later on in life, when you've already accomplished these big goals that you want, you're able to think back to this moment and say, you know what?
I had so many doubts.I didn't know if it was going to happen, but I did it anyway. So when we think of this imposter syndrome, I want you to think about, you know, how many people are out there that have accomplished what I am trying to accomplish?
Literally thousands, literally millions, depending on what you're trying to build.Of course, there could be some things that are pretty revolutionary out there, but at the end of the day, there are millions of businesses created every single year.
And there are hundreds of businesses that break industry standards every single year.Why can you not be one of them? what is inherently that different about you?
And you say, Oh, you know, I didn't grow up this way, or I didn't come from money, or I'm just not a business person.I'm not a strategy person.I'm a creative or, you know, I'm not creative or whatever, all of these things.
But why can't you be, why can't you make that happen?Why does that have to be the thing that keeps you where you are?Has there never been a successful business owner that wasn't creative?
There was millions of business owners that would call it, tell that, that would tell you that they're not creative.There are so many business owners out there that would tell you they're not even business people and they had to find people that were.
And so every negative belief, every limiting belief, every what if you have in your mind, you can flip it on its head and you can say, all right, what if I am the next person that is on how I built this with Guy Raz?
What if I am the next person that is on Forbes 30 under 30?
What if this thing that I really want to do, that has been on my heart, that I've been waiting to do, but I know it feels a little sticky, what if that is the thing that changes the game for me?
What if that is the thing that finally makes all of this happen?
And that is, if you are willing to live with the idea that you still pushed off something, that in your mind that you're saying, what if this is the thing that finally changes the game for me, then it's fine.But you have to look at it.
You have to say, you know what?What really are my priorities here?Am I willing to let these fears overtake me? So I want you to think about right now, what are the things that you are putting off because of fears, because of what ifs?
What if it doesn't work?What if I make the content and it never really gets views?What if I invest in this thing and I'm the only one ever that has never seen results?What if this person is a scam?
What if I spend all my money and then I don't have any for other things?What if, what if, what if, what is that thing in your brain? You're like, Maddie, I really wish I could just rebrand my business.
Maddie, I really wish I could just create a new profile and start fresh.Maddie, I really wish I could hire you and like finally get the business support that I want.
And then I want you to sit and I want you to say, what are all of those beliefs that are coming up with it?
Because very often it is in those things that we are pushing off because of fears that actually separates us from everybody else, that actually makes the biggest difference.It is the things that you have been pushing off for a long time.
I've been talking about this a little bit more openly, but as my podcast fam, I love to give you kind of the inside scoop is something that I have really wanted to do for a really long time is make higher quality reels.
I wanted to like really make more curated, more edited reels. to really gain some visibility.
And I would always try, I would do it for like two to three weeks and I would get sick of spending an hour editing a reel and adding all of these effects on it.
But I knew that when I watched people's content and I watched their reels and they were edited and they had the cute little sound effects and they had little images pop up and all of these little things, I was like, man, I'm jealous of that.
man, if only I could create content like that.And I kept saying, you know, but, you know, I'm just not, people want organic content or people, you know, that just takes me too long.I don't have the time in the day to do that.
And I started to put it off and I started to put it off.So finally, I started working with somebody that is editing my reels for me.They do a bunch of research on different topics.I tell them what I wanna talk about.
I record a whole bunch of videos and they edit my reels for me. And this was something that I was like, Maddie, what a stupid thing to hire somebody to do is to just edit your videos for you.Why can you not do that?
Like, why is that something that you can't do?And I said, you know what, Maddie, I literally, like if I could, it would take me an hour, an hour and a half to even figure out how to do some of these things.
And I have to find the photos and I have to add the different things in there.And I just would never do it.If this is the thing that is preventing me, and I finally hired the person to do it.And they have a whole process on it.
It's literally what they do is they have an agency that I send them all of my short form videos, I record them all, and then they chop them up and make them into beautiful reels.
Follow me on Instagram at this is Madison page to start seeing some of these reels start to roll out.And The first one got posted yesterday and I was ecstatic.It literally just feels like a breath of fresh air.
It feels like a weight off of my shoulders because it's something I have been wanting to do for a long time and I kept the commitment to myself that I was going to make it happen.And even if I am not actually editing the reels, who cares?
Who cares if I am not the one that is actually sitting down and editing them?That doesn't mean that I didn't create that content.It doesn't mean that I am not a part of the process.
It doesn't mean that I didn't sit down and actually record the videos.It doesn't mean that the things didn't come from my brain.Why was my ego getting in the way of, I have to do everything, my perfectionism, me not wanting to hire people.
I'm kind of cheap.I don't really like spending money on things.And so it was me saying, this isn't worth me spending the money on. And oh my gosh, has it been so worth it.
And now I can sit down and just the first one was posted this week and I can sit down and I can say, wow, what if this is the thing that I know I have been putting off for so long?
And what if this is the thing that finally, you know, gets my visibility, has some viral videos, gets a bunch of new people into my community and that I can then support so many more people.
And it allowed me to sit down and I said, you know, Maddie, you kept the promise to yourself.You're finally doing the dang thing.
Even if you're paying somebody in order to edit your videos, and you know, you now have all of this content that you can post different places, you are doing the thing that you've been pushing off for so long. How special is that?
That is so incredible.When you actually start doing the thing that might change the game for you.It's exciting.It's motivating.You can add so much inspiration into your day to day and what you are really doing.And it's just so incredibly special.
And if I let the fears, if I let the, what is literally, I was like, what if people find out that I didn't create this content and they are like, you know, that's cheating.Is it cheating to make somebody edit my content for me?I don't think so.
It was just me getting in my own way.So I want this to be your permission slip to get out of your own way, to flip the what-ifs into a positive, to think, is it worth me not knowing if I ever did this?
In one year, if I was still where I am today, am I going to be able to live with myself saying, Maddie, you have still never done that?And what actions can I take in order to make it happen? I hope this was helpful for you.
I hope this was inspiring for you.I'm never here to make you feel bad.I don't want you to make you feel like shit about your life.
I am just here to try to provide different pep talks, different perspectives, different mindset shifts that I see and conversations that I have with a lot of my clients of, but what if it does work?
What if this is something that is so incredibly awesome for you?What if this is the turning point in your business that actually makes it happen for you? I hope this was helpful.
If this is something that really resonated with you, please reach out to me on Instagram at this is Madison page and let me know that this is a topic that you really love to hear about.It makes me so happy.It's seriously, it makes my day.
Sometimes if I just get one DM a day, you know, I'm about to have a good stinking day of people saying, been binging your podcast.Oh my gosh, I'm in love with it.It makes me so happy.
And then I get to stalk your profiles and see all the people that are listening to it.So I can put faces and products behind my podcast and behind these videos.And it's nice because then I can shape the examples and
the, um, like the examples and the feedback and the different things into what your products really are.
I know I use candles, I use jewelry, I use clothing, I use some examples out there, but it's just because those are from people that I get so many responses from.
So if you have a different business, feel free to reach out so I can give some examples natively on the podcast here for you as well. I love you.I'm rooting for you.I'm in your corner always.I hope this was so helpful for you.
We put out new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.My name is Madison Page, and I will see you in the next episode.
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