This morning I attended the RBC Canadian Women of Influence Awards Nominee Breakfast in Vancouver. It was a chance to meet other nominees and learn more about the process should I chose to move forward. Last night I was anxious about what to wear. I wouldn’t fit in; I’m not professional enough; WHHHHY didn’t I start working with Katherine Lazaruk???? I’m going to look like an impostor!!! While thrilled to be nominated and eager to attend; I was mostly feeling like a kid trying to sneak a seat at the adult table and worried about looking foolish.
If I was a friend talking to me, I would most definitely say the above sentiments are stupid, not true and who cares – you’re awesome go and be awesome! Unfortunately, I just stewed in my own anxiety and robbed myself of some of the potential joy of the experience.
One of the presenters was Tony Desrosier, the Founder and CEO of ABEEGO and last year’s Trailblazer Award Winner. Tony was wearing jeans and a jacket; she shared a really low point with her business; people told her she was straight up crazy at points in her journey; she’s not even trying to balance being a Pinterest Mom and Business Owner (and like me finds it offensive when people ask). She won the Trailblazer Award in her 10th year of business. Many of her tips and outlooks on business deeply resonated with me as I identified with what I’m already doing.
Here was this successful woman; an award-winning woman in business and she wasn’t out of reach from where I’m at. She’s pretty awesome; she is a trailblazer; but she seemed a lot like me too. The biggest difference was she didn’t seem to be second guessing herself. Tony shared that the act of having to pick her Award category after being nominated and then completing the application stating why she was a Trailblazer helped her really own her accomplishments and her place. She challenged us that we owe it to ourselves and other woman to put in our application to tell our stories and bring representation of women in business to the forefront.
So, this begs the questions; why do we so often feel like impostors? Why do we question our awesomeness and sit patiently waiting to be recognized? Please note I’m saying we because I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in suffering from Impostor Syndrome. I think as business owners we get so focused on the doing, the growing, the fixing, the adjusting, the bills, the fires, the team, the the the the that we don’t step back often enough to see the journey in it’s entirety and celebrate the tremendous growth and successes we’ve had.
I’m going to complete the application process as an exercise in taking a step back to celebrate where I started and where I’m going and why I started what I started with It’s Your Time. I would truly love to hear about your growth and accomplishments, why you started and where you hope to go. Send me an email, leave a comment or join us for our Business Breakfast.
