September 4, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of That Will Nevr Work, Maurice and his wife, Kafi, explore the pervasive issue of imposter syndrome, discussing how it manifests as self-doubt and impacts decision-making. They share personal experiences and offer practical advice on recognizing and overcoming feelings of inadequacy, empowering listeners to claim their worth and achieve success. This episode is essential for anyone seeking to understand and conquer their inner critic.
In This Episode:
00:00 The Truth Behind the Loud Voice
00:43 Understanding Imposter Syndrome
03:38 The Comparison Trap
06:03 Lessons from Childhood
10:01 The Playground of Corporate America
11:40 Taking Control of Your Narrative
Key Takeaways:
In This Episode:
00:00 The Truth Behind the Loud Voice
00:43 Understanding Imposter Syndrome
03:38 The Comparison Trap
06:03 Lessons from Childhood
10:01 The Playground of Corporate America
11:40 Taking Control of Your Narrative
Key Takeaways:
- Acknowledge and name imposter syndrome to diminish its power. (0:01)
- Recognize the value you bring to your endeavors, regardless of comparisons. (0:38)
- Understand that imposter syndrome stems from internal thoughts and feelings of inadequacy. (04:28)
- Challenge negative self-talk and reclaim control over your decisions. (11:48)
- Embrace your worth and potential for success by overcoming self-doubt. (13:08)
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- Website: https://bit.ly/mauricechism
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- To be a guest: https://bit.ly/beaguestonthatwillnevrworkpodcast
- Business Email: mchism@chismgroup.net
- Business Address: PO Box 460, Secane, PA 19018
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Just because that voice is loud doesn't mean it's telling
the truth.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Educate, empower, enable, impact. Thank you for tuning in to
That Will Never Work, an award winning podcast where we
share inspiring information and personal experiences related to business and
the entrepreneurial journey from those who are leaders in their
respective field. Now here's your host, author and business coach,
(00:36):
Maurice I.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Thank you very much for tuning in to the show today.
And so once again we're in this place of talking
about impostor syndrome. And here's the point. Imposta syndrome often
shows up. It's an inner dialogue that questions your worth
(01:02):
or your qualifications. How many of you deal with that?
How many of you have questioned whether or not you're
worthy of being in a position that you're in. I've
been there, and I have a special guest today. We're
(01:24):
going through this whole process together of growing together, and
just so happens, she's probably the best person that knows
me well and she can speak to me questioning myself
and my qualifications and my worth. There's none other than
my wife, Kappa Kafa. Thanks very much for coming today.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Thank you so much for having me pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Thank you very much. You speak so eloquently and so
something like that. In my head, because you speak so
eloquently and so business like, I can question whether or
not I am worthy on this show, if I am
(02:11):
worthy to speak because of who you are. People get
intimidated by that, and I only can speak for myself.
I've been in that position. I didn't always understand that
my voice should be louder than the one that's questioning
(02:32):
who I really am, and so it was really difficult
for me to get that. I compare myself to too
many other individuals and again not understanding my own worth
(02:53):
in that situation, not understanding that I have value in
how I'm handling customers and how I answer their quest
or their problems. And I wonder if some of you
are dealing with something similar, where do you see the
value in what you bring to the table? And so, Kafa,
I'm just using you as an example because I would.
(03:14):
I would put myself up against those that spelt, that
spoke eloquent because I felt intimidated because I didn't speak
that way. I don't speak that way one hundred percent
of the time. I can, but I have to. I
got to think about it, it's like I need a
script in front of me order for me to do that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Your thoughts, my thoughts are impost syndrome is just one
of those things that, like you said, so many of
us deal with. It's just us getting in our heads,
the overthinking about things. And I don't know necessarily that
(03:56):
it is that someone is better than we are, but
I think we get in our own thoughts, as you stated,
and we can start a comparison right and sometimes it's
okay to compare because you want to compare. That might
be your goal, but you have to. You have to.
You know, a lot of times our goals are you know,
(04:19):
linked to a mentor or linked to some figure you know,
so then you compare yourself to that. But I think
impostor syndrome is when you get into your feelings, you
get into yourself and you're like, how did I get here?
And I'm not worthy of being where I am right now.
(04:40):
So for myself, at times, I get overwhelmed with things
and that me being overwhelmed creates that impostor syndrome part.
It makes me feel not worthy because I am overwhelmed,
and then I begin to think that okay, somebody else
could probably handle all this and they wouldn't be overwhelmed.
(05:01):
So then I don't feel true and I don't feel
validated in my situation at that particular time, because I
feel a fake. I feel fraudulent. I don't feel that
I do with whatever I'm doing because I feel like
I can't really do this, you know. So that's my thought,
(05:26):
and I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
I agree with everything that you say because it makes
me sit back and think for a moment of where
I've been to where I am today, and how I
(05:49):
would compare myself because I heard it a lot. I
heard it a lot where I should be compared to
someone else. But I've also heard people were saying, hey,
you should be like Maurice as well. So so I'm
going to go back to maybe one of my earliest
memories of this, which is in elementary school, where people
(06:15):
would say I would have a teacher to say you
should be like Maurice because I was quiet, I didn't
say a whole lot in class, right, and so you
should be like Maurice, especially if y'all want to get
out early to go to recess, right, or because y'all
spoke too much or too often, it's the bell was
(06:42):
ringing right now for y'all to leave class. But because
y'all little group want to stay and talk amongst yourself.
When I told everyone to settle down, well, y'all should
be like Maurice, because look at who's one of the
first people who's leaving on this Friday afternoon because I
don't want to be here, just like you don't want
to be here. But guess what, he's going home. I've
(07:05):
heard that, right, and so so then you know now
I'm being set apart, I think unfairly in some cases,
but again not understanding that there was value in what
I was doing. Was I a role model or was
(07:29):
I one that caused more friction in that situation? And
was I someone else or was I my authentic self?
I felt like I need to be like everybody else
so I wouldn't be set apart and be ostracized among
(07:53):
my classmates. That's how I felt. So what did I do?
Later on the year? As time had gone on, I
wasn't as nice as I might have been. In the
middle of the year, it was getting warmer outside. Everybody
else was talking. I was talking because I didn't want
to be looked at it as different and so did I
(08:17):
lose my power? Did I lose myself in that process?
I might have, But I think what needed to happen
in this situation is understanding and recognizing that I was
having a conflict with myself, which ultimately drove me to
(08:40):
make some really really weird and crazy decisions. And that
wasn't necessarily beneficial for me in the long run. It
wasn't beneficial for the class, it wasn't beneficial to the teacher.
And guess what it showed up on my report card too,
you know. So I think that we all need to
(09:01):
recognize those moments that we question whether or not we
belong in this situation or not, question whether or not
we are worthy or are we qualified to live up
to this. Because I didn't feel like I was worthy
(09:22):
enough to be set apart at such an early age,
I didn't see the value in that, so I questioned it,
and it drove me to make some really really crazy
decisions that ultimately showed up on something as important as
my report card.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Yeah, I mean, I think you're saying a lot there,
and I think you know, even though you're talking about
elementary school, but a lot of that shows up in
you know, the courtyard and the play ground of corporate America,
you know, because likewise, you know, individuals are pointed out
that they're you know, hyper, and you know, hey, we
(10:02):
all should be. You know, that person's picture goes up
on the wall because their employee of the month, and
you know, or certain boards, Hey this person has X
number of sales, and we all want to be like
Bob or like jan So you know that that pressure,
I think also adds to us feeling and that internal
(10:27):
feeling of imposture syndrome. And I think the one thing
I want to share with the audience is that imposter
syndrome is something that you do to yourself. I don't
think it's anything necessarily that people do to you. It's
kind of your own thought that you feel like you
don't fit in the space.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
I e. Me in a classroom.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
You feel like you're not good enough and you're not
worthy to sit at the table. You know there's a
seat there with your name on it, but you feel
as though I'm not good enough. I'm not you know,
up to par I You know, I have a degree,
but I got all c's and d's. You know, I
(11:08):
didn't really, I didn't graduate with Latin honors those types
of things. So sometimes we fall back because we feel
as though we're not good enough, right, and you know,
as you said, we have to be careful to recognize
where we are so that we can make the right
(11:31):
decisions moving forward. But again that's all within our heads.
I think a lot of it is within our head.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And I agree, So so we need to do something
in order for us to get over it. We need
to name it. Hey, it is imposter syndrome as to
why we're making this decision, and that little voice what
(12:01):
gives us power over it because a lot of times
if we ignore it, it's going to continue to control us.
It's going to continue to make us make these decisions
that are not ones that really work in our favor.
So again, I'm going to repeat it, but I'm gonna
(12:23):
give it to you in our normal process, which is
why it matters, right, and why it matters is naming
it gives you power over it. Ignoring it only gives
it more control. So let's not give that tiny little voice,
that little person that's sitting on your shoulder, whatever the
(12:46):
situation is, Let's not give it power. Let's not continue
to give it power. Let's get control over it. And
now that we have recognized it and we understand what
it is, and now that we have control over it,
(13:06):
what's the limit. There is no limit, because right now
you've just claimed the floor and everything from that point
forward should be nothing but success. So I appreciate everyone
for listening today, and Kypa, thank you very much for
coming on the show today.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Thanks again Maurice for having me, and now.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Thank you for listening to that Will Never Work podcast
and I will talk to you a little bit later.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Thanks for listening. Follow Maurice Chisholm on social media to
stay connected and check back weekly for new episodes until
next time. That Will Never Work? Or Will It
Just because that voice is loud doesn't mean it's telling
the truth.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Educate, empower, enable, impact. Thank you for tuning in to
That Will Never Work, an award winning podcast where we
share inspiring information and personal experiences related to business and
the entrepreneurial journey from those who are leaders in their
respective field. Now here's your host, author and business coach,
(00:36):
Maurice I.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Thank you very much for tuning in to the show today.
And so once again we're in this place of talking
about impostor syndrome. And here's the point. Imposta syndrome often
shows up. It's an inner dialogue that questions your worth
(01:02):
or your qualifications. How many of you deal with that?
How many of you have questioned whether or not you're
worthy of being in a position that you're in. I've
been there, and I have a special guest today. We're
(01:24):
going through this whole process together of growing together, and
just so happens, she's probably the best person that knows
me well and she can speak to me questioning myself
and my qualifications and my worth. There's none other than
my wife, Kappa Kafa. Thanks very much for coming today.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Thank you so much for having me pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Thank you very much. You speak so eloquently and so
something like that. In my head, because you speak so
eloquently and so business like, I can question whether or
not I am worthy on this show, if I am
(02:11):
worthy to speak because of who you are. People get
intimidated by that, and I only can speak for myself.
I've been in that position. I didn't always understand that
my voice should be louder than the one that's questioning
(02:32):
who I really am, and so it was really difficult
for me to get that. I compare myself to too
many other individuals and again not understanding my own worth
(02:53):
in that situation, not understanding that I have value in
how I'm handling customers and how I answer their quest
or their problems. And I wonder if some of you
are dealing with something similar, where do you see the
value in what you bring to the table? And so, Kafa,
I'm just using you as an example because I would.
(03:14):
I would put myself up against those that spelt, that
spoke eloquent because I felt intimidated because I didn't speak
that way. I don't speak that way one hundred percent
of the time. I can, but I have to. I
got to think about it, it's like I need a
script in front of me order for me to do that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Your thoughts, my thoughts are impost syndrome is just one
of those things that, like you said, so many of
us deal with. It's just us getting in our heads,
the overthinking about things. And I don't know necessarily that
(03:56):
it is that someone is better than we are, but
I think we get in our own thoughts, as you stated,
and we can start a comparison right and sometimes it's
okay to compare because you want to compare. That might
be your goal, but you have to. You have to.
You know, a lot of times our goals are you know,
(04:19):
linked to a mentor or linked to some figure you know,
so then you compare yourself to that. But I think
impostor syndrome is when you get into your feelings, you
get into yourself and you're like, how did I get here?
And I'm not worthy of being where I am right now.
(04:40):
So for myself, at times, I get overwhelmed with things
and that me being overwhelmed creates that impostor syndrome part.
It makes me feel not worthy because I am overwhelmed,
and then I begin to think that okay, somebody else
could probably handle all this and they wouldn't be overwhelmed.
(05:01):
So then I don't feel true and I don't feel
validated in my situation at that particular time, because I
feel a fake. I feel fraudulent. I don't feel that
I do with whatever I'm doing because I feel like
I can't really do this, you know. So that's my thought,
(05:26):
and I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
I agree with everything that you say because it makes
me sit back and think for a moment of where
I've been to where I am today, and how I
(05:49):
would compare myself because I heard it a lot. I
heard it a lot where I should be compared to
someone else. But I've also heard people were saying, hey,
you should be like Maurice as well. So so I'm
going to go back to maybe one of my earliest
memories of this, which is in elementary school, where people
(06:15):
would say I would have a teacher to say you
should be like Maurice because I was quiet, I didn't
say a whole lot in class, right, and so you
should be like Maurice, especially if y'all want to get
out early to go to recess, right, or because y'all
spoke too much or too often, it's the bell was
(06:42):
ringing right now for y'all to leave class. But because
y'all little group want to stay and talk amongst yourself.
When I told everyone to settle down, well, y'all should
be like Maurice, because look at who's one of the
first people who's leaving on this Friday afternoon because I
don't want to be here, just like you don't want
to be here. But guess what, he's going home. I've
(07:05):
heard that, right, and so so then you know now
I'm being set apart, I think unfairly in some cases,
but again not understanding that there was value in what
I was doing. Was I a role model or was
(07:29):
I one that caused more friction in that situation? And
was I someone else or was I my authentic self?
I felt like I need to be like everybody else
so I wouldn't be set apart and be ostracized among
(07:53):
my classmates. That's how I felt. So what did I do?
Later on the year? As time had gone on, I
wasn't as nice as I might have been. In the
middle of the year, it was getting warmer outside. Everybody
else was talking. I was talking because I didn't want
to be looked at it as different and so did I
(08:17):
lose my power? Did I lose myself in that process?
I might have, But I think what needed to happen
in this situation is understanding and recognizing that I was
having a conflict with myself, which ultimately drove me to
(08:40):
make some really really weird and crazy decisions. And that
wasn't necessarily beneficial for me in the long run. It
wasn't beneficial for the class, it wasn't beneficial to the teacher.
And guess what it showed up on my report card too,
you know. So I think that we all need to
(09:01):
recognize those moments that we question whether or not we
belong in this situation or not, question whether or not
we are worthy or are we qualified to live up
to this. Because I didn't feel like I was worthy
(09:22):
enough to be set apart at such an early age,
I didn't see the value in that, so I questioned it,
and it drove me to make some really really crazy
decisions that ultimately showed up on something as important as
my report card.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Yeah, I mean, I think you're saying a lot there,
and I think you know, even though you're talking about
elementary school, but a lot of that shows up in
you know, the courtyard and the play ground of corporate America,
you know, because likewise, you know, individuals are pointed out
that they're you know, hyper, and you know, hey, we
(10:02):
all should be. You know, that person's picture goes up
on the wall because their employee of the month, and
you know, or certain boards, Hey this person has X
number of sales, and we all want to be like
Bob or like jan So you know that that pressure,
I think also adds to us feeling and that internal
(10:27):
feeling of imposture syndrome. And I think the one thing
I want to share with the audience is that imposter
syndrome is something that you do to yourself. I don't
think it's anything necessarily that people do to you. It's
kind of your own thought that you feel like you
don't fit in the space.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
I e. Me in a classroom.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
You feel like you're not good enough and you're not
worthy to sit at the table. You know there's a
seat there with your name on it, but you feel
as though I'm not good enough. I'm not you know,
up to par I You know, I have a degree,
but I got all c's and d's. You know, I
(11:08):
didn't really, I didn't graduate with Latin honors those types
of things. So sometimes we fall back because we feel
as though we're not good enough, right, and you know,
as you said, we have to be careful to recognize
where we are so that we can make the right
(11:31):
decisions moving forward. But again that's all within our heads.
I think a lot of it is within our head.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And I agree, So so we need to do something
in order for us to get over it. We need
to name it. Hey, it is imposter syndrome as to
why we're making this decision, and that little voice what
(12:01):
gives us power over it because a lot of times
if we ignore it, it's going to continue to control us.
It's going to continue to make us make these decisions
that are not ones that really work in our favor.
So again, I'm going to repeat it, but I'm gonna
(12:23):
give it to you in our normal process, which is
why it matters, right, and why it matters is naming
it gives you power over it. Ignoring it only gives
it more control. So let's not give that tiny little voice,
that little person that's sitting on your shoulder, whatever the
(12:46):
situation is, Let's not give it power. Let's not continue
to give it power. Let's get control over it. And
now that we have recognized it and we understand what
it is, and now that we have control over it,
(13:06):
what's the limit. There is no limit, because right now
you've just claimed the floor and everything from that point
forward should be nothing but success. So I appreciate everyone
for listening today, and Kypa, thank you very much for
coming on the show today.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Thanks again Maurice for having me, and now.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Thank you for listening to that Will Never Work podcast
and I will talk to you a little bit later.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Thanks for listening. Follow Maurice Chisholm on social media to
stay connected and check back weekly for new episodes until
next time. That Will Never Work? Or Will It
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