September 9, 2025 • 13 mins
In this episode of “That Will Never Work,” Maurice and Kafi discuss imposter syndrome, emphasizing that feeling like an imposter often signifies growth and stepping into new territories. They explore how doubt can be a sign of leveling up, and why it’s important to recognize your qualifications and past achievements. This episode gives you the tools to overcome self-doubt.
In This Episode:
00:00 Embracing Imposter Syndrome
01:06 Recognizing Your Worth
03:20 The Transformation of Self-Perception
05:07 Growth Through Discomfort
07:12 The Entrepreneurial Journey
09:44 Finding Your Strength
11:30 Surrounding Yourself with Growth
Key Takeaways:
Resources:
In This Episode:
00:00 Embracing Imposter Syndrome
01:06 Recognizing Your Worth
03:20 The Transformation of Self-Perception
05:07 Growth Through Discomfort
07:12 The Entrepreneurial Journey
09:44 Finding Your Strength
11:30 Surrounding Yourself with Growth
Key Takeaways:
- Acknowledge your qualifications: Recognize that your past experiences have prepared you for your current role.
- Embrace discomfort: Understand that feeling stretched is a sign of growth, not inadequacy.
- Challenge self-doubt: Reflect on your strengths and accomplishments to build confidence.
- Seek supportive environments: Surround yourself with people who uplift and encourage you.
- Recognize Doubt: Recognize doubt stems from growth, and isn’t solely imposter syndrome.
Resources:
- Well Why Not Workbook: https://bit.ly/authormauricechism
- Podmatch: https://bit.ly/joinpodmatchwithmaurice
- Maurice Chism: https://bit.ly/CoachMaurice
- Website: https://bit.ly/mauricechism
- Patreon: https://bit.ly/CoachMauriceonPatreon
- To be a guest: https://bit.ly/beaguestonthatwillnevrworkpodcast
- Business Email: mchism@chismgroup.net
- Business Address: PO Box 460, Secane, PA 19018
- Spreaker: https://bit.ly/TWNWSpreaker
- Purchase our apparel: https://bit.ly/ThatWillNevrWorkPodcastapparel
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you feel like an impostor, you might just be
growing into your next level.
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 Maurice.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Hey, everyone, how are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And so we are still in this impostor syndrome space
and again we're still speaking with my partner in life period,
my wife Kafa.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thank you very much for coming on today.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Thank very much for having me on today.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
You're welcome. And so.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
We're talking about the imposter syndrome. And here's the point
we want to make today. Feeling like an impostor often
means you stepped into a new territory, doubts in a
weakness as a sign you're leveling up. And if you've
(01:32):
been listening to the last couple episodes, we have really
been talking about whether or not you feel like you're
worthy of the position that you're in, let alone, are
you worthy for the place where you're about to propel to?
And I think that a lot of times we don't
(01:56):
feel like that because did we feel Do we feel
as that we've got that position by the skin of
our teeth, maybe because we knew because we knew somebody.
There could be multiple factors as to why we feel
like we've been positioned in that place. We don't always
understand that our qualifications had to play a part. And
(02:22):
I use this as an example, and Kafula can attest
to this. Sometimes we'll look at our educational background or our.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Jobs that we've been in and we downplay who we
are and.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
What we've been and what we've accomplished when we've moved
on to another place. And so sometimes and I can
speak for me being in customer service, I had for
the longest time, I only applied for customer service jobs
because I felt as though I was not worthy to
be in another place. And then when I got to
that place, I really didn't feel worthy at that time,
(03:03):
and that was really unfortunate because I personally did I
take full advantage of that situation, but I had to
understand that I did step into a new place and
that I was leveling up. Even in that place, I
saw myself differently. I carried myself differently, and Kafikan expressed
(03:26):
to you just as one particular job where I went
from customer service into contracting that I started even dressing different.
I leveled up and getting my clothes, taking it to
the cleaners or whatever it might have been, versus being
a customer service where I might not have paid as
(03:47):
much attention to how I address. I was still earning
my clothes, but I might not have paid as much
attention or spent as much time on it as I
did when I had leveled up. And so I want
you to understand that in this position that you're in,
and that yes, you are worthy in that position, that
you have gotten there, not just because but there you
(04:08):
do qualify for that. And so don't downplay where you've
been or what you've done in the past for what
you're doing now, because what you've done in the past
is what got you here now. You the way you spoke,
the way you held your head up, the way you
paid attention and meetings, someone paid attention to you in
(04:31):
some of those situations. So I want you to feel
as so that even though you're doubting that situation, it's
not a weakness. It just shows that hey, you're going,
you may possibly work even harder to show that you
belong in that spot. Coffee thoughts.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Again, you said a whole lot there in understand, and
that's okay. A lot of things flashed through my mind
with some of this. So when it comes to doubting
where you are, I think it's a little bit more
than impost syndrome. I think the doubt comes from not
only impostor syndrome, but it is part of that growth,
(05:14):
is part of that stretch. And so the doubt is, hey,
I'm stretching. It feels uncomfortable. And like you said, you know, Maurici,
you were saying how many years you were in customer
service that was comfortable. You knew exactly what to do,
You knew how to answer the questions, you knew how
to deal with your managers, you knew how to deal
with your coworkers. But then when you step into a
(05:37):
new role that you're qualified for because you have years
of experience, because you have been a team lead, because
you have shown all of these skills that they're looking for,
and you step in there and you begin to do
okay at first, and then you begin to doubt yourself
(05:58):
and sometimes we think that's imposters, and it could be
one of those things that it is, but a lot
of it is it's just you being stretched.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Its you be it.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
You know, it's those growing pains. And then sooner later
you'll realize where you are and you will grow into
that position and begin to become comfortable within that in
that role. So then you become comfortable there and know
(06:28):
how to do things in and out, and people come
to you to ask questions and you have the answers,
and then again you'll be moved and bumped to another
place and then go through it all over again. You'll
have that doubt whether or not you really fit into
that role. You know, it's just it is what it is.
And again we're talking corporate America, but it's the same
thing for entrepreneurs, and Marisa, you can certainly talk about
(06:52):
that as you have worked as an entrepreneur for several
years and you've tried something, it worked, and then things shifted,
and then you started to doubt yourself, is this for me?
Is this the right way that my business should be going?
You know, and you begin to doubt yourself, how come
(07:12):
I'm not getting more customers? How come people aren't you know,
willing to pay their bills on time anymore? Whatever that
might be. You start to doubt yourself, but you have
to understand it. That's just stretching you.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
And to your point of being in that space.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
I was uncomfortable because I was in an unfamiliar space.
I was doubting who I was because now did I
feel like I qualified to speak to some of the
people that I've even interviewed on this show alone? And
so you start to say, you know, I don't belong,
(08:00):
don't qualify, not knowing that the same language that they're speaking,
I know how to speak, the same attitude of towards
one to transform lives, the same mentality that they had.
(08:24):
I have the same thing. But because they appeared to
be in a level higher than me, I doubted who
I was and what I was yet to become because
that word yet, right, we don't know what that is.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
So so.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
We're not we're unsure, we're not sure where we're going
to get to. And so am I really do I
really belong in this podcasting space?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
For one?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Am I really worthy to talk to these people that
are making millions and millions of dollars? I am though
I've been around them all my life, but I've never
put two and two together, right, And so so I
agree with you that that doubt made me come out
(09:21):
of myself and.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Really as comfort.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
What she's talking about is the part where why this matters,
because if you've never been stretched, you're probably not growing.
And so in this space, I was being stretched to say, Maurice,
who are you? And then whose are you?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Right?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And so for those of you that believe in a
higher being, that believe you know that there is a god,
and for those of you who don't, you know that's
okay as well. But the those of you who believe
in a situation that there's something a greater power than you,
and that you that's where your strength comes from and
(10:09):
your being and things like that, that helped. I know,
that helped me to overcome some of those doubt because
it was the regular Maurice and not the the uplifted Maurice. Right,
It was the fleshy side of me that as I
(10:32):
looked at someone else and like, hey.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I don't belong. I don't belong, but there.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Are parts that I had to reflect on to say, well,
they went about this particular topic differently than I did.
They had different resources than I did, they had different
experiences than I did. And so even when confer as
you and I sit here and talking today, you and
I are not necessarily on the same playing field, right,
(11:03):
And what I mean by that is, you know, educationally
there's a gap, but also it depends on how you
view it as well. But you and I, we don't
necessarily challenge each other on like oh yeah, or downgrade.
I shouldn't say challenge downgrade one person's education over the other, right.
(11:25):
And so again, it's all about those people that you
sit at the table with to say, you know what,
you can still do it. You got it, You have
the information, Marie, you learned the same thing. I learned this, this, this,
and this coffee you learned this.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
So I think those are type of things and situations
we need to put ourselves in to say, you know what, Yes,
I may not have the same educational level of these
other people at this table or whatever it is, but
guess what if I'm the smartest person at the table,
I'm really the dumbest person. I shouldn't be the smartest
person at that breakfast table. I really shouldn't be because now,
(12:03):
because I need to continue to be stretched, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So I hope each and every one of you are hearing.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
This today, and I hope you're all being stretched by
this knowledge that Maurice is dropping. You know that you
know it's growing us all, and that you'll take a
deeper look into what really is going on with your
imposter syndrome, what's really going on with that doubt, and
that you face that part and that'll give you what
(12:31):
you need to get over it along with as Marie said,
faith will certainly be one of the things that will
help you overcome doubt and fear and all those things
that kind of rise up against us and kind of
halt us and our purpose, halt us and our vision,
halt us in what it is that we need to do.
(12:53):
So we wish you all the best luck and much
success to.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
You all, and we thank you very much for listening today.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
We'll talk to you a little later.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
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
If you feel like an impostor, you might just be
growing into your next level.
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 Maurice.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Hey, everyone, how are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And so we are still in this impostor syndrome space
and again we're still speaking with my partner in life period,
my wife Kafa.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thank you very much for coming on today.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Thank very much for having me on today.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
You're welcome. And so.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
We're talking about the imposter syndrome. And here's the point
we want to make today. Feeling like an impostor often
means you stepped into a new territory, doubts in a
weakness as a sign you're leveling up. And if you've
(01:32):
been listening to the last couple episodes, we have really
been talking about whether or not you feel like you're
worthy of the position that you're in, let alone, are
you worthy for the place where you're about to propel to?
And I think that a lot of times we don't
(01:56):
feel like that because did we feel Do we feel
as that we've got that position by the skin of
our teeth, maybe because we knew because we knew somebody.
There could be multiple factors as to why we feel
like we've been positioned in that place. We don't always
understand that our qualifications had to play a part. And
(02:22):
I use this as an example, and Kafula can attest
to this. Sometimes we'll look at our educational background or our.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Jobs that we've been in and we downplay who we
are and.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
What we've been and what we've accomplished when we've moved
on to another place. And so sometimes and I can
speak for me being in customer service, I had for
the longest time, I only applied for customer service jobs
because I felt as though I was not worthy to
be in another place. And then when I got to
that place, I really didn't feel worthy at that time,
(03:03):
and that was really unfortunate because I personally did I
take full advantage of that situation, but I had to
understand that I did step into a new place and
that I was leveling up. Even in that place, I
saw myself differently. I carried myself differently, and Kafikan expressed
(03:26):
to you just as one particular job where I went
from customer service into contracting that I started even dressing different.
I leveled up and getting my clothes, taking it to
the cleaners or whatever it might have been, versus being
a customer service where I might not have paid as
(03:47):
much attention to how I address. I was still earning
my clothes, but I might not have paid as much
attention or spent as much time on it as I
did when I had leveled up. And so I want
you to understand that in this position that you're in,
and that yes, you are worthy in that position, that
you have gotten there, not just because but there you
(04:08):
do qualify for that. And so don't downplay where you've
been or what you've done in the past for what
you're doing now, because what you've done in the past
is what got you here now. You the way you spoke,
the way you held your head up, the way you
paid attention and meetings, someone paid attention to you in
(04:31):
some of those situations. So I want you to feel
as so that even though you're doubting that situation, it's
not a weakness. It just shows that hey, you're going,
you may possibly work even harder to show that you
belong in that spot. Coffee thoughts.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Again, you said a whole lot there in understand, and
that's okay. A lot of things flashed through my mind
with some of this. So when it comes to doubting
where you are, I think it's a little bit more
than impost syndrome. I think the doubt comes from not
only impostor syndrome, but it is part of that growth,
(05:14):
is part of that stretch. And so the doubt is, hey,
I'm stretching. It feels uncomfortable. And like you said, you know, Maurici,
you were saying how many years you were in customer
service that was comfortable. You knew exactly what to do,
You knew how to answer the questions, you knew how
to deal with your managers, you knew how to deal
with your coworkers. But then when you step into a
(05:37):
new role that you're qualified for because you have years
of experience, because you have been a team lead, because
you have shown all of these skills that they're looking for,
and you step in there and you begin to do
okay at first, and then you begin to doubt yourself
(05:58):
and sometimes we think that's imposters, and it could be
one of those things that it is, but a lot
of it is it's just you being stretched.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Its you be it.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
You know, it's those growing pains. And then sooner later
you'll realize where you are and you will grow into
that position and begin to become comfortable within that in
that role. So then you become comfortable there and know
(06:28):
how to do things in and out, and people come
to you to ask questions and you have the answers,
and then again you'll be moved and bumped to another
place and then go through it all over again. You'll
have that doubt whether or not you really fit into
that role. You know, it's just it is what it is.
And again we're talking corporate America, but it's the same
thing for entrepreneurs, and Marisa, you can certainly talk about
(06:52):
that as you have worked as an entrepreneur for several
years and you've tried something, it worked, and then things shifted,
and then you started to doubt yourself, is this for me?
Is this the right way that my business should be going?
You know, and you begin to doubt yourself, how come
(07:12):
I'm not getting more customers? How come people aren't you know,
willing to pay their bills on time anymore? Whatever that
might be. You start to doubt yourself, but you have
to understand it. That's just stretching you.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
And to your point of being in that space.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
I was uncomfortable because I was in an unfamiliar space.
I was doubting who I was because now did I
feel like I qualified to speak to some of the
people that I've even interviewed on this show alone? And
so you start to say, you know, I don't belong,
(08:00):
don't qualify, not knowing that the same language that they're speaking,
I know how to speak, the same attitude of towards
one to transform lives, the same mentality that they had.
(08:24):
I have the same thing. But because they appeared to
be in a level higher than me, I doubted who
I was and what I was yet to become because
that word yet, right, we don't know what that is.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
So so.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
We're not we're unsure, we're not sure where we're going
to get to. And so am I really do I
really belong in this podcasting space?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
For one?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Am I really worthy to talk to these people that
are making millions and millions of dollars? I am though
I've been around them all my life, but I've never
put two and two together, right, And so so I
agree with you that that doubt made me come out
(09:21):
of myself and.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Really as comfort.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
What she's talking about is the part where why this matters,
because if you've never been stretched, you're probably not growing.
And so in this space, I was being stretched to say, Maurice,
who are you? And then whose are you?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Right?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And so for those of you that believe in a
higher being, that believe you know that there is a god,
and for those of you who don't, you know that's
okay as well. But the those of you who believe
in a situation that there's something a greater power than you,
and that you that's where your strength comes from and
(10:09):
your being and things like that, that helped. I know,
that helped me to overcome some of those doubt because
it was the regular Maurice and not the the uplifted Maurice. Right,
It was the fleshy side of me that as I
(10:32):
looked at someone else and like, hey.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I don't belong. I don't belong, but there.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Are parts that I had to reflect on to say, well,
they went about this particular topic differently than I did.
They had different resources than I did, they had different
experiences than I did. And so even when confer as
you and I sit here and talking today, you and
I are not necessarily on the same playing field, right,
(11:03):
And what I mean by that is, you know, educationally
there's a gap, but also it depends on how you
view it as well. But you and I, we don't
necessarily challenge each other on like oh yeah, or downgrade.
I shouldn't say challenge downgrade one person's education over the other, right.
(11:25):
And so again, it's all about those people that you
sit at the table with to say, you know what,
you can still do it. You got it, You have
the information, Marie, you learned the same thing. I learned this, this, this,
and this coffee you learned this.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
So I think those are type of things and situations
we need to put ourselves in to say, you know what, Yes,
I may not have the same educational level of these
other people at this table or whatever it is, but
guess what if I'm the smartest person at the table,
I'm really the dumbest person. I shouldn't be the smartest
person at that breakfast table. I really shouldn't be because now,
(12:03):
because I need to continue to be stretched, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So I hope each and every one of you are hearing.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
This today, and I hope you're all being stretched by
this knowledge that Maurice is dropping. You know that you
know it's growing us all, and that you'll take a
deeper look into what really is going on with your
imposter syndrome, what's really going on with that doubt, and
that you face that part and that'll give you what
(12:31):
you need to get over it along with as Marie said,
faith will certainly be one of the things that will
help you overcome doubt and fear and all those things
that kind of rise up against us and kind of
halt us and our purpose, halt us and our vision,
halt us in what it is that we need to do.
(12:53):
So we wish you all the best luck and much
success to.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
You all, and we thank you very much for listening today.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
We'll talk to you a little later.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
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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