Jen Coken is an executive coach and recovering stand-up comedian. Jen at an early age knew that she had to be the funny one because she never fit into the traditional archetype of the ‘pretty girl.’ She went down a journey of self-discovery a few years ago and discovered all of this was a byproduct of imposter syndrome. Today’s episode covers what is imposter syndrome, why everyone has it, and how to overcome these thoughts that are weighing you down.

Key Takeaways

• What is imposter syndrome?
• When our brain feels a signal that we’re threatened, we start to develop coping mechanisms to help us overcome them.
• Jen learned early on that she was going to be the funny side-kick. She didn’t fit into the model of the ‘pretty one.’
• Everyone has imposter syndrome.
• Jen takes the lead and begins to coach Michelle on her own show!
• Men struggle with speaking out just as much as women do. However, they’re not as verbal about it as women are.
• When Michelle’s in a meeting, what is she afraid of?
• Don’t let your inner upset eight-year-old ruin your entire life.
• It’s only natural that we develop brain patterns to protect ourselves and to play it safe.
• If you didn’t have these thoughts holding you back, what kind of person would you be?
• What we see in others, a lot of times, is what we see in ourselves that we don’t like.
• What you can’t be, robs you of your power. If we are angry and reactive, our power gets robbed from being proactive.
• How do you get your power back? You look within.
• Jen shares a childhood story about anger when she was 15.
• The desire to help women overcome imposter syndrome and the framework to empower women started a long time ago for Jen because of what she had to overcome.

Resources

Jencoken.com

Jen on LinkedIn

Impostorsyndrome.com

The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron

Quotes

Michelle’s quote: “As you further yourself on the ladder of success, the better chance you have that you will struggle with imposter syndrome to a greater degree.”

“If you feel like you have to do it alone because if you asked for help, people would know you really didn’t have what it takes — that’s imposter syndrome.”

“She is looking for people to be critical of her, which is completely shutting down her voice.”

“If I wasn’t having all of these stupid thoughts questioning myself, who would I be?”