How to Overcome "Impostor Syndrome" and Rule the World With Your Art...

The most revealing question I ask my individual coaching clients is, "what do believe about being an artist?" Although there are myriad ways to answer, most people tell me something like, "Oh... uh... I'm not sure that I would call myself that, actually. I mean, I'm pretty creative, I guess... but I don't see myself as like, an actual artist."

News flash: no one gives it to you. You have to take it. Like, for yourself. Right now.

If you are drawn to the arts as more than just a profession, if you feel it as a calling, then you are an artist, even if you have not yet achieved what you aspire to. Beyond that you're simply in development: you're a young artist, a working artist, a mature artist of vision and wisdom, or any stage in between. Whatever; you're an artist. Own it!

Easier said than done. Impostor Syndrome is the bane of artists everywhere. It's the feeling that no matter how dedicated we are, how much work we produce, and how much success we may achieve along the way, at some point we're going to be "found out" and exposed as a hack, or even a fraud. This underlying fear can cause tremendous anxiety and make our life much more difficult than it should be. If we are afflicted by impostor syndrome, external success and validation might not cure it. In fact, our anxiety might worsen as we become more visible to the world and our work comes under greater scrutiny.

So how do we overcome Impostor Syndrome and become who we truly are? Here are 6 ways to kick its ass and rule the world with your art:

1) Become an advocate for your art

• Artists, more than anyone, have to advocate for ourselves and our work. Advocacy is about publicly standing up for something that you believe in. It's a valuable skill that you can use in other parts of your life according to your values and beliefs, but start with your art and make it count. Help the world understand why your work matters, and be quietly relentless about it (see #2 below for help getting started). Let people know you take it seriously, and keep your community updated on your hard work and progress. One valuable way to advocate for your work is to get right back up after you've taken a hit: did you get a bad review? Did someone name-check you in a public list of has-beens? Were you left out of an important show of local artists' work? Release something magical that you've been working on. Make some noise about it on social media. Celebrate your release publicly with friends. Now get back to work!

2) Write the best elevator pitch ever

• A creativity coach can help you with this one (actually, with all 6 of these things!). Your elevator pitch is your front line of advocacy, so make it count. Keep it short, sweet, and current. Practice it with friends and get used to the feel of it in your mouth. Make a list of action verbs and potent adjectives to describe what you're working on, and have them ready for updates on your pitch. Use it often, and be friendly and sincere when you deliver it. Be prepared to answer any questions that may result from your pitch, and understand how to gage someone's interest level. Remember to follow up with people by phone, email, on social media, or in person according to their preferred method of contact. 

3) Spend time with your greatest champions and thank them

• Who are the people in your life who reflect your vision of yourself as an artist? Hang out with them often, and get used to the feeling of being your authentic self in public. Keep them updated about your work, and take a genuine interest in their lives and what they do. Support their dreams as much as they support yours by showing up for their successes and being fully present. Seek their counsel and listen when they talk. Share resources, alliances, connections, and opportunities with them. Be kind, loyal, and forgiving, and let them be the same way with you.

4) Find your critical voice and use it to advocate for others

• Here's another way to use your advocacy skills: you are a real-live artist with real-live opinions, obsessions, and loves. Whose work do you love and why? What is most valuable about their work? How does it compare to its competitors? You don't have to write a term paper, just point out hidden gems and help them sparkle. Curate your choices, and understand that they reflect your larger aesthetic in the eyes of the public. You never know who might be watching... magic happens when artists support and promote each other's work!

5) Be your own ferocious editor

• No one is more of an expert on your work than you. That's not to say that you shouldn't ask (or hire) others to help you edit and curate; feedback is essential for your growth and progress. But strive for a good level of objectivity, and be brave enough to see which parts of your work are connecting with the public, and which ones should be strengthened (or left behind). Avoid becoming a substance-less content machine. Develop a sense of how your work is being received by the public, so you don't give them more than they can digest. Provide quality over quantity, and thank those who recognize your efforts to do so.

6) Become a body language master

• Fake it till you make it, artists! Not convinced? There is genuine science to support this maxim, and if you read Amy Cuddy's book and use her techniques you'll be amazed at how well it works. Part of overcoming the feeling of being an impostor is grounding yourself in your body, and using it to help you become who you truly are. This isn't about working out or strenuous yoga, although the book suggests a few specific postures that may feel strange at first. Give it a try and let the results speak for themselves. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've road-tested many of these methods in my own life and career, and I still use them and recommend them regularly to clients.

To Master Your Art, Teach Beginners...

Many of us are competent creative people. Some of us are highly skilled, maybe even gifted. But there are very few Masters of the creative arts. Why? Because it takes a dedicated commitment over many years, with plenty of missteps and mistakes along the way, to achieve that distinction. A Master creative has typically undergone several major existential crises related to their life purpose, and what the ultimate legacy of their art will be. When they come out the other side they have usually made a great leap forward in their work and are able to articulate it to others, so that the world may learn from their experiences. Consistent excellence is the most identifiable characteristic of a Master artist's work, but most Masters also bring a visionary quality to their efforts that is harder to define. The visionary work of Master creatives is the highest artistic level that the human race has to offer. 

There is no shortcut to becoming a Master. It is not a title bestowed upon us by others, nor one that we can buy, or even try on. It is a state of being that we choose to create for ourselves over time, by virtue of our hard work and ceaseless passion. It is not an easy road, and it can be dangerous to your health and wellness if you're not constantly working to keep these things in balance. Achieving Mastery does not even guarantee that your work will be recognized in your lifetime! Yet despite these trials, the rewards can be great. If we endeavor to take up this challenge we will be utterly transformed by the process, as our most essential Self is continuously revealed. We will be guided by an inner voice that grows in us and speaks to us, until its presence becomes as solid and trustworthy as the ground we walk on. Our Mastery will extend itself across everything we do, and we will be able to serve our loved ones and community at a much higher level. Best of all, our contribution will be secure, as we pass on our secrets to those coming up behind us, and encourage them to express their own Mastery.

So what can we do to embrace the challenge of becoming a Master creative? Start by teaching your craft to complete beginners. Sound counter-intuitive? It's not. A beginner is raw, untested and rife with potential, but the learning-curve of any art or craft is steep. It's true that beginner's mind contains its own joys, yet many promising novices will lose steam and give up without a living, breathing example of Mastery to guide them. You may be able to explain and demonstrate the basics of your art to a beginner, but if you can ignite a lasting passion for it in their heart you are truly on your way to becoming a Master. 

Here are 5 things to keep in mind when teaching beginners:

Honor each student as an individual

• Meet them where they are, every day. Whether they're inspired and focused or exhausted and blurry, acknowledge their state of being and don't try to alter it too much. There is one exception, however: in service of your student's learning process, you must learn to disarm frustration and procrastination quickly. Remind them that the work is its own reward, and learning to do it in the face of discouragement is part of the process. Remember to taylor your language to theirs: use their own metaphors when giving instructions and praise. Make sure to ask open-ended questions, and listen carefully to the answers. Listen more than you speak!

Understand that each student has the potential to become a Master

• Treat each student equally, and watch for unconscious biases in yourself. If you believe that only "the quiet ones" will turn into Masters, you will neglect all the others, and you may miss out on a miracle. Remember that your job is to reflect a vision of every student's Mastery, every time you teach them. Take a genuine interest in their creative process, and let them know that you believe in them. Be generous with praise when working with beginners, and make note of each step forward in their progress, no matter how small. 

Your presence says as much as your instruction

• Dress and groom yourself neatly: nothing sloppy or unkempt. But for goodness sake, wear it lightly! Be at ease with yourself, never formal or formidable, always approachable. As you establish a rapport with students and they start to trust you, you might become the recipient of some very personal sharing. Breathe deeply and remain calm under any circumstances. Never judge a student, but be compassionate and kind. This is the reason that you must always maintain good boundaries with students. NEVER act inappropriately with a student! Never flirt, tease, or act suggestively toward them. Treat them respectfully, always.

Share your greatest sources of inspiration

• Be generous with resources: reading and movie lists, online courses related to your art or craft. Be quick with suggestions when their inspiration is flagging, and draw from the lives of famous artists before the internet who forged inspiration from whatever was right in front of them. Describe significant breakthroughs that came from great inspiration on your own journey. Stress the importance of constantly feeding one's own inspiration, and the value of curiosity, exploration and discovery along the way. Point out community events that they can attend and be inspired by works in different kinds of art and creativity, and encourage them to play around in genres different from their own.

Provide personal examples of moving past fear

• Use select stories from your life and creative process to show how you got through times of low energy and existential depression. Remind them that the lives of artists contain many ups and downs as we learn to navigate the vast, uncharted waters of our talents and passions. Suggest meditation as a means of calming anxiety. Stress the importance of community over isolation, and encourage your students to collaborate with others. It's fine to provide a sympathetic ear for a student's angst, but know when a situation is beyond your ability, and be ready to suggest further help, like a therapist or other mental health professional. 
   

5 Tips for Artists About To Turn 30...

First of all, congratulations! You have beaten a certain notorious statistic and are about to make a huge leap forward in your life and your art. Turning 30 changes you, permanently, if you're lucky. It's the decade when we get serious about work and right livelihood, two terms that sound similar but are not necessarily the same thing. It's also the time when we start to figure out what love means to us, and how much we can learn from it. What you do and how you live in your 30's will set you up for the rest of your life. Set aside some time to consider the following as you cross over to the next realm:

Establish A Baseline of Health and Wellness

• Your physical health is one thing. Your overall wellness is another. There is certainly some overlap between them, but you can be in perfect physical health while still being "unwell". Your art will suffer greatly if your health and wellness are not in balance. Do you feel connected to your loved ones and community? Are you certain of your value to them, and to yourself? Do you have enough emotional energy in reserve to handle a crisis, or are you giving all your power away to others, or to a terrible job? Do you have some kind of spiritual and/or moral compass that you can rely on when things get rough? Do you love someone who actually loves you back? All of these things contribute to your wellness. Tend to them carefully, and you could experience a radical improvement in your quality of life. Find out exactly what is covered by your health insurance, and take full advantage of it. Get a complete physical and keep track of the results. Take care of any outstanding health issues, and start tracking any ongoing ones. Recognize any ongoing mental health issues, seek help from the right professionals, and get support from reliable sources. Understand your digestive and menstrual cycles, and observe the effects of what you eat on how you feel. Boost your immunity. Learn your family's health history, and manage all risk factors that are within your control. Get vaccinated. Establish a regular exercise routine, and know your physical limits so you can push them once in awhile. Breathe deeply every day and sleep restfully every night. Meditate, even if it's just for 10 minutes a day!

Start Thinking About Your Legacy

• In our 20's we are immortal. We don't acknowledge the shortness of life because we don't have to. Our bodies bounce back to factory-model condition, our whims change like weather systems, and our sense of time is unlimited. We make art with abandon, exploring, discovering, blundering, and making occasional breakthroughs. We might forget to eat, sleep, bathe, or pay our bills, so certain are we of the unceasing river of time in front of us. Once we turn 30 we start to become aware that there are only 24 hours in a day. What are we focused on? Can we identify recurring themes in our work, and let them point us toward a new understanding of ourselves and our art? What role does ambition play in our journey? What, if any, past creative successes can we use as a starting point for what we want to do next? What do we want people to feel when they interact with our art? More specifically, what do we want our artistic legacy to be? If we don't ask and answer these questions, and find a way to articulate them clearly, we might find ourselves at the mercy of others who decide that they know who we are and what we're about. There is nothing worse than feeling that your art is misunderstood! Your legacy is your responsibility. Pick up this paradigm and sign it with your blood, sweat, and love.

Develop Critical Awareness

• If you want to find your place in the world, learn how to deconstruct it. Can you see behind the curtain of our media circus? Do you understand our political system and the ways it affects us, and the ways in which we as artists can affect it? Do you recognize how much corporate interests shape not just our political system, but our entire culture? Do you know how to read between the lines, see beyond the edges, and hear beyond the noise? Don't be easily swayed by passion and rhetoric. Understand the difference between "facts" and "truth" as they are presented in our media, and seek reliable sources of both. In addition to looking at the world around us, developing a strong critical awareness is about knowing and understanding ourselves, so that we can make informed choices in our personal lives rather than blind ones. Can you tell the difference between someone you like and someone that truly compels you? Do you know why you're drawn to some people, but not others? People that compel us may not be good for us, and we can save ourselves a lot of grief if we avoid entangling with them. On the other hand, sometimes they can inspire a huge burst of passion and energy that changes the shape of our lives for the better. Only when we truly know ourselves can we know how to love someone else. There is a certain amount of psychology involved here, and some of it can be painful, as you sort through your past and move through your process of self-inquiry. You might want to enlist a professional for help. Be gentle with yourself, and be quiet in your mind so you can listen to your instincts (regular meditation will help!). Learn to identify trustworthy people and keep them close in your life and heart.

Draw Effective Boundaries Around Your Time and Energy

• You understand that there are only 24 hours in a day. Some of those are reserved for sleeping. Some are for working. Some for making your art. Some of those hours should be for your loved ones and community. This is a valuable investment of your time and energy that can restore and renew you. The trick is knowing when you've given too much. If you find yourself dreading the things you need to do and the people you need to do them with, it's time to re-examine your boundaries. Do you know how to say 'no thank you' to someone or something? Can you clearly articulate your reasons for opting out, and do you know when to keep them to yourself and just stick to "no thanks"? Are you able to distinguish between duty, friendship, family and favors? If time away from your art feels like a sacrifice, can you find a way to re-boot your entire schedule and let your loved ones know that things are going to be different for a bit, while you work on your craft? Banish guilt and replace it with genuine responsibility to your loved ones. Once good boundaries are in place, take extra care of your relationships by living up to your social commitments and being fully present when you're there. 

Practice Engaged Compassion and Generosity

• The world doesn't owe us a thing, but we owe each other the world. The future of our planet isn't looking so good, and many of us are unsure of what we can do about it. Artists are especially vulnerable to a certain kind of existential crisis, one that leads us to question whether we'e having any impact at all. Art can start to feel like a superfluous frivolity, something non-essential and even ridiculous, in the face of so much fear and uncertainty. But the fact is that artists have survived war, plague, famine, and genocide and come out the other side making art that uplifts and inspires the entire human race! This is a powerful gift that we can give, and we should be generous with it. Can you contribute your talents to a worthy cause? Look around in your community: who are the most vulnerable people, and what do they need? Which organizations are taking on their plight, and can you partner with them to put on a benefit event featuring local artists? Maybe you've found a cause that doesn't have a voice. Can you use yours to bring attention where it's needed? What kind of local environmental causes could use your help with mobilizing community actions? Can you donate some pro-bono art skills to help a struggling charity get its message out? Let compassion bloom in your heart, and put it into action with your art!