The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex - Overcoming Imposter Syndrome – Embracing Your Success

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

In Episode 70, we delve into a challenge many high achievers face: Imposter Syndrome. Join me as I guide you through proven strategies to overcome self-doubt and embrace your success. From my journey patrolling the streets of Oakland as a cop to running multimillion-dollar businesses, I've experienced imposter syndrome firsthand. Despite clear evidence of success, nagging doubts about worthiness can creep in. In this episode, I share what has worked for me and can work for you too.“Your Network is your NETWORTH!”Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:Instagram: https://jo.my/paulalex2024Facebook: https://jo.my/fbpaulalex2024Youtube: https://jo.my/ytpaulalex2024Linkedin: https://jo.my/inpaulalex2024Looking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur?Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you:www.ATMTogether.comwww.Merchantautomation.comFREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream”www.officialPaulAlex.comLeave a review, like and share to help others and let’s level up together!

Welcome to the Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight-figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together.

Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Today, I'm going to guide you through another challenge that many of us face as we climb the ladder of success, imposter syndrome. So I'm going to be diving into what actually works, what has worked for me, and what can work for you. patrolling the streets in the city of Oakland in California as a cop to now finding and running multi-million dollar businesses I felt at first hand. Despite clear evidence of success, those haters nagging doubts about worthiness can creep in. But why does this happen to us? Well, guys, just like I said, the haters. No matter what you do in life, you will always have people that have something to say. The reason why is

because they're comfortable in their own situation. They don't want to level up. They don't want to see you level up. And from my experience, people that are the closest to you want you to do well, but they don't want you to do better than them. So to give you a short story from my perspective, when I was in police academy, I remember people were like, man, you're going to make a great cop. But also, I did have a small percentage of officers that were just straight up haters. They thought they were the elite. They thought because they came from either the military or they came from some specialized training that they were going to be the top tier cops in the department. But guys, within a year, I was already getting shoulder tapped by the command staff and I was already getting placed to go into investigations. Look, you know you're worthy.

You know you're successful. You know you're the best. So do not let the haters bring you down. Imposter syndrome often stems from a fear of being found out or not believing you deserve success. It's common among high achievers just like you and me who set extremely high standards for ourselves. So let's tackle the first step in overcoming this. Acknowledgement. Recognize and admit to yourself that you're experiencing these feelings. Awareness is the

starting point for change. It was for me when I transitioned from public service to entrepreneurship, feeling like I didn't belong in the business world despite all my successes. Look, the last two years in law enforcement, when I had built a sustainable, very simple side hustle that had to do with ATMs. Yes, it's boring. Yes, it's simple. Did I have people talking shit? Yes, I did. They were like, you're not going to make money off of charging fees from people borrowing your money from those machines.

Little did they know, within 18 months, I became financially free. I was able to cover all my bills, I was able to buy my first six figure car, because I was able to leverage a simple side hustle that I believed in that I had the vision in. So I did not let the haters rain on my parade guys, and you shouldn't either. So once you acknowledge this, reframe your thoughts, understand that imposter syndrome is just a reaction. It's not reality. It's crucial to know the difference between feeling incompetent and actually being incompetent. Reflect on your achievements, not as flukeses but as the results of your efforts and skills

this all comes down from your vision write them down review them and let them serve you as an undeniable proof of your capabilities all right this is why people do vision boards guys they go ahead and they put down what they have achieved, but then also they put down what they want to bring into the future. If you look at the most highly successful people in this world, every single one of them can tell you that they've already envisioned their life before they actually got successful. Another effective strategy is to share your feelings with trusted peers or mentors. Often you'll find that you're not alone in these feelings. Look, I'm telling you straight from me, guys, this happens to everyone who is highly successful.

Many successful people experience imposter syndrome. Sharing can not only normalize these feelings, but also sharing can not only normalize these feelings, but also help diminish them. My mentors were instrumental in helping me see my value and encouraging me to push beyond my doubts. Guys, this is why I'm big on self-education. It wasn't until I actually invested some serious money into being in different environments that forced me to level up. Look, right now, if you are the person that's making the most money out of your circle, you need to level up your circle. They're not going to encourage you to go ahead and push yourself farther. They're not going to encourage you to be uncomfortable so you could get comfortable in the future. So what did I have to do? I had to invest close to $50,000 to join a mastermind with other high performers that were making eight, nine figures, guys. So at the end of the day, I'm trying to get to nine figures, right? I'm trying

to retire, fully retired by the time I'm 40, where then I'm just traveling the world and speaking on stage. That's my dream, guys. So with that being said, if you need to level up your circle, I highly recommend finding mentors that you want to be a part of their group and paying them. That's the value you're exchanging. Obviously, they've worked so many years and they worked so hard to get the success, guys. So if you want that similar success, you want to get a taste of it, you want to get the vision of it, you want to be near it, then you got to pay. So when it comes down to it, also trying to accept that perfection is untainable. You can't be a perfectionist in entrepreneurship or in life. That's just general. Instead of beating yourself up over mistakes or shortcomings, view them as natural parts of the learning and growth process. Look, in my early days as a detective back like in 2017, mistakes were often seen as learning

opportunities for me, a perspective I always carried into my businesses. So I already had that experience, guys, see from law enforcement. If I never went into law enforcement, if I never had a nine to five in corporate America, I wouldn't have these perspectives going into business. This is why I'm able to think on my feet. This is why I'm the visionary for all my companies. This is why typically, you know, everybody comes to me for the ideas. Right. Because of my experience. So finally, practice self-compassion. Be as kind to yourself as you would be to a friend in the same situation. Think about it like this, guys. Think about if your mom didn't believe in herself. Think about if your sister didn't believe in herself. Think of your brother didn't believe in yourself.

Somebody that you love, right? So are you going to tell them, no, you can't do it? No, it's family. You're going to go ahead and you're going to show grace. You're going to treat them like you would to a family member. So you've got to have grace. You're going to treat them like you would to a family member. So you've got to have compassion. Even if let's say you've got 90 employees like we have right now, I treat respect and I have compassion for all my employees because you never know what they're going through. So with that being said,

guys be as kind to yourself as you would be to a friend or a family member in the same situation, acknowledge your hard work and the challenges you've overcome. kind to yourself as you would be to a friend or a family member in the same situation. Acknowledge your hard work and the challenges you've overcome. You got to celebrate your growth as well, guys, and all the small wins along your journey, not just like the big milestones, basically. Okay. And I'm gonna give you guys a great example. Like for me right now, guys, I've been hesitant for like the past year of finally getting one of my other milestone vehicles, right? So as you guys know, I have quite a few vehicles now. And I'm not a big car guy, but a milestone trophy for me was getting a Ferrari.

And that's what I did. I got a Ferrari. So what is that? That's basically celebrating the milestone because as I grow in my entrepreneurship journey, but then as a boss, as a CEO and all that jazz, you've got to reward yourself. You've got to be like, look, this is something that's going to remind me of all my hard work and exactly where I came from. It was the same thing when I bought my first Rolex. I didn't buy my first Rolex until I hit a million dollars, guys. I had a million in the bank.

And then I was like, you know what? I'm going to go buy a Datejust. And that's what I did. I bought a very simple Datejust just like me. I like silent luxury, guys. So with me, when I wear that, it symbolizes my hard work. And that's what you guys got to do. You guys got to buy things that symbolize your hard work, that symbolize that strong meaning of what you're doing it for, right? So remember, overcoming imposter syndrome doesn't happen overnight. It requires patience, persistent effort, and self-reflection. But by actively working through those feelings,

you can begin to truly accept and celebrate your success. Your success is not a product of luck, but a testament to your hard work and dedication. You got to own it. You got to celebrate it and never doubt that you are where you are at because it's meant to be. God's plan, guys. So keep moving forward, keep striving and keep reminding yourself that you are more than capable of handling the success that you've worked so hard to achieve. Stay confident, stay inspired, and as always, keep leveling up. Remember, I always have your six. Make sure to share this episode with your family, friends, and anyone you care about. The world's already hard enough and we need to take care of each other. Make sure to share this episode on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and share it with the world.

Do me a big favor and tag me, Paul Alex. Also, keep the five-star reviews on iTunes coming. This episode is going to help change the way the world thinks and will help everyone level up in their life. And lastly, if you want to continue to level up, learn more about business and life, then make sure to get a copy of my book, From Blue to Digital Gold, The New American Dream,

on Amazon or at officialpaulalex.com.