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Your Self-Doubt Is Not So Different – Episode 177
We all fear that no one will have any interest in our art. We fear that we will be discovered as a fraud by the true professionals. We all have that little voice in our head creating that self-doubt. I want you to understand that your self-doubt and fears are not so different from everyone else.
Does that happen to you? Do you get a little nervous when you get ready to publish an episode? What happens if I check my stats and it says zero?
Yep, we’ve all been there.
Fear and self-doubt happens to the best of every industry and niche.
THE AUTHOR’S FEAR
John is an author. He wasn’t always an author. He was an attorney and served in the state House of Representatives for ten years before he turned to writing full time.
Reading fiction was always a big part of John’s life. He discovered the classics in high school. He would eventually go on to collect first editions.
As he was starting to get the hunger for being a writer, John would visit his local bookstore. He would look at all of the best sellers and huge authors and think, “Who wants to hear from me.”
It took John three years to write his first book as he was practicing law in Mississippi. As he shopped it around, the book was rejected by 28 publishers. John finally found a small publisher that agreed to release a small run of the book.
The publisher printed a small run of 5,000 copies of that first book. As John tells it, the publisher didn’t have the funds to promote the book. So, he bought 1,000 copies of the novel himself and sold them out of his trunk all around Mississippi.
John also began writing his second novel as soon as the first was published.
The first book wasn’t selling. It book selling terms, it failed. No one bought the book. John did all he could trying to sell the 1,000 copies he had in his garage.
The second novel was published by Doubleday, which was a much larger publisher. When Hollywood released the film version of that book starring Tom Cruise, John’s original publisher decided to release the paperback version of the first.
Both books suddenly became best sellers, and John gained widespread popularity as an author.
After 10 years practicing law, John Grisham was now a best selling author. With the success of “A Time To Kill” and his second novel “The Firm“, John gave up his law career to become a full-time author.
His books have now sold over 275 million copies worldwide.
It all started with Grisham asking himself, “Who wants to hear from me?” Then, he paid no attention to the answer and wrote anyway.
Here is a best selling writer of legal thrillers who has written 38 books. Many of his books have made the New York Times best sellers list. He is arguable one of the most successful authors of our time.
Grisham would never have started if he didn’t find the confidence to overcome the impostor syndrome. He had to push past that voice in his head and write anyway.
You can hear him discuss his career on his podcast “Book Tour With John Grisham“.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
Here is the secret … once you push yourself to take the first step, release the first work, you begin to gain a little confidence. It is enough confidence to keep you pushing forward to release the next piece. However, that little voice will always be there.
Whether you are an author, podcaster or other artist, chances are you create your art alone in a room. We are all on the introverted side.
The magic secret is that introverts become extroverts when he gets behind the mic.
Does that happen to you? When you hit the record button, do you find a little more confidence each time?
We can be whomever we’d like behind the mic. Be as confident as you’d like.
Belief. Bragadoccio. Ego. Confidence. Expert. Anything you would like. Just make sure it is a healthy level.
Over time, your self-doubt will fade as confidence creeps into your everyday life. The introvert will remain. There will be times when you just want to sneak away by yourself for awhile. The introvert will just rule your life less and less as time passes.
It happens to all of us. We bury ourselves in our art, so we are not forced to deal with other people. “I’d love to go out this weekend, but I need to work on my book/podcast/art.”
The next thing you know, you are being invited to be interviewed, speak to groups, and coach others. The extroverted you begins to come out.
When John Grisham was writing that first novel, his wife was providing support and encouragement. He wrote the first chapter and gave it to his wife to read. She didn’t even know he was writing a book.
After Mrs. Grisham read the chapter, she told John, “I’d like to read more.” That simple sentence encouraged him to push forward and write additional chapters.
FIND YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT
We all need encouragement. We need that voice of reason to offset the self-doubt and little voice in our heads that says, “Who would ever want to hear from you?”
Find someone who is close to you. That person needs to have your best interest at heart and care enough to tell you the truth, even when it hurts a bit.
If you need someone like that to help you accomplish your goals, someone that can encourage you and hold you accountable, consider a coach. If you want to overcome your self-doubt, a coach can be a tremendous resource.
Get info on my one-on-one coaching program here:
PODCAST TALENT COACH ONE-ON-ONE COACHING
Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.
You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.
Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.