Ever feel like you're an impostor? That can be a good thing.
Ever feel like you're an impostor? That can be a good thing.
I had a conversation with my co-worker Rob yesterday and he was worried that he was an impostor. I said that in some scenarios, that's actually a good thing.
Here's the backstory.
Rob is a huge Pokemon Go fan and awesome iOS developer, and built an iPhone and Apple Watch companion app for the game called GoTypeChart.
The app helps you quickly figure out what type of Pokemon to use for Gym battles in Pokemon Go.
I don't play the game, so I don't know much, but apparently there isn't always a right answer for which Pokemon to use in each scenario. And some other "experts" said that some of the recommendations in Rob's app were wrong.
Due to the negative reactions to his app's suggestions, he felt that he was just an amateur Pokemon Go player and didn't deserve to have an app like this in the App Store.
Rob felt like an impostor.
I said that's OK.
The word "impostor" has negative connotations that typically include fraud and trickery. It doesn't always have to be viewed that way.
Everyone is an impostor at some point.
Any time you learn something new and try to apply what you learned to a problem you've never faced before, you're an impostor. You don't really know what you're doing, but you're giving it a shot.
If you pre-sell a product that doesn't even exist yet, you're an impostor. Kickstarter? Full of impostors. But that's a damn good thing that you were able to do that.
If you build an app but aren't really sure what you're doing, you're an impostor. But you're building something and putting your skills out on display, and that's brave.
Impostors may lie and say that they know what they are doing, when they really don't. But if you give it a shot and learn along the way, being an impostor can be a good thing. It means that you're trying new things and growing.
So go ahead and be an impostor (the good kind).
Have you ever felt like an impostor, and what did you do about it? Talk to me in the comments!
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