I am not a fraud.

A talk first given at the 2017 Maker's Summit in Greenville, SC about the pervasiveness of the Impostor Syndrome in the design community.

Transcript

1. I AM DEFINITELY NOT A FRAUD
2. I’m an illustrating Dad from Salt Lake City, Utah.
3. J I L L G
 R
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4. THINGS I WAS SCARED OF AS A KID (BUT DEFINITELY NOT ANYMORE) QUICKSAND KILLER BEES BULLIES (JONATHAN DONKIN) PRANK CALLERS (ANSWERING THE PHONE) AMERICA’S MOST WANTED SMOKERS (IN LEATHER JACKETS) DOGS (ALL KINDS) BIG KIDS (HIGH SCHOOLERS) NEIGHBOR DADS RATED-R MOVIES COFFEE DRINKERS BEARDS GRANDPARENTS DIVORCE
5. I didn’t graduate college. I don’t know what I’m doing.
6. I worked at a design agency in Salt Lake. I didn’t know what I was doing.
7. I was the marketing director of
 Big Cartel and, what even is that?
8. I run a shop selling goods loaded with odd vibes and sometimes good fortunes. And I don’t even know what I’m doing. Store.Beeteeth.com
9. I’m a Dan. And my other Dan is a Dan, too. And we’re both Young Jerks. YoungJerks.com
10. D A N D A N &
12. I M
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13. “I’m a fraud! They’re on to me!!!” - Tina Fey
14. “I don’t know how to act anyway, so why am I even doing this?” -Meryl Streep
16. CRE ATI V IT Y = VULNERABILITY
17. VULNERA BILITY = INSECURITY
18. INSEC U RI T Y = HONE S TY HONES TY = AU T HEN T ICI T Y
19. EXPERIMENT WITH PERSONAL PROCESS LOOSE SKETCHES ALLOW OURSELVES TO PLAY ALLOW OURSELVES TO FAIL EXPLORE PROCESS “TREAT” OUR CRAFT PROOF OF CONCEPT WASTE TIME AND MONEY ACCEPT RISKS WE SHRUG A LOT WORK EXTRA HARD
20. “Gifted people often work extra hard in order to prevent people from discovering that they are "impostors". This hard work often leads to more praise and success, which perpetuates the impostor feelings and fears of being "found out”.
21. I AM NOT A FRAUD!
22. INTERNALIZE OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS WRITE THEM DOWN/ TALK ABOUT THEM ASSOCIATE THEM WITH OUR REALITY
23. NOW THAT YOU’RE NO LONGER A FRAUD WHAT IS YOUR TIME WORTH?
24. Me. Worse than me. Better than me.
25. Me. Weirder than me. Less weird than me. You. You. You. You. You.
26. EXPERIMENT WITH BUSINESS PROCESS CUSHIONAPP.COM SHIPSTATION.COM XERO.COM BASECAMP.COM MAILCHIMP.COM BIGCARTEL.COM SPONSORED/PAID POSTS COLLABORATIONS GIVEAWAYS ACTUAL DIRECT EMAILS NEW VIDEO NEW PHOTOS NEW WEBSITE/CONTENT TOOLS PROMO
27. ALLOW YOURSELF TO PLAY (DIVERSIFY) ONLINE SALES WHOLESALE PROGRAM SUBSCRIPTION MODEL CONSULTANT HOURS PRODUCTION EXPERT HOURS FREELANCE PROJECTS TRADE YOUR TIME FOR EQUITY START SMALL BUSINESSES (PROJECT BY PROJECT) ASSESS/EMBRACE THE RISKS
28. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN YOU.
29. ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE
30. USE THE POWER OF THE SUN. (FAKE IT.)
31. 1/4 BELIEVE IN YOURSELF 1/4 KNOWLEDGE, POWER, SKILL 1/2 JUST FAKE IT
32. 1/4 BELIEVE IN YOURSELF 1/4 KNOWLEDGE, POWER, SKILL 1/2 JUST BE HONEST
33. IF DJT CAN BE PRESIDENT, WHY SHOULD ANY OF US FEEL INADEQUATE OR UNQUALIFIED
 EVER AGAIN. PERIOD.
34. THANKS A BUNCH! @Beeteeth