You Are Not An Impostor

Despite the attention that impostor syndrome has gotten in the Ruby community recently, so many amazing developers still hide in fear of being discovered as frauds. These developers chalk their achievements up to everything except their own talent and don't believe they deserve their success. I know, because I've struggled with impostor syndrome my whole career. In this talk, I'll show you what makes impostor syndrome so powerful and how you can break free from the grip it has on your life.

As presented at Railsconf 2014

Transcript

1. YOU
   ARE not AN IMPOSTOR
   

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2. HI, I'M NICK
   ( @NMEANS FOR THOSE PLAYING ALONG ON MOBILE DEVICES)
   

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3. I build stuff at
   to help fix healthcare
   

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4. BIGGEST FEAR AT WORK
   

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5. A DECADE
   

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6. FIRED
   

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7. How many times have I been fired in
   10+ years of software development?
   

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8. ZERO
   

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9. (but it might happen any day now)
   

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10. IMPOSTOR
    SYNDROME
    

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13. LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE
    BIT ABOUT YOURSELF
    

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14. AN INTROVERT
    

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15. A PERFECTIONIST
    

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16. A WORKAHOLIC
    

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17. A PROCRASTINATOR
    

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18. AFRAID OF FAILURE
    

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19. UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN COMPLIMENTED
    

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20. FEEL LESS COMPETENT THAN YOUR PEERS
    

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21. YOU'RE NOT
    ALONE
    

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22. 70%
    

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23. 2 THINGS
    

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24. 1. HOW YOUR BRAIN
    TROLLS YOU
    

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25. 2. HOW TO PATCH
    YOUR BRAIN
    

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26. LET ME TELL YOU
    A STORY
    

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36. THE
    IMPOSTOR
    CYCLE
    

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37. ABOUT THAT
    BRAIN OF YOURS
    

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38. INTROVERSION
    

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39. PERFECTIONISM
    

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40. WORKAHOLISM
    

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41. PROCRASTINATION
    

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42. FEAR OF FAILURE
    

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43. DENIAL OF SUCCESS
    

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44. FEAR OF SUCCESS
    

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45. IMPOSTOR
    SYDROME AND
    TECHNOLOGY
    

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46. VASTNESS OF KNOWLEDGE
    

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47. PEER SCRUTINY
    

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48. IN PRACTICE
    

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49. IMPOSTORS DON'T:
    

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50. IMPOSTORS DON'T:
    PARTICIPATE IN
    CONVERSATIONS
    

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51. IMPOSTORS DON'T:
    ASK QUESTIONS
    

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52. IMPOSTORS DON'T:
    TEACH OTHERS
    

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53. IMPOSTORS DON'T:
    CONTRIBUTE TO OPEN SOURCE
    

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54. IMPOSTORS DON'T:
    CHANGE JOBS
    

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55. PATCHING
    YOUR BRAIN
    

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56. KNOWING IS
    HALF THE BATTLE
    

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57. PAY ATTENTION
    

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58. ACCEPT YOUR SUCCESS
    

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59. FORGIVE YOUR MISTAKES
    

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60. RATCHET YOUR FREAKOUT
    

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61. EMBRACE VULNERABILITY
    

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62. #PAIRWITHME
    ( @NMEANS)
    

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63. KEEP GOING
    

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