Even Neil Armstrong Felt Like a Fraud

You’re stood outside the networking event, pacing up and down, convinced that someone in there is about to find you out. Sound familiar? In this episode, Toby Martin takes on the topic nobody covers at property conferences, imposter syndrome, and shows why it may be one of your biggest professional strengths. Recorded live on his weekly show Distracted, the episode starts with how psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first described the “imposter phenomenon” in 1978, and why calling it a syndrome sets us up to feel like there’s something wrong with us. Toby goes through the six-step imposter cycle, Valerie Young’s five imposter types (from the perfectionist who wins the instruction but frets about the fee, to the superhero who’s last out of the office at 10pm), and the story of the two Neils: Neil Gaiman and Neil Armstrong, who put landing on the moon down to “just following instructions”.  Then come the practical fixes. Act before you feel ready, because confidence follows action. Keep an evidence file of your wins. Use a two-column list to test your doubts. Stop deflecting praise, and have a plan for what you’ll do after a mistake. Finally, drawing on Adam Grant’s Think Again and research by Basima Tewfik at MIT, Toby explains why people with imposter thoughts are often rated as better listeners, more empathetic and more collaborative. Swap imposter syndrome for confident humility: believe in your ability to learn while staying humble about what you know right now. 📚Want a free copy of the ‘Your First £100,000 Estate Agency’ book? ✅ DM me the word “BOOK” on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/estateagent.consultancy/ and I’ll send it straight over. 📥 Want FREE materials to help get you your next instruction?  Head to: https://www.estateagentconsultancy.com/freeintro 💻 Want to launch or scale your own estate agency business? Book a free discovery call here: https://theestateagentconsultancy.as.me/sixty-consultation 🎓 To access to our ‘Your First £100,000 Estate Agency’ video course.  Head over to: https://www.estateagentconsultancy.com/your-first-100000-digital-course 📅 Want to join our next free webinar? Get added to the VIP list to find out first: https://www.estateagentconsultancy.com/webinar Any questions? Just email: [email protected] or visit us at https://www.estateagentconsultancy.com