10 Indicators You’re Leveling Up, Not Falling Behind

10 Indicators You’re Leveling Up, Not Falling Behind

Kelly Kennedy: Welcome to episode 275 of the Business Development Podcast, and today we're flipping the script on imposter syndrome. Too often it's painted as a red flag, a signal that you don't belong. But here's the truth. It's not a warning of failure. It's actually a marker of growth. Imposter syndrome shows up when you're stretching, when you're leveling up, when you're about to do something incredible.

In today's episode, we're gonna reframe it from fear to fuel, and give you the tools to use it as a guiding light on your path to success. Stick with us. You don't wanna miss. This episode.

Intro: The Great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.

And we couldn't agree more. This is the Business Development podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In broadcasting to the world, you'll get expert business development advice, tips, and experiences, and you'll hear interviews with business owners. CEOs and business development reps. You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business.

Brought to you by Capital Business Development CapitalBD.ca. Let's do it. Welcome to the The Business Development Podcast, and now your expert host. Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy: Hello. Welcome back to episode 275 of the Business Development Podcast. My gosh, guys, what an absolutely crazy week that I'm just coming off of.

We closed the podcast playbook series last week, which was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done in the journey of the Business Development Podcast so far. I spent a lot of time on that series, guys, and I got a lot of questions regarding it. I get that it wasn't you know, a typical series for the business development podcast, but it was something that I was insanely passionate about.

Something that I've wanted to do really. You know, I wanted to give back in that way probably since I got into podcasting and saw the power of it for not only my business thought leadership helping the world just so much good can come from people stepping up and starting shows. And so from the very beginning of the show, I wanted to tackle that, especially as I saw the impact.

And I did get some questions about it. I did have reach out from fans saying like, Hey, what are you doing? When are you getting back to the Real Everyday Business Development podcast? And well, it is now over. Today is the day we are back to the Business Development podcast, you know and love, but I am incredibly proud of what we've done with the Podcast Playbook series, and I hope that each and every one of you shares that.

Far and wide and helps us start a hundred thousand podcasts around this world and impacts millions and millions of lives over time. So thank you. Thank you. If it wasn't like your cup of tea, thanks for putting up with us and thank you for coming back. We are now back to the regular program business development podcast and do not have any upcoming series that we are focusing on.

Thanks for putting up with it. I hope you enjoyed it and let's get back to the regular everyday programming. That wasn't it though, like, it wasn't just the end of podcast playbook. So from there you know, we obviously had a really incredible show launch this weekend. Got to speak with Shark Tank winner, Dr.

Juan Salinas heard his journey, his incredible journey. If you haven't heard that show yet, go back one and listen to episode 274 with Dr. Juan Salinas of P-nuff Crunch, Shark Tank winner won a deal with Mark Cuban. It's an exceptional, exceptional story. And then from there, ran right into PodSummit in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

And I have to give a massive shout out to Tim Truax you know, CEO of PodSummit here in Canada. What an incredible event that he had put on. Met so many great Canadian podcasters. Learned a lot about the industry, how we're doing, where we're going, and it was just such a great time. Me and Shelby were in Calgary all weekend and just got to spend some time hanging out with Calgarians, you know, checkout downtown and just attended such a great event and actually had had supper with Vijay.

Some of you guys might know Vijayan Swaminathan, who is my co-host, one of my Cohosts for another show I do called Authentic Hustle that is on YouTube and got to meet up with him at PodSummit. We had dinner at the Calgary Tower, way, way high up Mountain, mountain View from the sky. It was pretty freaking cool.

So went from that right into heading back home, getting ready for Monday. Wake up Monday, guys, and guess what? We had an email in our inbox that we have made the finals for the Signal Awards in the business category. So it's just been like one whirlwind after another. It's been an absolutely incredible few days.

And also guys, there's a People's Choice Award that is a part of that. So not only. Have we made the finals for the business category. We're up against, I wanna say five to 10 other really great shows, but there's actually a voting happening right now that you guys could take part in and I would be insanely appreciative of.

And that's, if you could go to the Signal Awards. And click the people's choice button and then just select us in the business category, the business development podcast, and that will really, really, really help us. And I will have the direct link to that vote. Guys in the show notes for this episode, it's all over LinkedIn at this point as well.

So please, please, please, please, if you're hearing this. Sometime before, like October 9th, please vote for us. I would be endlessly, greatly appreciative. I could not, could not do this without you, but as you can tell, it's been, it's been a wild week. It's been a whirlwind and I just wanna thank each and every one of you for your support on this journey that we call the Business Development Podcast.

I could not have come this far without you. There's no doubt in my mind this show would not be as successful as it has become without your support, without you telling your friends, your family, your coworkers, without you showing up week over week, month over month, year over year. Guys, this is an independent show.

You might be really surprised to hear that we are not part of. Any network it is just yours truly. Kelly Kennedy, my company, capital Business Development. Putting this whole thing on we don't have the support of large networks, large advertising budgets. We have been insanely, insanely fortunate to have listeners of this show who loved what we did, who had companies step up to support us.

Colin Harms from Hypervac Technologies. Massive Shoutout. Been a supporter now for two years plus. We've had, you know, Rodney Lover from atWork Office Furniture, step Up. Nathan Plumb from Fabled Solutions. Jemia Zagiel from Pacific Ropes, Tim Zagiel. Just an incredible group of people who've stepped up to support this show.

Not big networks, people, and it really is the word of mouth. Your word of mouth that has kept this thing going for as long as it has. Like I said, we just don't have the money to be doing massive advertising and really. It's you guys, it's you guys telling your friends, your family members, your coworkers about this show that has kept this growth going, that has made anything possible, has made something like the Signal Awards even possible for us, which I am incredibly proud of because a lot of the shows that are in there are like Wondery, like big, massive ad budgets behind them.

And we're right up. There with them, little old business development podcast. It's right up there with them, and I'm so, so proud of that and I, I really have you guys to thank, so thank you so much. Thank you to the rock stars out there. This show is what it is because of you. This show continues because of you and will continue because of you.

So please continue to tell your friends, your family members, your coworkers. Follow us on every single listening platform you can. It really does help us to reach new audiences. When I was at PodSummit, one of the things that I learned is that. These days, all the all the platforms are really looking for are followers and listener engagement.

So what that means is the longer that you listen to our show, even if you just like put it on a bedtime and listen to it, the longer that you listen to our show, the more people who click that follow button. That's how they promote us. That's how they can continue to you know, trigger the algorithms and push this show far and wide.

So please. From the bottom of my heart. Tell a friend, tell a family member, listen to an entire episode and follow us on every platform you can. And that is the secret to continuing this show, to giving us what we need to keep growing. So thank you. Thank you so much. And just a massive thank you to our sponsors who've been with us, you know, off and on throughout the years.

That money goes a long way here. It allows us to do advertising when we can and continue to build great content. So thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. That's enough. That's enough sappy stuff from Kelly. I appreciate you guys so much. That's enough sappy stuff. Let's let's get into today's show and I wanted to talk about something that's come up just endlessly on this show.

I wanted to discuss imposter syndrome, but today I also want to discuss a very powerful idea when it comes down to imposter syndrome. See imposter syndrome has come up again and again on this show with insanely successful guests. Might I say, in fact, it's come up so often that I think at this point we need to find a way to flip the script because imposter syndrome does not seem to be something you should be running from.

In fact, guests on the show have proven it over and over again. Imposter syndrome isn't proof you don't belong. Instead, it's proof that you have reached a new level that stretches you. Keyword. It means that you have reached a new level. Literally you have leveled up. When you feel at a place, it often means that you're exactly where you are supposed to be.

Right on the edge of serious growth. Guys, this couldn't have been more true. I've told you the story when I launched the business Development podcast of how scared I was. I was absolutely terrified, guys. I had no idea whether anybody would even listen to this show. I remember thinking at the time, I sure hope somebody in the next city listens to me, let alone 152 countries around the world.

I had no idea the impact that I was about to make. Let's talk about episode three. For those of you who've been with us a long time, you know this story, but episode three was almost the end of the show. I was feeling imposter syndrome like crazy. Who am I to do this? Who am I to teach the world business development?

Do you really have the answers? Do you really know what you're doing? There's just so much there. The funny thing is if you listened to episode three, you'd probably never know, but that was almost the end of this show. That was almost the end of this show. Little did I know we were about to have an absolutely massive impact.

I was on the edge of serious growth at that time, and I didn't even know it. The greatest leaders, innovators, and high performers feel imposter syndrome the most strongly right ahead of their biggest breakthroughs. This is so true. You're feeling the most fear. Right ahead of something incredible. It is less about weakness and so much more about awareness.

What it's doing is showing you that you care enough to measure yourself against excellence. You're feeling like an imposter syndrome because you're trying to live up to something exceptional. That's incredible. It's an indicator that you are on an incredible path. Instead of fearing imposter syndrome, use it as a compass pointing you to areas where you're expanding your capacity or influence.

If you're feeling imposter syndrome, guys, it literally means you're on the right path. Keep going. The biggest growth that I have ever experienced personally has always come from pushing my limits, making the uncomfortable, comfortable, and I've talked about it on the show over and over again. When you are feeling uncomfortable, it means you're growing.

And when you're growing, you're on the right path. You're inner critic is always the loudest. Always the loudest. When your potential is highest. Don't mistake fear for failure. Push through, do the hard thing. Make the uncomfortable, comfortable you can and will make it out the other side. The further I go down this path with you, the more I realize just how true that is.

Right? I could have never seen the success of the Business Development podcast. What I saw in the beginning was the fear was not having the answers, was literally being a guy who, you know, had a career in business development, was pretty good at it. But I had a career in business development. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to doing a podcast.

I had no idea what it was going to lead to. I'd never done audio production before. I remember the first time sitting in front of a computer recording myself thinking, oh my gosh, I sound horrible thinking, who's gonna listen to this? Thinking, I have no idea how to edit this. How do I take out the breaths or the mistakes I made, like I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning, and had I quit right then, that would've been easy.

But look where we're at today. Multi award-winning show. Thanks to you, our incredible audience, but multi award-winning show because I didn't quit because I looked at this really hard thing and I kept going and I continue to keep going. And guys, it doesn't always get easier. There's plenty of times that I sit down to write the show plans for these episodes and just think, oh my gosh, like, this is frigging hard.

The podcast Playbook is a perfect example of that. It was really, really hard. There were parts of that I was not enjoying myself, that I was like, Ugh. I just didn't wanna make a mistake. I was measuring myself against excellence because I wanted to make sure you guys had the best possible information, the best possible material to make yourself successful.

And when you measure yourself against excellence, you can feel small, but you can't grow unless you are. Measuring yourself against excellence. You can't become excellent if you don't know what the baseline is, if you don't push yourself to get there. Imposter syndrome is showing you that you are on the right path.

And the other thing to remember, guys, that imposter syndrome is completely universal. We all face it, right? Like hundreds of interviews at this point, guys and imposter syndrome pretty much comes up. All the time. Literally all the time. No matter how successful you are, no matter what position you're in, CEO, vice president, just getting started, employee, we're all facing imposter syndrome.

It's so universal, but nobody was talking about it. I get that. We talk about it now, which has been, you know, a great outcome of the last five years, but nobody was talking about it. Think about it. People that you admire, probably everybody that you admire has admitted at some point to facing imposter syndrome.

That is how normal it is. Why not see it as a badge of honor? Flip the script. It is not something to fear. It is literally a badge of honor. You know what it means to me? If you're facing imposter syndrome, it means that you are going to be somebody incredible. You are going to do something amazing. That is the path that you're on.

Imposter syndrome is not something to fear. It is an indicator. Of your future success, you are on the right path. So let's rephrase the way that we look at imposter syndrome. Here are 10 signs that you are not losing, but instead you are pushing your boundaries growing. Leveling up. If you are experiencing any of these 10 things, you are probably on the right path.

Number one, you are in rooms with people who once intimidated you. That's amazing. There's something to be said about being the dumbest person in the room, and I'm using that as a bit of a slang or, or an idea. I don't think any of you are dumb, but there's something about being the person in the room looking around and thinking, wow, am I really here?

That's the room you wanna be in because that room is going to force you to grow. That room is going to surround you with people who will lift you up. If you are in a room with people who intimidate you, it won't be long until you are one of them. Remember that. Number two, you're asked to work or speak on topics you once dreamed of.

This is amazing when you get to the point where you are the expert, where you're the one being asked to come in and give a talk on something. That's incredible. It's scary as hell, but it is incredible. It absolutely means that you are on the right path. Don't turn these opportunities down. No matter how much they scare you, the growth, the level up you are about to experience will change your world forever.

Step into it. Number three, the projects that you are taking on feel bigger than your current capacity or capability. Here's the thing, if we're not pushing the boundaries, taking on projects, taking on things that are like, oh my gosh, this scares the bejesus outta me. What are we doing? We have the capability to push these boundaries and really expand, do something truly incredible, bring things to the world that will change the world.

You absolutely can and will do that. Don't turn away from these projects. Grab them and learn as you go. Most people don't have all the answers, me included, until I'm in the thick of it. Every amazing adventure starts with a first step, then another. Every massive journey, every scaling of Everest starts with a single step, and no, they don't have all the answers.

They figure it out one step at a time. Number four, you're nervous because the stakes are finally meaningful. Listen, if you are really nervous about an outcome, that means that outcome is probably pretty freaking incredible. It's probably meaningful and worthwhile. You are on the right path. Keep on it.

Number five, others see you as the expert even when you don't feel like you are. That's the thing. If you are there being looked at as the expert, guess what? You are the expert. You are the expert, whether you believe it or not, you are the expert. There are times where even in business development, I start to feel small.

I can feel small, like do I have all the answers? The funny thing is I live up to it and so will you. There are plenty of situations where you don't feel like the expert in the room, but it's just a feeling you're there because you belong there. Remember that? Number six, you're learning faster than ever because you're stretched so thin.

You're learning 'cause you don't have a choice. That seems like me in audio editing. I was learning audio editing so fast because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and yet I was producing a show twice a week. That's where I was at. You will be amazed at how fast you can learn and how much you can learn when the fire is on your butt.

Okay. Don't worry about it. If you are, if you're in this situation where you're being forced to expand quickly, it's okay. It's just temporary, but you are going to learn this thing and it is going to change your world from that point forward. Number seven, opportunities are coming to you. Instead of you chasing them, people are knocking your door because they're recognizing that you can absolutely do what they need.

You can absolutely make that impact for them. When people are coming to you, it's showing you that you are on the right path. It's showing you that you have an expertise that is sought after. Remember that you are an expert. Number eight, you're being recognized or invited to circles that you used to admire from a distance.

You are being recognized. You are leveling up. Number nine, your old strategies feel too small for where you are now. Listen, what served you before probably isn't going to serve you in the future. That's very important to remember. What got you to today. Doesn't necessarily get you to tomorrow. We have to be constantly evolving and looking to grow.

Looking to grow personally, looking to grow professionally, looking to make that impact. What got you to today doesn't get you to tomorrow. You need to learn new skills. You need to level up. You need to push your boundaries. That's why constantly putting yourself in that discomfort of learning, of pushing boundaries is taking you to who you were born to be.

Number 10, your self-doubt is louder, only because the spotlight on your success just got brighter. That's the thing. When you excel, when you step up, it shines a big, bright spotlight on you. And that spotlight is saying you have to keep going. You have to keep growing. People are paying attention. Here's the thing, it doesn't stop.

It doesn't stop. If it stops, you die. You're like a shark. If you stop swimming, you die. You gotta keep going. You just had a great success. Amazing. Note it down, recognize it, but keep growing. Keep growing because one day you're gonna look back and that success that was crazy hard, crazy big, took you so much to get to today, it'll seem minuscule to where you go, to what you become, to who you become.

Where you're at today is just a sliver of who you are going to be in five to 10 years from now. Growth never stops. Now I get it. These are all signs that we're on the right path, but just because it's a good sign does not mean it feels good in the moment. Actually, it can feel downright horrible. Growth can hurt.

Growth can be uncomfortable. The goal is not to silence the feelings of imposter syndrome. It's to learn how to accept them, work with them, and not run from the challenge. After all, you have a world to change. You have a purpose to fulfill. So when the imposter syndrome is screaming at the top of its lungs, who the hell do you think you are?

Instead of running, let's pick up the toolkit and keep going. Here are five. Powerful strategies to flip the script and put the power back where it belongs in your hands. Number one, you have to name it. Call it what it is. It's imposter syndrome. When you're feeling it, say it. I'm experiencing imposter syndrome.

Labeling it takes away its hidden power over you and puts the power right back in your control. You will be surprised how fast you feel better when you just say what you are feeling. Number two, anchor in wins. Gordon Sheppard just did an amazing session inside Catalyst Club talking about wins, talking about we need a wins list.

When was the last time you sat down and you wrote out all of the major wins in your business over the last couple years? It's a powerful experience, but you will be surprised with how many there are. It's time to write down that wins list. Keep a record of achievements and revisit it when the doubt gets loud, because it always will.

But guess what? Facts. Always win. The lists always bring you back to reality. Number three, shift to service. Focus on the people you're helping instead of whether you're enough. 'cause here's the thing, as you help people, they are ultimately going to build you up. They're gonna give you feedback that's gonna make you feel like a million.

Bucks. You will be surprised at how fast things can move forward when you're not focusing on the imposter syndrome, but making that impact you were born to make. Number four, reframe the nerves. See adrenaline as fuel for growth, not a signal of weakness. Instead of saying, I have to do this, say I get to do this.

How incredible is it that I'm in this situation? How incredible are the next few years of my life gonna be when I do this? You have to reframe it in your head. Let's take public speaking as an example. Many of us, me included, get terrified with public speaking. But here's the thing, if we can reframe it and say, I get to do this, what an incredible opportunity.

You'll be surprised how fast your body's like, oh. We're good. Like we don't need to be worrying about this and the anxiety tones back. It might not go away completely, but it absolutely tones back. Practice reframing it, practice flipping the script. It will change things for you. Number five, take action anyways.

No matter what, even if you're afraid, take action anyways. Confidence is built in motion. Keep moving. Every step forward is proof that you belong. Here's the thing, I've talked about it since the beginning of the show. You can be afraid to do something, but if you continue to do that thing, not only do that thing, but you're excelling at it pretty soon.

Your body can't tell you you're an imposter. If you're absolutely crushing that new position, doing those speaking gigs, starting that podcast and you're doing it, it doesn't take very long until your brain is like, well shit, I guess you got this figured out. I guess we can't call you an imposter this 'cause you're absolutely crushing it.

You have to keep going the way through is through the way through. Is to keep going. Do that hard thing. You will be surprised how fast your brain switches and says, okay, I'm done. I'm not gonna call you an imposter. 'cause not only are you doing this, you are freaking exceptional at it. Keep going. And last but not least, number six, borrow belief until yours catches up.

Borrow belief. Surround yourself with people who see your potential clearly. When your own confidence waivers lean on their vision of you as proof that you are really capable of more than you could have ever imagined. See, the thing is other people can see our greatness. There's been plenty of times in my life where other people are like, Kelly, you're doing some pretty amazing stuff.

And in the moment I'm feeling like I'm not really doing that much amazing stuff. Like you don't wanna give yourself the credit. Many other people, especially if they love you and care about you, they see your potential, they see your greatness. And if they say it, believe it. Believe it. They see in you who you are going to become.

Remember, imposter syndrome is not a sign of your impending doom, okay? It's not. It's not a sign of your impending doom, so stop looking at it as such. Instead, it's a growth indicator. It's a compass pointing the way forward when it shows up. It's not telling you to stop. Instead, it's telling you to keep going because you were born to do incredible things, and this is the path.

Believe in yourself. Stand strong, face the challenge head on. Growth is never easy, but it is always worth it. You absolutely got this. That takes us to the end of today's show, and we haven't done one in a really long time, so I thought let's do a show update. My gosh, 31 months of the Business development podcast.

Guys, we're sitting at 31 months of the show, 284,100 downloads We're sitting at. 4,300 followers on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, 3,268 followers on LinkedIn. Please come hang out with us on LinkedIn. Guys, we have lots going on there. I'm very active. We have posts going up both on my personal pages and corporate pages, basically every day.

Always looking for. Support always looking for follows, guys, like I said, it makes a huge difference in the algorithm. Please do give us a follow on your platforms of choice if you are not doing so yet and come hang out with us on LinkedIn. Last but not least, if you wanna get ahold of me or you have a question for the show or show topic ideas, we are taking show topic ideas for 2026.

If you have a great idea, if you have a question regarding business development, entrepreneurship, podcasting, shoot it on over podcast@capitalbd.ca. If you just want to gimme some feedback, let me know how we're doing. Let me know how the show's made an impact on your life. I would love, love, love to hear from you.

One of my favorite things, guys, when fans of the show write in, I can't tell you how impactful it is to see that we're actually making a difference in your life. I do read everything. I read everything. I read all the messages, I read all the emails. So, please do shoot me an email podcast@capitalbd.ca.

And last but not least, please give us a vote. Really could use your vote right now. Voting is open until I wanna say October 9th. Please do hop on over to the Signal Awards or just click the link in the description of this show. It will be there and it'll take you straight to the point where you can vote for the Business Development Podcast for People's Choice 2025.

And my gosh, would I appreciate it. Massive, massive. Thank you. If you do choose to do this, it helps us greatly and it can really make a difference in the longevity of this show. Shout outs this week. Jon Neumann, John Pelley, Cassandra Toroian, Gary Noseworthy, Alinnette Casiano, Mario Hernandez

Ashley Bartlett, Adolfo Tavera. Rudy. A Zacharias, Vijayan Swaminathan, Colin Harms, Dan Sonenberg, Mike Hayes, Iza Montalvo, Cruz Gamboa. Rodney Lover, Aaron Haberman, Jamar Jones, Daveed Henriquez, Amin Samji Janice Baskin, and Dr. Juan Salinas. Until next time, you've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.

Outro: This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy. Kelly has 15 years in. Sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry, and founded his own business development firm in 2020. His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.

The show is brought to you by. Capital Business Development, your business development specialists. For more, we invite you to the website @ www.capitalbd.ca. See you next time on the Business Development Podcast.