Take A Run! Trust Your Network! Lose The Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever doubted your ability when presented an opportunity?
Me too! But my network and a good morning run was the solution!
By Rhett Butler, Chief Brand Strategist
Running at 6:00 am has a spiritual effect on you.
By the way, I'm being generous by calling my 2.4-mile jaunt a complete run because if you take a power walk in between, you might be a glorified jogger-walker.
Still, there is a ministry between the limited traffic from bicyclists and other "runners," some actually though, and the calm, dewiness of dawn. There is nothing quite as awakening as the kiss of fresh air when you leave the door, knowing you woke up ready to break your body down and build up your soul.
This morning's reflection was on a moment of imposter syndrome, which I overcame with the help of my colleague, Renee M Harris.
With Maryland Economic Development Week coming up, she asked me to speak to the business owners of Hyattsville, MD. After accepting my brain was unkind and flashed a negative proposition: Do I know what I'm talking about? I speak all the time but mainly in the branding and marketing space but God has plans as this is the second opportunity to speak specifically about economic development with a little marketing tie-in.
Shout out to John-Anthony Mason and Chondria Andrews, MA for the first opportunity to moderate an economic development forum.
I emailed Renee with the "concern that I am not the best person for this opportunity?"
I have been working in economic development for three years. Although it wasn't my first professional discipline, I have learned so much that I am confident discussing the tenets of the industry through a Maryland lens.
Still, how many of you have also questioned your abilities when presented with an opportunity, especially a public-facing one? Not only did Renee explain that she felt that I was "the perfect person to share with the city's businesses on how they should be utilizing certain resources and bring additional exposure to their small business," when I saw her at a business event I helped facilitate yesterday, the first thing she said to me straight out of the parking lot was, "why would you email me that? I know what I was doing when I asked you!"
We laughed and had a moment, reinforcing that confidence comes from within and is also fortified from outside. Thank you to this Renee and all the Renees out there, who recognize and elevate within their ecosystem and are the staff to support their comrades when necessary.
If you are in the DMV stop by the City of Hyattsville Business Roundtable on Tuesday, October 21st, 2025, from 9:00 am - 10:30 am at Art Works Now.