Mike Cannon-Brookes: How you can use impostor syndrome to your benefit

The speaker shares personal experiences with impostor syndrome, illustrating how it affects both professional and personal life. Despite achieving significant success, feelings of inadequacy persist. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not freezing in these situations, instead using them as opportunities for growth and learning. By sharing stories of entrepreneurial success and personal relationships, the speaker highlights that impostor syndrome is common even among successful individuals. The talk concludes with the idea that awareness and harnessing these feelings can lead to positive outcomes.

What was one of the initial goals of the speaker when starting his business?

• To become a millionaire

• To avoid wearing a suit to work

• To travel the world

• To work in a large corporation

What is the term used to describe the feeling of being out of depth and fearing exposure?

• Career uncertainty

• Success anxiety

• Impostor syndrome

• Fear of failure

How did the speaker feel when he won the New South Wales entrepreneur award?

• Confident and deserving

• Surprised and shocked

• Indifferent and uninterested

• Disappointed and regretful

What did the speaker realize about successful people and impostor syndrome?

• Successful people never feel like frauds

• Impostor syndrome is only for beginners

• Impostor syndrome disappears with success

• Successful people often feel like impostors

According to the speaker, what is a common feeling in successful relationships?

• Both partners feel superior

• Both partners feel indifferent

• Both partners feel out of their league

• One partner feels dominant

How did the speaker's interaction in the Qantas Lounge lead to a significant personal relationship?

• He pretended to be someone else

• He asked for directions

• He left the lounge immediately

• He ignored the woman

What did the speaker do when he felt out of his depth during the Twitter exchange with Tesla?

• Sought to learn and understand more

• Deleted his Twitter account

• Ignored the situation

• Publicly admitted defeat

What advice does the speaker give for dealing with impostor syndrome?

• Avoid new challenges

• Ignore the feeling

• Seek constant validation

• Embrace and learn from it

What was the speaker's reaction to the media attention after the Twitter exchange?

• He felt confident and prepared

• He felt like an impostor and sought to learn

• He ignored all media requests

• He felt indifferent to the attention

What does the speaker suggest is crucial when feeling out of depth?

• Quitting immediately

• Seeking constant reassurance

• Freezing and avoiding action

• Harnessing the situation for good