By Younas Chaudhary

Do you doubt your abilities? Do you think you are not good enough or you are imperfect? The world calls it “imposter syndrome” or the condition of feeling anxious and not experiencing success internally, despite doing well externally.

When impostor syndrome hits you, you feel like “a fraud” or “a phony” and you doubt yourself along with your abilities.

Imposter syndrome is common and happens to most of us. I felt I was no good when I started my oil and gas business in the late 1970s. I had a very challenging environment around me with daily headlines about the Iranian hostage crisis. Here I was, a brown, Iranian-looking person in the middle of rural white Kansas scouting for oil. I am sure many farmers around Chanute, Kansas would have suspected that I was an Iranian trying to steal oil from their backyards.

I started out anxious, constantly doubting my abilities and had no clue about the oil and gas business. I began leasing land for Canadian investors, but many of the local farmers would not lease their acreage to me. Some would not even talk to me, making me believe my looks were causing trouble.

Didn’t they like me? Sometimes a landowner would promise to lease land and would not return phone calls despite multiple attempts. With no cell phones, the only other way was to keep knocking on their doors.

One of my first oil and gas leases was the Calvin lease. Securing that lease was a never-ending struggle with impostor syndrome. There were so many times that I felt I was not good enough and was not meant to do this because the landowner was negative, slow moving, and would push me out of the opportunity.

Calvin, the elderly landowner, would leave me clueless for weeks even though I really wanted to lease his land. The Calvin lands already had several existing oil wells fully equipped sitting shut-in, with tank batteries and equipment, ready to be put online with relatively minor work. The previous oil company went broke and left everything there.

Despite all my efforts, I was struggling to get the Calvin lease. Fortunately, I was able to secure his neighbors’ leases, and I became more confident. I felt that if I persevered, I could secure the Calvin lease too.

Calvin finally agreed to lease me his land with oil wells on it. I did quite a bit of work to get the oil wells running. I vividly remember the first day when I turned on the oil wells and oil started gushing out into the stock tanks. Both the landowner and I were jumping up and down in joy. At that moment, all of my self-doubt vanished. I felt I could do anything with right planning and consistency.  

Giving up is not a good choice when you are faced with impostor syndrome. Create a positive vibe in you and believe that whenever you fall you can get back up and succeed. Be timely, patient, start small, consistent and be passionate. Stay Blessed!

Disclaimer

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.