Creativity needs private time, and, when ready, creativity then needs public fame.

that is quick to welcome in confusion and low self-esteem benefits from imaginary allies and new language. Aggressive self-talk really can help: “Screw you, critic. I have something to offer. I’ll work it out in public. If it costs me jeers from unforgiving people, then that’s OK. I’m the one who has to live with me. Nobody else has to do that.”

Strategists are mediums. Your work is to channel other people.

Next time you feel it, tell yourself that’s not you feeling like an impostor. Tell yourself that’s how it feels to care about doing something well. Then go do it. It’s one way to feel like a friend to yourself and not like a powerless outsider.

Strategy makes people feel. It makes you feel. It makes your colleagues feel. It makes your clients feel.

Savings are for your piggy bank. These are thoughts you’ve stashed over the years. They are observations, quotes, what-ifs, and research waiting to spring into the world. They marinate in your vault, and they emerge with interest.

Perhaps the silver lining of the impostor phenomenon is this: It’s a sign you want to improve.

The lone-wolf identity is also a preemptive strike at rejection, because people can’t reject what doesn’t seek acceptance.

A brain