Your modesty isn't making you more likeable - it's making you invisible to the people who desperately need what you offer...

While you're busy staying humble and worrying about looking like a dick, someone out there who needs you, can't find you. Or they find you but don't believe you can help them because you're playing small.

What This Episode Covers
We're tackling imposter syndrome, the resistance to "bragging," tall poppy syndrome, and all the cultural conditioning that keeps you making yourself smaller.

The Big Ideas
Confidence vs Arrogance:
A. Owning your expertise: "I've spent 10 years learning how to solve this exact problem. I've worked with dozens of clients who've got results. I know what I'm doing and I can help you."
B. Being a dick: "I'm the only person that can solve your problem. Everyone else is shit."

One invites people in. The other pushes them away.

Imposter Syndrome Reframed
Imposter syndrome is a refusal to integrate your experience into who you are. Your clients didn't pay you for luck - they paid you for your expertise. When you refuse to own that, you could say you're not being humble, you're being slightly dishonest.

What Your Future Clients Need
They're scared, uncertain, investing money that feels like a stretch. They need confidence in you. Your confidence gives them permission to trust you. Your belief that you can help them creates space for them to believe in their own transformation.

Four Ways to Own Your Expertise

1. Talk About Results - Show what happens because of what you do
2. Be Confident in Your Messaging - Stop using "I think" or "maybe" or "it's just my opinion"
3. Be Specific - Specific truths sound like expertise; vague claims sound like bullshit
4. Own Your Perspective - Say "Here's what I've learned" not "I think this might work"

Key Takeaways

• Your modesty is not a virtue if it's keeping people from finding you
• Your imposter syndrome is a refusal to integrate your experience
• Your fear of being "too much" robs your future clients of the confidence they need
• The people who need you are looking for someone confident and certain

Ready to Do This Work?
If you're ready to do the identity work around becoming the woman who has the business you want, let's explore working together. I've been doing this for a long time. I'm good at it.
Book a call: https://go.oncehub.com/gillmoakeschat

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:37 This Week's Topic: Owning Your Expertise
04:39 Understanding Imposter Syndrome
08:41 Overcoming Tall Poppy Syndrome
10:47 Steps to Own Your Expertise
15:06 The Identity Shift: Becoming Your True Self
18:16 Conclusion and Call to Action

For most of my life, I genuinely believed I wasn't creative. Like, hand on heart, I would tell anyone willing to listen that I didn't have a creative bone in my body. And I really believed it.

Why? Because to me, creativity meant one thing: being able to draw or paint. And since I can't do that (trust me, this isn't false modesty – I literally cannot draw to save my life), I wrote myself off completely.
But here's what I've finally realised: I've been using the wrong definition of creativity my entire life. And in doing so, I've been denying a fundamental part of who I am.

So, here's what I'm sharing with you in this episode:

• The narrow definition of creativity I carried from childhood into my business
• How I finally recognised that the way I think, write, and solve problems IS creative
• Why this isn't just about creativity – it's about the identity stories we tell ourselves. The stories you might be telling yourself that are keeping you stuck ('I'm not strategic', 'I'm not good with money', 'I'm not a natural salesperson'...)
• How your business will only ever be as big as the identity you're willing to claim
• The loop that's running your life: identity determines actions, actions determine results, results reinforce identity

Here's the truth: Your business will never outperform who you are. If you're keeping yourself inside a restricted identity – some clinical, small version of you – your business will never outgrow that.

This week's journal prompt:
What story are you telling yourself about who you are or who you're not? And where did that story come from?

I bet it came from somewhere outside you. Someone else's definition. Someone else's standards. Something you decided once, years ago, based on limited information or one bad experience or comparison to someone who does it differently.

Pay attention to who you actually are when you're not trying to be who you think you should be.

Let's connect:
Drop me an email at info@gillmoakes.com and let me know what came up for you when you listened to this episode. I absolutely love getting those messages – they honestly make my day!

And if you're enjoying the podcast, I'd be so grateful if you'd hop onto Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen) and leave a five-star rating and review. You wouldn't believe the difference it makes to the reach of the show.

Mentioned in this episode:

Unapologetic Retreats - we gift women the time and space to explore what’s possible for them, and be inspired to take action, unapologetically. (https://www.unapologeticretreats.com/)

Girls That Get Shit Done - a roaring, global network of seriously creative female bad asses that are shaping the world of design, marketing, business and brand. (https://www.girlsthatgetshitdone.com/)

Listen now and subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Your favourite podcast platform

00:00 Introduction and Happy New Year!
00:27 Embracing Creativity: My Personal Journey
02:17 Redefining Creativity and Identity
04:13 Challenging Limiting Beliefs
05:45 Recognising and Owning Your Creativity
09:25 The Power of Identity in Business
16:16 Breaking the Loop: Identity and Actions
17:08 Reflection and Journaling Prompts
19:01 Final Thoughts

In the first episode of 2026, I'm sharing five deliberate choices I refuse to apologise for in my business. These include not being present on all social media platforms, my pricing, saying no to unaligned opportunities, not always being relatable, and working long hours.

Yep an eclectic little bunch of insights this week - let's start this year as we mean to go on and get clear on what we're not going to apologise for!

Tell me what that means for you: info@gillmoakes.com

Want to explore working with me this year? Schedule a call: https://go.oncehub.com/alignment-call

00:00 Welcome to Rewild Your Business 2026!
01:09 Unapologetically Authentic: Embracing Your Business Choices
03:01 Social Media: Quality Over Quantity
05:08 Valuing Your Worth: No Apologies for Pricing
07:11 The Power of Saying No
10:11 Relatability vs. Transformation
14:28 Passion Over Balance: Embracing Long Hours
16:51 Final Thoughts and Reflection