A Note from Valerie: If you've heard me speak, then you already know that I love to teach by example. Over the past 25 years I've collected many hundreds of stories from real people just like you... people who doubt their competence (and I know you don't believe this yet) - but shouldn't.

Reading other people's stories helps you because it makes you realize that you are not alone. Giving voice to your own nebulous feelings of intellectual fraudulence is also the first step in the healing process. Sharing also helps others. We all benefit by hearing about how others have managed to deal with their impostor feelings.

When you contribute to this forum, you will be adding your unique voice, experience, and story. It is a story line that will continue with the publication of my upcoming book on the impostor syndrome to be published by Crown Publishing. If your story is included in the book, I will, of course, change the names and circumstances to protect the already innocent. More importantly though, is my hope that by reading and contributing to this forum that you may finally begin to see yourself as the fully competent and capable person you truly are.