The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.
Viola DavisRead
It feels like my hard work has paid off, but at the same time, I still have the impostor, you know, syndrome. I still feel like I'm going to wake up, and everybody's going to see me for the hack I am.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Even with achievements, self-doubt can linger, leading one to feel like a fraud.
Viola Davis expresses a common sentiment experienced by many successful individuals, known as impostor syndrome. Despite external validation and the fruits of hard work, she feels an internal struggle with self-doubt, fearing that others will eventually recognize her perceived inadequacies and shortcomings, highlighting the psychological barriers that can accompany success.
Themes
Impostor SyndromeSelf-DoubtHard WorkSuccessRecognition
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming challenges, you might say this quote to illustrate the ongoing struggle many face with self-perception.
More from Viola Davis
All quotes →What excites me is just taking some time to breathe in life. The mundane is very exciting.
Viola DavisRead
I don't care if someone is new to acting or experienced in acting: you always learn something from them. It's just like people in life - whether they're young or middle-aged or old, you always learn something from someone.
Viola DavisRead
I don't see a lot of narratives written where a woman who looks like me gets to be beautiful and sexualized and upwardly mobile, middle-class, funny, quirky. They're very seldom written.
Viola DavisRead
And that's what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves - parts of their lives they can recognize. And I feel if I can achieve that, it's pretty spectacular.
Viola DavisRead
There's no prerequisites to worthiness. You're born worthy, and I think that's a message a lot of women need to hear.
Viola DavisRead
Similar quotes
Entrepreneurship is like a computer game in which you have to master every level before achieving success. Startups repeatedly stumble and have to go back to the drawing board. The best way to skip some levels and to increase the odds of survival is to learn from others who have already played the game.
Vivek WadhwaRead
It's not how many hours you put in with a client or on a project. It's the quantity and quality of your energy - your focus and force - that determine whether that time is valuable.
Jim LoehrRead
Everest for me, and I believe for the world, is the physical and symbolic manifestation of overcoming odds to achieve a dream
Junko TabeiRead
You can't find returns in investments you haven't made.
Clayton ChristensenRead
Whatever you got you have to accentuate. I ran my female card up and down the ladder my whole career, because I was in a man's world. It was worked by women but owned by men. I was the only female owner in my field at that time.
Barbara CorcoranRead
Aim for service and success will follow!
Albert SchweitzerRead