Improving Skills to Overcome Impostor Syndrome – The Story of Rockstar Excel

[Cross-posted from Self Helping Yourself]

Note: This post originally appeared on Rockstar Excel founder Steven Ray Marks’s self-improvement and weight loss blog Self Helping Yourself. To see more from Self Helping Yourself, or to receive weekly suggestions of articles on easy ways to improve your life, subscribe to the Five Boosts by Self Helping Yourself newsletter.

In the most recent two Self Helping Yourself posts – 10 Things to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed and 6 Strategies to Never Lose a Job and Have Rapid Career Growth – I discussed my experience in the fast-paced world of tech startups.

One reason I succeeded in such a challenging field was my mastery of Microsoft Excel.

But I wasn’t always an Excel rockstar.

Here’s the story of a turning point in my career, and why I created Rockstar Excel.

Getting by with faking it

I learned the basics of Excel in college. But I didn’t learn how to use it well.

Then I got a job doing Accounting and Finance in tech startups, where I was expected to do a huge amount of work very quickly.

I’m a fast worker, so I got by despite my lack of skills by doing things manually. My job was essentially “Copying numbers from one place to another place.”

When the old ways won’t work anymore

Then my boss quit, and management decided I could take over all his duties, in addition to the work I was already doing. (Life at a tech startup.)

After this was explained to me, I went back to my desk, shaking as the computer screen blurred in front of me.

I was already doing all the work I was capable of, and suddenly my workload had doubled.

It was the worst imposter syndrome I’ve ever felt. I was terrified they’d realize I was a hack who didn’t really know what I was doing.

Finding a better way

The next day I started my usual work of copying numbers from one place to another place, when I had a realization:

There had to be a better method.

With some thought and research, I figured out how to use formulas in Excel instead of doing things manually. This turned four hours of daily work into five minutes, while also reducing errors.

That experience taught me that “good enough” isn’t.

There are countless ways to do things in Excel. Some methods may work, but there are better, faster, more efficient ways to do it.

I made it a habit to always look to improve. I created a rule that every month I had to find a better method of at least one task.

Through this, I was able to greatly increase my Excel skills.

It wasn’t just a matter of learning more of Excel’s capabilities. It was understanding which tools to use in which situations.

I got much more done in much less time. Which allowed me go home earlier, while amazing my bosses and attaching a rocket to my career progress.

Sharing my knowledge

A few years later, my wife wanted to make a career change.

Over two hours, I taught her advanced Excel skills. With that knowledge, she got a job as an Excel Data Analyst. She instantly became the Excel guru for her company, despite coworkers having decades more experience.

That made me realize that I can share my Excel skills.

My wife is incredibly smart, but she’s also more of a right-brained artistic type than an analytical numbers type. If I can train her, I can train anyone.

Everyone should be able to get more done in less time, and deserves an opportunity to be a rockstar at what they do.

I’m honored and eager to give people the tools to do so.