Welcome to the Sword of Sure podcast. Where doubt looms, fear whispers, and the only way forward is through. I'm Samar Carbo and if you've ever felt like you're just sort of sure about what you're doing, you're not alone. This is where we face the uncertainty. Push past the hesitation and keep going anyway way. So take a breath, step in and let's move forward together. Hello and welcome to the Sort of Shore Podcast. In case you missed it in the beginning, my name is is Samar Carbo and I am so excited to bring this episode to you today. Recently I sat down with Koot Blackson, a titan in the coaching, public speaking, training, all sorts of of that sort of area world. He has Bruce Lee level certainty and focus and he's one of the many people I've been particularly happy to have on the podcast because he is just dripping with charism today. But he wasn't always like that and we're going to talk about that in the episode so. So stay tuned for that. But before we get there, if you have a story of imposter syndrome or self doubt, shoot me an email and sort of surepod gmail.com let's have a.

Listen to Blackson, Transformational teacher, nationally bestselling author of two books, you Are the One and the Magic of Surrender. For the last 25 years I've been transforming the lives of leaders and visionaries. Whether it's one on one, small groups, large groups, my retreats, my work is about helping people free themselves from the conditioning and the patterns that we all develop so that we can really reconnect with our authentic truth and share our gifts with the world.

Truly amazing. So first off, I love your platform. I caught a few of your interviews already and your YouTube channel. Really great stuff. It touched me personally. So I want to thank you for your work so far. Now, moving on, I guess we'll start with with the bluntest question I've got. When when you look back at your life, can you think of a time when you've experienced real true imposter syndrome or self doubt?

I think imposter syndrome is simply a signal that a part of you is trying to get your attention. Because what I have found for myself is when you are being true to who you are and you are living in your integrity and you're living in alignment with what you are and you embodying it, then deep down, whether anyone is looking or not, you know the truth about who you are, you know the truth about who you're not. When you're doing things just for public perception, for social media, for other people, then you're not being true to yourself. You're betraying yourself. I think at that point, yes, you will often feel imposter syndrome because you know that what you're portraying and what you're projecting and who you're actually being is not aligned to me. In life, you have two things. You have your character and you have your reputation. Your. Your reputation is what other people think about you. We do a podcast. A million people listen to it. 500,000 people listen to it, 10,000 people listen to it. How many people listen to this interview? There's going to be that many reputations, because reputation is how other people perceive you. The more we are attached to how other people perceive us, the less free we are. The more we often try to project an image. The more we cater ourselves to being loved, liked, and being who we think other people want us to be, the more we are likely to feel like we're an imposter, because deep down, we know we are not being true. To me, real character is who you know yourself to be. When no one is looking, when no one is around, when the lights are off in the middle of the night, when you look in the mirror, can you respect yourself? Because you knew you. You exercised. You knew how you treated your wife or your child or the food you ate. You knew not about perfection, but you knew that you were living your own truth. And I think character is true power, because when you're living in alignment with who you know yourself to be, even when someone is looking or when no one is looking, or when someone is looking, there's a freedom and there's a power that comes from that. That's really what it is to live in alignment, right? And so I've really done my best to live in alignment with my truth. There have been moments in my life where, you know, like as an example, you know, when I was eight, nine years old, I was a fat, chubby kid, overweight, lost in everything, terrible at sports. But I went running around once around the block, then I went twice around the block. Then by the time I was 12, 13, I willed myself into running six miles a day, every day. And I did this till I was, you know, 29, 30 years old. And then every day since then, I've done some kind of exercise or something. And this is not for the gram. This is not for YouTube. This is not, hey, look at me. I'm at the gym.

I know.

I don't Post it. But it's for me. If I have to be on a flight at 6am in the morning, I wake up at 2, I'll exercise, do my run, do my gym, do my what have you. Because it feels good for myself because every time I do that, I respect myself, every time I show up for myself, I feel an internal power that grows inside. And that kind of power is a freedom that I found that no one can take away from me. So even if you don't believe me, the truth is I know I'm not an imposter because I, I know I woke up at 2am the other day, right? I woke up at 4:30 the other day. Not for you, but for me. And so that builds an internal self belief and internal knowing you could hate me, you could not believe me. But I knew what I did last, you know, early this morning at 6:00am in the gym, fighting my own demons and my own resistances. And so that, that I think creates an inner trust over time. And so what I have done is, I think over time is developed an inner trust. Were there times I felt self doubt, I would say sure. I think in moments, anytime I have taken a leap, taken a risk, anytime I have gone outside of my comfort zone, there's always a bit of oh, can I do it? Is the doubt, especially when you're really looking to pursue goals that you have never done before, things you've never done before, there's always going to be doubt. If there's never any doubt, probably you're living way too small. There should be some doubt of oh, can I do this, can I do this? Am I capable of it? But that shouldn't stop you from taking action, that shouldn't stop you from taking the step. The self doubt is just a sign that you haven't done it yet and you're being forced to expand. So self doubt isn't the issue, it's the power you give it and the relationship you have with it. So I think in moments of my life there's been self doubt because I've never done things before. But not self doubt because I didn't believe myself, right? It was more because I know how I live. Not perfectly, but I know how I live and I know how I don't. So that I think gives you a deep sense of inner freedom when you live in alignment.

Yes. Oh absolutely. And proof is the number one antidote to imposter syndrome. You get the evidence that you can do it and you'll change lives other than your own.

I love yeah, yeah. If you went and you, and you ran six miles, you don't feel like an imposter. But if you didn't run the six miles and you pretended to and you kind of tried to teach other people how to run six miles, you're going to feel like an imposter and you should feel like an imposter. I think that imposter syndrome is also a sign that there might be some skills you need to learn or some things you need to, you know, put into place and integrate some levels that you need to step up within yourself to come into deeper alignment.

Oh, beautiful, isn't it? What habits support you in keeping your drive and your positive attitude going?

I would say for me, exercise is non negotiable because that is the foundation of life, the foundation of the body. We all have a body, and without a body you can't live life. You can have a big purpose and goals and dreams, but if your body cannot generate enough energy to get you to follow through on the vision, the dream and the intention, then is useless, right? And so for me, I exercise every day not because I have some great gift, just because I chose to make it non negotiable. I chose to make it a choice to not be a choice. And because it was a choice to not be a choice, I make myself do it even when I, when I don't feel like it. And I. So I always tell people, if you want to, want to really achieve and excel, you cannot let your mood determine your movement. You cannot let your mood determine your action. If you let your mood, whatever the mood is, I feel like it, I'm up, I'm down. If you let your mood determine what you're going to do and who you're going to be, you'll never be free. You'll never fulfill your true potential. And I have found that in this lifetime, most people will not fulfill their true potential in this lifetime, most people will not fulfill their potential in this lifetime because they're not willing to do what it takes. Everybody wants to be Jesus, everybody wants to be Gandhi, everybody wants to be Mother Teresa. Everyone wants to be LeBron, everyone wants to be Kobe, everybody wants to be, you know, whoever. But very few of us want to do what they did and what, what it takes is the consistency and the discipline. So if there's one thing I am, is I was never the most gifted person, but I was the most consistent person. And so there are, as an example there, I would say there are people that they have more complex crazy workout regimens than me a lot. See, I go to the gym every day and I see people that come, they do these crazy, crazy workout routines in the gym. I'm like wow. And then I don't see them for two weeks and then, and then, and then two weeks later I see them at the gym for two days. Then I don't see them for five days and then I'll see them for a day. Then I don't see them for seven days. I'm there every day. The consistency of anything is what develops the habit and those habits is really what makes us. And so I'm very consistent with my exercise, consistent as I, as much as I can be with my meditation. But I think, you know, mostly I wouldn't call it a habit, but I endeavor to see life itself as a spiritual practice. So my life is a spiritual practice. My life is my prayer, my life is my meditation. So I don't see life and living as separate from my practice. Spending time with my son is my meditation and my prayer and my devotion and my spiritual practice, not just sitting on a yoga mat and doing my yoga. And so that's kind of how I see now. But the one non negotiable for sure is exercise every day because that just sets the whole foundation. And then endeavoring to meditate. I drink water. I drink a gallon of water every day. It's the small things. You know, a lot of people look for the big thing. What's the hat? There's no shortcut to greatness. There's no shortcut to greatness. You can learn from people but at the end of the day you will have to be consistent and do the work every single day. There's no shortcut to greatness. And so I've been drinking a gallon of water every day for 25 years.

Normally I have this question, but I'm going to retool it a little bit for you because you've been very gracious with advice today. If you were to talk to 10 year old you and provide some advice and perhaps they know where you're going to be, but provide some advice on how to get where you are. Just like my listeners. Listeners will probably want to know how to get where you are and push their self doubt and their, their imposter syndrome away, what would you say to them?

Imposter syndrome doesn't go away just by thinking about it, by praying about it, by meditating about it. It goes away by doing the inner work and taking the outer action combined. I would say, look, I'm Going to keep it simple. First, let's start with the simple things I tell my 10 year old self. I would say, look, life is short. You never know when you're going to die. Make the most of it. And as a part of that, I would really say make sure you really spend as much time as you as you can with your parents because at some point they'll be gone. When my mother passed away in 2017, as much as I'd accomplished, as much as I had achieved in the world, travel, done this, done that, honestly the only regret I realized I had in that moment was not spending more time with my mom because I thought I had more time. I thought I had more time. We all think we have more time. And when I looked at what was truly meaningful, the meaningful things that I did with her were the highlights. And so we think we have time, but we don't. So as simple as it sounds, obviously not everyone has the perfect parents. My parents weren't perfect. But looking back, I would say, wow, really spend time with your mother, spend time with your parents, get to know them because they'll be gone and it will be, it will be too late. And we often don't realize that until it's too late and they are gone, they're gone and we don't appreciate it, you know, so that's, that's, that's one thing I would tell the 10 year old. You know, find, find the right mentor, study with them, learn from them because they can help accelerate your journey and accelerate your process. I will tell that 10 year old again, let's start with some of the basics, right? Save, invest. Invest your money wisely and start investing early so that you can benefit from compound interest. Do not spend your money frivolously on liabilities, but instead invest in assets so that by the time you're 30 and 35, you don't have to work and your life is set up. You know, these are often things that we don't understand when we're young and we're just sort of, you know, young and stupid and free and like, oh, okay, you mean that $10,000, had I invested at 1921 would be 2.7 million by the time. Oh, okay, that hundred dollars a month. And so yeah, I would say invest because we live in a 3D world and money is just a tool and you do need money to function and navigate and facilitate experiences in life. Right? So that's something I would tell that, that 10 year old, I would say, look, don't sweat the small Stuff in life. Enjoy every moment. Every moment. Enjoy every moment. We spend so much time worrying about stuff that never happens. We spend so much time worrying that we never live life. Enjoy every moment. Take the risks, take the trips that, you know, seize the opportunities. And I will tell that that 10 year old, like for the first 20, 30 years of your life, don't chase money or don't chase, chase experiences that, that cause you to evolve and grow and learn. That should be your focus. The education, the growth, the learning. And travel. Travel, do it while you can so that when you get older and you have responsibilities and kids and what have you, it's like it's done right. And so these are things I would tell the 10 year old. I mean, I could keep going, but.

Hey, it's, that's lovely. I'm here for every bit of it. That's great. Well, we're, we're at time pretty much here. I'll let you go after this one thing. I just want you to say anything you haven't gotten a chance to say yet in the podcast.

Well, I love to give people a free gift, but before I kind of give the link and the free gift, I just would love to remind everyone you're going to die. Let me repeat, you are going to die. There's no way out of this human experience and none of us know when that moment will come. I hope we all live a long life, but the only guarantee in this life from now is, is your death. And so if death came today, because tomorrow is not a privilege, it's not a right, it's a blessing, it's a gift, but it's not a right that we have. And so if death came today, would you be ready? And if not, why not? What's unsaid, what's ungiven, what's unloved, what's unexpressed, what have you not done? What regrets would you have? Who do you need to speak to? Who do you need to forgive? Who do you need to love? What's been held back? Because at the end of this life, when you meet your maker, whatever you believe, you cannot go to God and say, hey, God, could I just get a refund, please, on those two years I spent in that relationship that I hated? Because once it's gone, it's gone. Even God will say, hey, sorry, it's too late. And so how would you need to live your life in such a way that when your moment comes, you can throw your hands up and have peace, live fully. And so with that said, I created a couple of experiences that I would love to gift to anyone listening if you've been inspired. I wrote a book actually called the Magic of Surrender. People could find that on Amazon. I wrote a book called you are the one. You can find that on Amazon as well. Inspiring books. Also at the beginning of 2025, I created a new online course. Eight modules, eight video series is literally been changing thousands of lives around the world. And I did a crazy thing. I decided to gift it to the world for free. And so it's called the eight levels of gratitude. That's the eight levels of gratitude. There are eight levels of gratitude that if you learn how to harness, can help supercharge your ability to manifest the next level of your life. And so you can literally download this gift for free at www8the8levelsofgratitude.com that's the number 8, the 8levelsofgratitude dot com make sure you check out the site and download the gift for free. It's life changing. The other gift I want gift people is I just launched about a month ago a new masterclass. It's all about how to turn your dreams into reality and manifest your goals, dreams and desires. And I share some codes that will help people rewire their brain and their nervous system to become more magnetic to manifesting success. The masterclass is live. You can go to www.manovation masterclassonline.com that's manifestation masterclass online.com and you can yeah, join me for an hour of deep diving together on learning the secrets to manifesting. And lastly, my website, Kute K u t e kootblackson.com I do several retreats. We put some retreats on pause for 2025, but we'll be restarting in 2026. And so if you want to meet me live, if you're ready to transform, if you're ready to go to the next level, join me in one of my retreats I used to do did a lot of retreats in Bali and all around the world. Www.coopblackson.com what did I tell you?

Great episode, awesome conversation. I'm so glad you got to listen in on it. I want to zoom in on one thing here. The whole podcast he was talking about consistency and focus. But what does he say when I say talk to your 10 year old self, spend more time with your mom is the first thing he says. International speaker, best selling author. He doesn't get. He doesn't say get on that train earlier. He doesn't say get your confidence up. He says spend more time with your mom because you don't know how long you have left and that's a lesson for all of us in itself. Spend more time with the people you will miss when they are gone because you don't miss. Get more time once they are gone. That is a number one factor in building confidence in ourselves is being around people who see us for who we really are at our best. And it's not just because of that, not just because we'll become someone better or whatever. It's simply because they are our people and the more time we spend around our people the better we can be and the better we can make them and the better the world feels. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode. I look forward to seeing you on the next one. If you have a story of imposter syndrome or self doubt shoot me an email at sort of surepodmail.com later days.