NEUROTIC IMPOSTORS:
FEELING LIKE A FAKE
Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true
to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a
fake messiah.
— Richard BachIntroduction
The mesmerizing individuals described in Chapter 4 are only one mani-
festation of imposture. Various writers have made a distinction between
the ‘ true ’ and the ‘ neurotic ’ impostor (Aarons, 1959 ; Gediman, 1985 ).
While the fi rst refers to the sort of people described in Chapter 4 , whose
identity is built on impersonation rather than on accomplishment, the
second is different, in that it describes successful individuals who nev-
ertheless feel fraudulent and imposturous. This ‘ neurotic imposture ’ is
not false humility. It is the fl ip side of giftedness and causes many tal-
ented, hardworking, and capable leaders — men and women who have
achieved great things — to believe that they don ’ t deserve their success.
Often, they are labeled as ‘ neurotic overachievers, ’ a type of person
commonly found in certain very demanding professions.
Neurotic impostors feel that they have fooled everybody and that
they are not as competent or intelligent as others think. They attribute
their success to luck, compensatory hard work, or superfi cial external
factors, such as physical attractiveness or likeability. Some are incredibly
hard workers, always overprepared. They cannot accept that they have
real intellectual gifts and ability, and experience a constant fear that their
imposturous existence will be found out, that they will not be able to
CHAPTER 5