Angie 00:08 Good Monday morning, everyone — let me turn my rock and roll off. I’m having too much fun on this Monday morning. Welcome to No More Mondays, the show where we believe that humans still matter, mediocrity is expensive, but if you take ownership you can change everything. As always, I am your host, Angie Callen, and today I am joined by Melissa Hughes, who I’m so excited to catch up with and have a conversation all of you get to listen into. She is a speaker, author, and somebody who helps people find and use their voice in a world where it can feel very difficult to be heard. Melissa’s work focuses on helping people show up, share what matters to them, and make genuine connections with others — instead of just putting more content into what has become the sea of sameness. From why we hold back, to what it costs us to play small, to what actually changes when we decide to get out there and be ourselves — Melissa and I are going to cover it all. Melissa, welcome to No More Mondays.

Melissa 01:11 Wow, I love that, Angie. Thank you. It’s awesome to be here.

Angie 01:14 For those of you that tune in regularly, Melissa is part of the unconference crew. We were just before we started recording talking about the fact that she and I had started having a really great conversation at an event, got pulled apart, and never got to revisit it. So you all now get to listen into phase two of that. Welcome, Melissa. So in this whole idea of personal branding and content creation — whether you have a business or you’re a professional just trying to be a thought leader — there are infinite places you can be and very few where it feels like you can actually be seen, heard, and share ideas. A lot of times it’s easy to hold ourselves back, even those of us who are really capable and successful. I talk to a lot of people who say “I don’t want to put that out there — I might look dumb.” Where do you see that hesitation coming from?

Melissa 02:21 It’s funny, because when I got into this whole thing, I realized my own journey in putting myself out there. I had a video accidentally go viral, and then felt like — okay, this is kind of a cool opportunity, I want to keep the momentum. And I’m a very extroverted person. I can talk to anybody. But when I was putting content out online, I was way overthinking how I was coming across. The moment I’d go to hit publish, I’d think of that one person who’s going to misunderstand me, and I’d delete it. Then as I got into coaching — and now I have an agency — I realized that experience is actually every single person’s experience. And it broadens out into a fear of looking stupid. You could have a Harvard degree and still feel like you’re not credible enough, not an expert enough in the sea of voices. What does my voice even matter? And what it really boils down to is imposter syndrome.

Angie 03:39 And if you weren’t going to name it, I was — because it’s sitting right there. Everybody’s got it. And it actually does plague high achievers more. Something like 70% of people will experience it at some point in their lifetime. There’s a great episode with Chris Kelso on this show if you want to go deeper on imposter syndrome — worth finding in the back catalog. But I’d love to go deeper here. What’s underneath it?

Melissa 04:15 In the branding world, they ask — what’s the number one problem you solve? Can you name it in one word? And I went on my own journey of figuring that out. Is it clarity? Is it authenticity? And I realized: it’s imposter syndrome. That’s what I’m actually helping people with. And the way you navigate imposter syndrome isn’t by trying to be more confident or pumping yourself up. It’s actually through authenticity. Which is scary. It’s through being yourself. And people say “just be yourself” like it’s easy — but it is actually the most vulnerable, hard thing to own and step into. That is the antidote to imposter syndrome.

Angie 05:25 Let’s talk about that, because I think one thing that exacerbates imposter syndrome is that we get performative instead of expressing our authentic voice — and then it becomes a vicious cycle. The imposter syndrome says we shouldn’t have the voice, so we perform, which makes us feel even less like ourselves. How do we break out of that?

Melissa 05:50 One of the things is doing a call out. So let’s use the example of the Harvard graduate with a high-paying job who doesn’t feel qualified enough to talk on her subject matter. If that’s how you genuinely feel, then what would be authentic is to say it — “hey guys, I’m posting this video, it’s my first, and I feel cringe city. I don’t want to be here. These are my credentials and I still feel like I’m not playing with the big dogs.” Whatever is truly authentic for you — just start there. We think we’ll lose credibility, but people are actually drawn to the vulnerability attached to your authenticity. It’s better to start with a call out than to try to show up the way you think you’re supposed to.

Angie 07:10 The vulnerability piece is so important. And this actually brings me right back to why I say humans still matter — because our voices all do, individually and collectively. Mediocrity is expensive, and if you don’t use your voice, you will pay in the form of regret. Not expensive in money — expensive in playing small, not reaching your potential, regretting not taking a chance. And when you take ownership of what you have to offer, of your voice, of your vulnerability — it actually does change everything. Here’s my question on the heels of “call out the thing and be vulnerable” — that can create the next layer of fear: I’m going to be punished for it, or there’ll be blowback because I admitted a vulnerability. How do we get past that?

Melissa 08:21 Then you get to ask yourself a beautiful question: what does that reveal about what I believe about myself? When I was putting content out there and feeling cringy and thinking about all the people who might misunderstand me, I started to realize — wow, I really do care what people think about me. And that’s kind of a problem if you’re trying to be authentic. Because if I allow that to be the thing that holds me back, I’ll never say what I want to say — I’ll always be pandering to what I think people are going to interpret. So I need to self-reflect, get curious about myself, and then literally choose to overcome it by learning to be okay with being misunderstood. Learning to be okay with “they think I’m stupid — well, that’s their problem.” You go on this whole self-discovery journey of being set free. Putting content out there is actually the number one thing that has helped me become more myself, because I had to face my own stuff — why do I feel this way, what is that? And it helps you see how you see yourself, what’s triggering for you, and where that comes from.

Angie 10:00 This is way more than just “I want to be a thought leader.” This is going to open up a pathway to self-discovery, because you will come up against — why do I think this? Why do I care what people think? Why am I hesitant about this type of vulnerability? The Harvard woman who feels like an imposter in her environment is a perfect example of where as a woman — often in male-dominated spaces, which I have been — we tend to shape-shift into what we think we need to be instead of feeling like we can just be our natural selves. That actually creates the friction and the imposter syndrome, because we can’t be the full expression of ourselves. But if you allow yourself to be that, the right people and the right opportunities do magnetize themselves to you.

Melissa 10:52 Absolutely. And I think what we also do subconsciously — and this is the hard part of owning your uniqueness — is we just can’t see our own uniqueness. The things we’re like “I’m not going to talk about that, I’m not going to be like that” — that’s actually the thing people want to know about. We’re so blindsided by other people’s uniqueness that we struggle to see our own. So you really have to slow it down to catch who you really are. I thrived on TikTok because I’m so bad with aesthetics. In 2017 I was trying to make the perfect picture. Then something would happen — my daughter would come give me a hug and I’d get spaghetti on my shirt. Or I’d post with a typo and someone would comment “you spelled does wrong.” I just cannot be perfect. So I started leaning into messy content. I actually think bad content is more authentic than perfect content. And it gave me freedom to show up better. You just have to own your crap.

Angie 12:34 Own your crap — yes. And actually, shameless plug for Scary Good, I talk about this: being okay with your weird. Because comparison is the thief of joy. When you compare yourself to someone else’s uniqueness and decide you must not have any, it’s all-or-nothing thinking. But if you own your crap and put it out there, it resonates — especially now. In the age of AI, everything is written to a median, and it sounds that way. But if you’ve found your voice, you actually do stand out. And Melissa, you bring up the mistake — about a month ago I accidentally sent an email through an automation that was just a template — placeholder images, lorem ipsum text, nothing else. I got more responses to that email than any legitimate content email I’ve written. People just want something real.

Melissa 13:46 Yes — it’s like the pendulum has swung. In 2016-2017 it was all about the perfect aesthetic. Now people just want something real. And then you get the people who take videos of themselves crying, and it’s like — okay, we know you hit record. There’s a difference between vulnerability and oversharing.

Angie 14:11 Ha! I knew you were my person, Melissa. Vulnerability versus oversharing — unless you’re naturally an oversharer, in which case own it, but most of that doesn’t seem authentic. So we’re not shaming anyone — just make it genuine. What else is sitting in the “how do we actually do this” bucket?

Melissa 14:40 I think in 2026 we should be leaning into storytelling. It disarms imposter syndrome. When you share your story, it’s what you know — it’s your lived experience, it happened to you, you don’t need a script. Leaning into stories attached to lessons, or just to relatability, is what’s going to set people apart from just sharing content to actually engaging people.

Angie 17:04 This feels really aptly timed — last week’s episode was with Chad Peterson, the Story Catcher, and it was all about the stories we need to recapture about ourselves and the ones we need to let go. I love this theme of lived experience through stories, because it’s also just how humans communicate. There’s a reason Jesus taught in parables. That’s how we remember and relate to each other. So while we’re in “activate” mode — what are some other small things we can do to start leaning into our authenticity without overthinking it?

Melissa 17:51 It’s interesting because we want tactics, but it starts with small daily decisions — like wearing what you actually want to wear. When someone asks where you want to go for food, instead of “wherever you want,” saying “I want to go to McAlister’s because I love the pickles and the sandwiches and that’s where I want to go.” Those small daily choices of owning who you are mean that when you go to make content, it’s not an extra jump — it’s just another extension of expressing yourself. Can I tell a Vincent story?

Angie 19:03 Yes — Vincent is the father of the unconference, which is essentially how we met. I have to hear this.

Melissa 19:16 When I first met Vincent, he told me this story about going to a prestigious business event and showing up in shorts and a T-shirt — his Florida shirt, whatever he likes to wear. He walks in and all these business guys in suits start making fun of him. “Nice shirt. Did you get the memo? You look like a schmuck.” And Vincent is just standing there, unassuming, hands in his pockets. And he just goes — “yeah, well, I didn’t get into business and entrepreneurship to do what everybody else is doing. I got into it to create the life I want to live. And I don’t like suits.” And here’s the point: he totally means that. That is authenticity. Because there are some people who would walk into a room like that for shock value — that’s not authenticity, that’s a marketing ploy. But this is a guy who just genuinely likes his shorts. Authenticity isn’t that we don’t care what anybody thinks — it’s that you’ve become comfortable enough with who you are that you’re not willing to betray yourself to make other people feel more comfortable.

Angie 21:56 And it really is. There’s a content storyline here, but there’s a much bigger human and life storyline. Sometimes you arrive at it just by wanting to start a podcast or post content — and be careful what you wish for, because you could end up in the greatest self-discovery you never asked for. To me, this is what changes when we find our self-acceptance. It isn’t about intentionally making someone uncomfortable. It’s about being comfortable with who you are in context — there are situations where you dress it up a bit. I’m in a job interview, I’m on stage in presenter mode. But I’m still the same person. I’m just approaching it in context. And that’s where we start to actually get rid of imposter syndrome — because we know we belong in the space.

Melissa 23:19 Absolutely. And when we’re building a personal brand, it’s got to be personal to you. What do I like? What do I not like? How am I going to represent myself? What is my reputation? How do I come across? What am I known for? When I was working at a bank, there was a customer who’d come in every day and say “Sunshine and Skittles! How’s your day?” Apparently that’s what I give off. And I could be afraid people will think I don’t have depth — she’s too happy-clappy. But you know what? I’m going to attract my other happy-clappy people, and we’re going to be happy-clappy in our little corner. I think the biggest thing is really owning who you are and stepping into your personal brand in a way that feels like you. And instead of saying “find your voice,” I’d say: trust your voice. People are afraid what they say won’t come across clear, that people won’t get it. But the more you ditch the script and just say it — fumble your way through, trust it’s going to come out — the more you practice trusting your voice, the more you’ll show up with clarity, conviction, and confidence. And that’s attractive.

Angie 27:06 Melissa does better episode summaries than I do. That’s a perfect exclamation point. I love this conversation — there’s a level of woo but practicality to it, and as a former engineer who loves people, I appreciate having an analytical brain with woo-woo tendencies. Everything we’ve talked about is this idea of being seen and heard — but that’s not a strategy, it’s not about being louder. It’s about being honest with who you are and how you show up. Trust your voice. And I’m going to take it one step further — trust yourself, and what you have to give to this world. Melissa, if people out there want to find you and learn more about your work, where do they go?

Melissa 27:53 I’m on Instagram at @melissaleahughes — that’s L-E-A. Come say hi. I might not respond right away because I try to cut off at 3:30 when I go get my kids, but I will respond. My handle is Melissa Lee Hughes, my email is melissa@melissaleehughes.com, and my website is melissaleehughes.com.

Angie 28:31 We will link all of that in the show notes. And Melissa, as we wrap up — the future is changing, and it feels harder to be human in it. How can we humans stay human while navigating the world around us?

Melissa 28:55 The first phrase that came to mind was: stop it. You know what to do. What I mean by that is we play mind games with ourselves, make excuses, say “I don’t know” or “I don’t have clarity.” Stop it. You know what to do. And I believe you’ll have the right next step to show up in the way you’re meant to. The world needs what you have to offer. As my friend Sebastian Rusk says — who are you to keep it from them?

Angie 29:25 There you go. Trust your voice. Melissa, thank you so much for being part of No More Mondays. This is a fantastic conversation about what it means to just show up. Trust your voice. Trust yourself. Stop holding back — the world needs what you have to offer. Don’t leave that impact on the table. For all of you out there, if this resonated, reach out to Melissa, reach out to me, share it with somebody who might need to hear it, and know that your voice matters. And if you’re ready to make some change and take ownership of your life, Scary Good: Discovering Life Beyond the Sunday Scaries is available wherever books are sold — find out more at scarygoodread.com. Until next time, here’s to fewer Sunday scaries and No More Mondays.