EPISODE OVERVIEW: In this vulnerable and empowering episode of Conversations with Coach LA, we sit down with award-winning spoken word poet, educator, and activist Lyrical Faith, whose journey from Bronx stages to global platforms has been anything but linear. Through accolades, academic excellence, and artistic milestones, Lyrical shares how she’s navigated imposter syndrome and emerged grounded in truth, purpose, and personal power. This conversation invites listeners to consider the unseen emotional labor behind achievement, especially for Black women in advocacy and creative spaces. Through the lens of poetry, performance, and personal growth, Lyrical helps us unpack what it really takes to move from internal doubt to inner strength. More about this episode's guest: Lyrical Faith is a Black American Educator, Activist and international award-winning Spoken Word Poet from The Bronx, NY. She has been featured at prominent venues such as the World Famous Apollo Theatre as well as colleges, and universities across the country and globally. She is a three-time Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist, a two-time Bronx Poet Laureate finalist, the 2015 Syracuse University Poet of the Year, and the Inaugural UMass Amherst W.E.B. DuBois Center Poet-In-Residence. She is the co-producer of the annual regional youth poetry slam in Western Massachusetts, founder of the annual Black Artistic Freedom Conference at UMass Amherst and head coach of the first ever undergraduate Poetry Slam Team at UMass Amherst. In January 2025, she was featured on four episodes of America’s favorite game show, Family Feud. She’s a graduate of the Public Relations program at Syracuse University, a Masters degree recipient from NYU Steinhardt, and a current Social Justice Education PhD student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, studying the intersections of arts and activism through Critical Hip-Hop Pedagogy. Her work has been featured on NPR, iHeartRadio, Button Poetry, Write About Now Poetry, Huffington Post Black Voices, and News 12 The Bronx.
In this episode’s Coach’s Corner, Coach LA highlights how imposter syndrome disproportionately affects high-achieving women, particularly Black women navigating predominately white institutions. Citing data from Harvard Business Review, she notes that this internalized self-doubt often leads to burnout, overcompensation, and a disconnection from purpose.
Coach LA offers actionable strategies to break free from the cycle—through self-validation, creative outlets like poetry, and community healing.
Are you questioning your worth in rooms you’ve already earned a seat in?
Let this episode be your reminder: You are enough. Your voice matters. And your journey is valid. Tune in as Lyrical Faith and Coach LA challenge the lie of inadequacy and affirm the power of inner truth.
This is what it looks like to BET on SELF.
🎙️ This episode is for every high-achiever who’s ever felt “not enough.”
Let’s rewrite that lie—with truth, power, and purpose.