Came across this quote from Marianne Williamson's book A Return to Love:

We think we're powerful because of what we've achieved rather than because of what we are. So we're caught in a Catch-22: we feel powerless to achieve until we already have.

I can definitely relate to that. The power is derived from having achieved, so now I gotta start achieving something first, just so I can have the power. Doesn't work very well.