Make it till you fake it
Happy Spring break! Welcome back to another blog post documenting my adventures in San Francisco – I am writing this while waiting for my flight to LA. I know, I amsucha jet-packing, jet-setting, globe-trotting, wanderlusting, photosynthesizingsocialistcapitalist.
Today’s topic is one that many will be familiar with – faking it till you make it. And if you are not familiar with it, you are most definitely faking it; in fact, by denying it you are actually engaging in it in a super-edgy meta way. But first, some context on what prompted this: last week I had a midterm presentation to a VP.
Of Global Product.
Of aFortune 500 company。
Cue underwear change. Just kidding, I do not believe in wearing undergarments. Actually, that was a double-bluff – I only wear undergarments because that is what VS angels do. In all seriousness, having that opportunity was disorientating in a weird way because it felt like I just got catapulted 10 years into the future; doing my 9-5 at McKinsey, wife and kids, house in the Hamptons. Do not get me wrong – we (consulting team I was working with) put in the work and got stuff done so it was not like we were unprepared or anything. However, it was surreal going into the corner office with a view of San Francisco and realizing that this time, it was real. No more rocket pitches with 3 slides, supportive classmates and professors. No more maniacally memorized scripts for understanding PwC case competition judges. No more winging it and trusting in the holy trinity of Business, Bullshit and Buzzwords.
As Mr. Incredible succinctly put it: “It’s show time”.
2 hours later, Spring break beckoned.Boom。演讲结束了。,我是非常诚实的t was really just like any other presentation. Sure, my professional career and entire self-worth hinged on it but that is how I treat everything I do anyway. Hyperbole aside, I just wanted to let you know, dearest reader, that you can do it. I do not mean this as insincere motivation. I mean it as a “just do it” statement. We all reach points in our life where faking it just does not cut it – these are the moments that life truly gets interesting. Interesting not just because you have to rise to the challenge, but also because you find out if you have been drinking your own Kool-Aid or not. “Fake it till you make it” is great and part of life but the moment you believe your own deception, you go from #relatable to #delusional. And no one wants to hang out with crazy people. PSA: If you think none of your friends are crazy, congratulations –youare the crazy person.
And on that bombshell, I will leave you to your consciously decadent, maturely irresponsible and safe Spring break full of poor life decisions.
Best,
Kit