Faking can be done right. The advice ‘fake it till you make it’ at first sight sounds wrong.
Right?
When you look at music videos in the context of the phrase, you cannot help but laugh because what you see obviously are people faking it. How many artists actually live as we see on TV? How many of them can actually afford to? And how many of them ‘make it’ after all the faking?
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But here’s the thing: as wrong as it sounds, there’s something right about ‘faking it’, as long as you’re faking the right stuff.
Anyone who is familiar with the Nigerian dating scene around the late 80s and early 90s would know just how much BS men tell or use to tell. They do that just to get a woman going. In fact, a popular juju artiste put some of the lines in a song:
“When the man approaches you/he’ll begin to tell you stories like ‘my father owns the airport’/’my father owns the stadium’
That kind of false living is not too far away from hallucinating and straight up lying.
The kind of ‘faking’ I consider smart is the one that has to do with attitude. You can be out of a job yet no one in your neighborhood knows you’re out of a job. It is not because you’re lying or pretending or maintaining a fake lifestyle, but because you do not let the fact that you’re out of a job show on your face or bearing. You walk into a job interview and your suit is the sharpest in the room, not because you’re trying to impress but because that’s how you dress; in or out of a job.
Why should this be any different?
The kind of ‘faking’ I’m talking about is being abreast of happenings around you and in your chosen industry. Having a finger on all the trends and trendsetters. Knowing the responsibilities of your next position even though you’re yet to get there. You’ve done extensive research on the job you’re applying for. They wouldn’t see why they shouldn’t hire you even though you do not have work experience in that position. Not because you’re good at pretending but because you actually have what they need.
There are really no shortcuts to success. You have to put in the time and effort to get your desired outcomes. You cannot think because you talk, dress, and walk success that you will automatically get there. Though it helps to ‘talk’, ‘dress’ and ‘walk’ but there are a lot more that contribute to landing you on your success destination than those.
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Knowledge acquisition helps
While you may not be where you want to be at the moment there’s nothing stopping you from getting the things you will need when you get there. It’s like going shopping; do you acquire the money you intend to spend before you get to the store? Or do you start looking for the money once you get there?
Attitude also determines a lot of things
Attitude and confidence which come as a result of preparedness/knowledge acquisition is a strong tool. When you know something, it shows in your bearing that you know something. This is especially expressed in a room or situation which requires that particular kind of knowledge.
To be clear on the exact kind of faking I mean, allow me use this example.
When I was starting out as a young copywriter, the man who helped get my first job told me to create a portfolio. He suggested that I create my own advert campaign, either for existing brands or fictional ones. He said I should get an illustrator friend to give the ads visuals so that when I sit in front of a potential employer, it would appear that I had done some work.
You see, the good part is that I actually did some work. I spent time online watching advert campaigns and how they were put together, how they sparked the interest of the viewer and how it influenced purchasing decisions. I took time to study the fine details of advert creation. Even though I had no actual real work experience, when I walked into the room for my first interview, I wasn’t exactly a novice.
And my ‘fake’ portfolio was real enough to get me a job.
I think it’s alright to pretend a little, after all, we pretend to listen to our partners when we would rather be watching TV or sleeping. We pretend to like a meal just because we don’t want to hurt the feelings of the person who so graciously provided it. We pretend to be hard at work whenever the boss comes into the room when really we’ve been playing solitaire all afternoon.
Know this though, to ‘pretend’ properly, you need to know what you’re doing. And if you know what you’re doing, ‘pretending’ might not be necessary at all.
Fake it till you make it.
Or better still, live it before you become it.
Here is an interesting read on fake it till you make it.
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Photo Credit: ReDahlia
