“Faking It Till You Make It” Is Disingenuous

I've always liked the quote, but I've also interpreted it differently than the author has. Rather than "pretend to be what you are not", I view it more like, "to be what you want, start being what you want and stick to it".

That is, start doing the things that it requires. Commit to it - these are the things you do when you're alone as well as when others can see. Let it guide your decisions - you're changing yourself, and that takes a lot of conscious effort at first.

I consider that as 'faking it' because it feels unnatural - the new behaviors feel like you're putting on act. As time goes on, this changes. Until one day, you realize that you've integrated that thing you wanted to be into who you actually are. [Or so it has worked out for me in cases that I've done it and stuck with it...]

"Fake it till you make it" usually applies to "how do you get to that point?" If you're a fresh college grad with no particular accomplishments to your name, how do you convince people that they should invest time and energy teaching you the ropes so that you're even qualified to work on a team with peers who you can ask for help? Because the default answer when a stranger asks to pick your brain to get into a hot, highly-competitive field is usually "Yeah, sure, maybe when I get around to it", if you get an answer at all. And if you're asking for a job, where they pay you money, then unless you've carefully chosen a field where they're desperate for people regardless of your prior background, you're going to have a tough time demonstrating value without at least some form of "faking it", even if that's just networking politely, cold-calling, and doing some basic research on the companies you're applying to.

'Fake it til you make it' is about getting access to opportunities you wouldn't generally have otherwise. It's not a learning strategy, so it's not surprising that it's not an effective learning strategy.

People suffering from and trying to overcome Impostor Syndrome (the feeling that even though you are doing good work and have made some big accomplishments that you’re really an “impostor” at your job and people are going find out) are somewhat endemic to startup and tech circles.

I think most of this is brought on by the rapidly changing toolsets, frameworks and technologies that you need to grapple with to put out a modern web app. (see: http://html9responsiveboilerstrapjs.com/)

So, it was pretty surprising that the best advice that I’ve heard on the subject comes from Conan O’Brien.

“In improvisational acting there is this great rule that I’ve used in my life: ‘Act As If’. Act as if this is completely normal. Of course I’m supposed to be interviewing Barack Obama. Of course I’m supposed to be playing guitar with Bruce Springsteen and of course there’s a big part of me inside that’s saying: ‘What are you talking about?’”

From “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” — 21:00

The best entrepreneurs that I’ve worked with have (without naming it) exhibited this same pattern.

1. Recognize privately and intellectually that some big crazy thing is about to happen: a key investor meeting, a sales call to a big new client or interview with a major publication.

2. Do the hard work of preparing and making sure their product and facts are all in line.

3. Execute through their fears and anxieties by “acting as if” in public.

Nothing is a cure all, but it is surprising how much even a simple phrase repeated to yourself can help.

This also goes for young people. Sometimes getting in over your head and failing is a totally positive opportunity. Imagine if you could get hired somewhere above your level at Google for just one month, and how much you could learn there. Then you can take all that knowledge to your next job. Plus your resume says Google on it. For a lot of people fresh out of college, that would be a big plus.

Don't be stupid, arrogance isn't helpful when it's something crucial like health care or safety inspections or your own education. But if it's a chance to make a few more bucks at your job, default to always take the chance when it's offered. Fortune favors the bold, and such.

If you need a job & can't get a job interview without portraying your experience in a way that makes you sound more established than you are, how else are you supposed to survive? You have to tell people what they want to hear to get noticed, and sometimes that means faking it.

Example: "I have worked with Java for 5 years." Does the interviewer need to know you touched Java once a year for 15 minutes 5 years in a row? You're not lying, and it's up to the interviewer to call you on your exaggeration.

You gotta do what you gotta do to survive, and that's the way it is. That being said, I hate faking it, and I work hard to graduate to not faking it as fast as I can. But I would never be mad at someone for faking it. Outright lying I have zero tolerance for, but faking it is just fine.

A different set of people may suffer from Dunning Kruger effect or delusions of grandeur, in which case it could be terrible advice.

2. divide them into A and B, a test and a control group, obviously randomly. (1,000 each.)

3. Give them the same idea. They are to prepare pitch decks for it and get funding.

4. The test group is told to fake already having made a $10 million exit. They are not allowed to exactly lie, but their job is to go out of their way to give this impression. (Literally fake this impression by any means necessary short of outright fraud or lying.)

Predicted results:

5. 0.000% (0 out of 1,000) of the control group will be funded.

6. Approximately 104% of the 1,000 in the test group will be funded, many of them before they've even left the room in which you are explaining the test protocol. (They might try out what you're explaining, via a quick email from their phone.) The reason it's more than 100% is that many of them will be funded multiple times while the test runs, i.e. for more than just the company they're seeking money for but also a second company.

7. What is remarkable is that I predict the same result if you gave the test group a really shitty idea, I mean objectively a terrible idea, and the control group an objectively ground-breaking or just awesome idea. This part is hard to prove though so better to give everyone the same idea.

What is my point?

My point is that not only does faking it work, it is the difference between 102% and 0.000% efficacy. You would never get funding for an idea that is the best idea of the 21st century, but you will get untold fortunes for pseudoscience if people think you've "made it."

I realize I am arguing from a controlled thought-experiment here but this is the state of the world, folks.

And everything was built based upon that being the dominant economic form of every company. Almost every single aspect of how modern companies are organized and work was designed to facilitate that factory mindset and we don't seem prepared to revisit it any time soon. The fact that now the assembly line is gone and the office has consumed it all and the only thing that matters at all is people knowing the right thing, making good judgments that can never be captured by a 'standard operating procedure', etc, doesn't seem to bother those in a position to do anything about it.

To be clear, the point in the article is still right: we actually will be less confident and have all sorts of problems when there's false pretenses. It is good to be honest and say things like "This is my first time doing this". We come across better and can actually be more confident without the pretense.

"Fake it til you make it" in the end is as useful as "better to ask forgiveness than permission". Anyone just accepting this as good advice for whatever situation without other good judgment is a careless imbecile.

From article:

”I never liked this quote because it implies being something that you are not, which leads to disingenuous behaviour.”

Some of us don’t like who we are. Some of us want to change. Need to change. And sometimes just want try on a new pair of shoes.

I’ve posted comments before about how I mitigated my anger management problem(s) (abused as a child) and anxiety (chronic life threatening illnesses) by changing my language, my expectations, my habits, my monkey sphere roster.

Works great. Each reboot takes about three years.

The scary part is that most don’t remember changing. This is how propaganda works. Maybe cult indoctrination too (I believe, but cannnot prove).

Sure, the power to change can be used for good or evil. And yet, choosing to be self-actualized is kinda awesome.

As with life, the saying works great for some things, but not so great for other things. If you want to be a comedian, some times it's better to just go up on stage and pretend you've already mastered it, until you do eventually become a master. Self-doubt will kill you, so fake yourself out and just go for it until you're actually good.

If you want to be a doctor, then obviously it doesn't work as well.

Your either gonna fake it and make it, or walk away from the computer.

My so was surprised to here I "fake" my job... self thought tinkerer since my teens! Luckily I picked up a degree to prop my cv.

But I'm still dev'ing like it is the teen days... maybe with a bit of git, ci, and devops sprinkled in between.

It is useful to pretend to be the "go to" member of the team and simulate a conversation with them. Start an email to that person asking for help, and then think about the response s/he will send, then update the email until you can't predict the response. Often, you'll find a solution on your own.

Interesting article supporting the idea, but changing the saying to, "Fake it until you become it".

It's a motivational concept, a personal reinforcement of a goal you've set for yourself, slang for dropping in. You'll get hit but you want to get hit. You want this.

Wanna be? Gotta be. Poke and go.

People were not encouraging you to avoid asking questions.

its a positive mind set.

A couple of other ones: -Dont strike when the irons hot but make the iron hot by striking. -Law of Attraction

guys, comeone , this is hacker news ... can you get a point simple point with out over complicating it.

We are supposed to be good engineers here, we are over engineering this idea