I hear people say it all the time. “Fake it til you make it,” and I get the sentiment, but I don’t really like it. I used to have a similar statement, which is most of the really great creative success I’ve had were because I was too stupid to know I wasn’t qualified. It sounds like a similar ethos but there is a major difference. I wasn’t faking. I was doing the best work I could possibly do and believing in myself and my calling enough to put it out there win or lose. This is, to my experience, the best way to be because you never know until you try, so try, take your lumps if necessary, learn what you can and try again until you succeed. No faking allowed, because people can tell when you’re faking.
Of course the other problem in faking it til you make it, is what does it mean to have made it? I can’t speak for you but for me success is a sliding scale. Most of creativity is project based. Create your best work, send it out to the world and then do what you’re called to do next. There is no time for resting on your laurels here. We have got to continually keep doing our best work.
Finally, “fake it til you make it” implies waiting to be picked. While there are some cases where that is still a necessity, in much of the creative world, we no longer have to wait to be picked. Most of life for creative people is doing the work, finding your tribe (those who truly love your work) and keeping providing those who love you with more things to love.
Don’t fake it. Just make the most of opportunities and wherever possible, make your own opportunities.
AMOKArts 