Fake It 'Till Ya Make It!

Fake it 'till ya make it is becomming the law-of-the sales land. Maybe it always has been that way. I see it, I hear it, I read it.

Sales coaching/mentoring is big at it. Get a site, write in some copy that makes it look like DaGuru has arrived with acolades and a history of success - and you're off to make your millions.

Salesmen are big at it. Everything is great, fantastic, fine, top-of-the-world. Well, you don't need negative thinking in your face do you?

My unscientific amateurish opinion is that this is neither the high nor the low road to success.

Mitchm

What does "Fake It 'Till Ya Make It!" mean to you?

It means nothing to me, Houston. Like anyone I can apply definitions to the phrase.

Those I know who have used that - acted and even used those words - used it to mean they pretended to be earning more money then they were; they pretended to be more successful in sales positions than they were; they pretended to be more successful in coaching/mentoring than they were; they were pretenders.

They acted in a way or told me that the idea is if you pretend you are what you are not but expect to be you will attract the attention the business the accounts the sales you want because people will believe you.

There's a lot of contemporary information that turns convolution of an ideal or projection or pretending into what's touted as "law of attraction" and other things giving the pretender a way to view his pretensions as valid, honest, morally corrrect and a good thing.

Those are some things I've heard and seen and how I understand fake it 'till ya make it to mean for people.

Does it mean anything to you, Houston and if so what?

MitchM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

Does it mean anything to you, Houston and if so what?

This story represents what it means to me:

http://www.nightingale.com/AE_Articl...YouMakeIt.aspx

Earl Nighingale's radio message is a classic - that example one I'd call emulating success. My post is more in line with false information when applying for a job and credentials that are made up.

MitchM

Emulating success isn't faking it until you make it any more than disciplined practice copying the best is the same as pretense. Inflated, made-up resumes to promote one's sale's coaching skill and following is faking it until you make it. Inflated, made up incomes to promote one's sales ability is faking until you make it.

Then every now and then comes an imposter who fakes it then makes it - we all know the history books are filled with this kind of success for good and for ill. Subterfuge wears many faces.

MitchM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

Emulating success isn't faking it until you make it any more than disciplined practice copying the best is the same as pretense. Inflated, made-up resumes to promote one's sale's coaching skill and following is faking it until you make it. Inflated, made up incomes to promote one's sales ability is faking until you make it.

Then every now and then comes an imposter who fakes it then makes it - we all know the history books are filled with this kind of success for good and for ill. Subterfuge wears many faces.

MitchM

MitchM, there's a gray area related to your topic. Faking it is one thing. Taking, and accepting (ie. from this day forward) is another. A person can make a conscious and definitive decision to become a professional, and standard bearer in his/her field. At that point it becomes true, because growth starts.

If, on the other hand, a person fakes the rewards of professionalism and achievment and embellishes his/her status, it's a different matter. It is possible that it could be effective, but in most cases it's a house of cards.

I don't see any gray in this unless it's either pretension e.g. hyping and lying about things OR confusion.

Professional behavior and emulating successful people is not the same as faking it until you make it - they are black and white different.

Obviously some extremely successful people have put up a pretense and become exceptionally successful through successful subterfudge with no morial issues, no legal or criminal or deceptive issues that hurt anyone. Likewise, many straight shooters using Full Disclosure as their DoctrineOfBehavior have not succeeded for other reasons.

I've become aware of many people in situations inflating what they've done to sound like seasoned business coaches and mentors and likewise, I've also become aware of people in sales inflating their success and status for whatever reasons.

Any other observations about what fake it 'till you make it means?

MitchM

Fake It 'Till Ya Make It - This has never been about deception to me but instead it's been about adopting a mindset and acting accordingly based on the person you want to be at some future place in time.

That's not the same as faking it until you make it, SpeedRacer. That's emulating successful people in manner and behavior with an attitude toward your own success. They are not the same.

One of the ways I see what you posted turned into making it 'till ya fake it is in the behavior of someone I know personally - since she expects to be a million dollar income earner, since she expects the people she's working with to want to be the same, and since she believes it's important to frame success in the present tense to "attract" success, I've heard her say: "I'm building a million dollar business with like minded friends. We're already making plans for a big party we're throwing next August. Our business is a million dollar business and it's getting better every day."

Delusion? Imagination Gone Wild? Adopting a success mind-set? Something else?

Then come the so called "success coaches" who rewrite their history in words and phrases that make it sound like they've coached the biggest and the best - you know, had a coffee with brother John who works for MegaGlobalCorp INReT so one of my clients has been: INRet.

Fake It 'Till Ya Make It!

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