I was sitting on our patio at Founding Farmers & Distillers, on Mass Ave in DC, talking with two of our restaurant leaders. Listening to them talk about their careers, their journeys, where they have won, and how they have righted themselves through the stumbles and the mud. These two guys have never faked anything. They put in the work. They acknowledge their short comings. They dig deep, they take the pain when they aren’t good enough, and they find a way to get better. They strive for mastery and along the way they are never trying to fool themselves, or those around them, in the areas where they haven’t figured it out yet. Their words were so real, their paths so authentic. It struck me that their winning, impressive careers have no element of faking anything. They are the real deal and it shows in who they are, how they engage, and in their work.
So, for any of you out there who’ve been told to fake it till you make it, or for those of you who have flowed these words over your tongue, I say it’s time to self-edit. Delete the phrase, eliminate the concept from your thinking and how you present yourself in the world. Realize faking it is a bad idea, a lame paradigm from the first moment someone uttered the words. Instead, let’s just do the work and tell the truth.