Don’t Fake it Until You Make it
In December of 2016 I was a delivery driver. One of my many odds jobs was taking food to people’s homes and offices while they worked. My car constantly smelled like five different restaurants all at once. The hours were terrible. Los Angeles traffic will cause the sanest person to lose their cool.
One morning I was leaving for work. Ready to make a difference in the world, one hungry stomach at a time. As I get to my parking spot, I realized my car is gone. Oil stains were the only things left. Those missed payments had finally caught up to me.
It’s hard for someone to make your business public if you’ve done it yourself. After my car was repossessed I tweeted about it. The homeless period in my life was a large part of my book. No one can use my past against me in any way. I’ve told all the stories myself!
The bad situations in our lives happen for a reason. It’s there to make you grow. If life were roses and rainbows, you’d never be challenged. Therefore, growth would eventually become a foreign concept.
Social media has made it extremely easy for anyone to create a persona. Several of us now measure our importance in the world by our follower count or the level of engagement different pages receives. Having millions of people who really don’t know you and definitely don’t care about you matters way too much. The façade doesn’t fool the right people.
Always be who you are, not who it’s convenient to be.
The whole “fake it until you make it” statement has always bothered me. Having confidence and belief that you can do anything is great. But putting up a front and portraying a life you aren’t living just yet will only stunt your growth. Some opportunities have been completely ruined because of lies or a false perception.
Fully committing to being you is extremely liberating. Honestly, most people aren’t doing very well in life. There are more people living paycheck to paycheck than you can imagine. So don’t be embarrassed when your credit card is declined or when the payments are late. It’s happens to everyone!
The most important thing is where you’re going. What are you doing every single day to reach your goals? If you’re working hard then there is no need to be ashamed about your current status in life. Stay focused on the goal ahead.
