3 “Fake it ’til you make it” strategies for successful and happy life
I am sure you must have heard this phrase before Fake it ‘till you make it. When you heard it for the first time, how well it resonated within your thoughts? I am sure it would have been cheesy and spurious! Education and values have taught us well to believe in ourselves and value honesty. There is science which backs up the theory of Fake it until you make it for a successful and happy life. But why?
Fake it until you make it is nothing but imitating confidence when dealing with work, life or anything and everything. The whole idea is about daydreaming with wide open eyes and believing in yourself that you can be anything you want to be. As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said — We become, what we think. It goes without mention that you have to work harder towards your goal persistently.
“To be virtuous one must act as a virtuous person would act.”- Aristotle Click To Tweet
Fake it ’til you make it is about challenging and beating your limits. For instance, this concept does wonders dealing with depression. One has to imitate as a happy person. Initially, it will be a mundane and unnatural task, but with the persistent effort, it will become real.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” — Jim RyunClick To Tweet
There are two types of people in this world — 1) Who are self-aware and work hard to change per surrounding environment. 2) Who know their limits and may restrict themselves based on their experiences. The first category of people are the successful people but are less than 1% percentage, whereas most of us fall into the second type.
Today I am going to show 3 Fake it ‘till you make it strategies which could make you successful in your professional and personal life.
Do not get me wrong if I use word Fake throughout this article since my sheer intention is to use Fake in the context of imitating confidence.
1. Dress for success
We know all these phrases Don’t judge a book by its cover or Looks can be deceiving but yet we make perceptions and judge people by their looks. Have you ever wondered why?
Reason is simple — just like electricity, our brain follows the shortest path. It takes less time to size people based on looks whereas it takes a lot of time and sessions to decide someone based on personality, behaviour and intent.
A study has shown that people are more confident in right attires. For example, doctors wear apron or lawyers wear black coat or politicians wear whites. The way you dress help you command authority, inspire people and build trust in the eyes of individuals.
A better-looking person is always perceived as a better person. Similarly, an aged person is believed to be cool, calm and less energetic.
In our personal life, we hear stories of love at first sight. How can it be so simple with something as complicated as love? Have you ever reasoned it enough? This is no brainer as it is called infatuation which is triggered by the looks and presentation of male and female with each other.
I still remember when I switched my domain from core engineering to sales, I had a humongous task of building the reputation with customers in no time. I quickly adapted to the sales role and made a few changes in my wardrobe and my daily routine as well.
Very soon, a new avatar of me came into existence. I started shaving daily, wore white full sleeve shirt with dark shade trouser and polished shoe. I felt more confident dealing with my customers and even they did not hesitate to place order on my trust and abilities.
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Go for big brands like Hugo Boss, Alden, Tom Press, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Lacoste, Prada, etc. Some of you may question me, why? There are two reasons — Firstly, they are best regarding fitting and looks. Secondly, I have seen people connecting well with same or similar brands. Sometimes you may not have to break the ice for starting a conversation with someone notable in your organisation.
So, next time if you are wearing hoodies or even wearing shabby clothes while leaving for work, think twice.
https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are
It is worth every penny and your time making minimal changes in your wardrobe according to your habitat. Initially it might be challenging, but eventually, you will embrace it.
2. No CAR? You are missing the big picture!
You may ask why to get a car if you are comfortable on a bike or public transport? I am going to cite various advantages of getting a car.
Flaunt your success
You will agree with me if I say people who can afford Porsche, Audi, Mercedes, etc. are successful or influential. Your value and influence suddenly increases based on choice of car segment. Similarly, it goes true if you compare a car owner with someone having a bike or no personal vehicle.
It does not matter if you do not have a sports car, but you can still fake a decent car till you make it to a sports or a luxury car.
Networking opportunity
Isn’t it great to have an opportunity of networking with great people while commuting to the workplace? I would like to call out one incident where I had a chance to offer a lift to my company’s CEO when his car broke down en route.
It was my time to shine! We had a nice chat all along the way till he reached his home. After that, he never forgot my name, and very often we exchanged smiles and whereabouts. This whole episode is no ordinary!
A car is one of the biggest media which could fetch you the chance of networking with right people in your niche. These days car pooling is very common. If things such as location, timings, etc. are conducive, then you may get a chance to pool with your boss or colleagues.
Cheaper, comfortable and safer travel
As I told earlier, you can even do car pooling. Car sharing could be cheaper than your bike rides or any public transport.
You do not have to shed fortune in buying a decent car. There are so many options available starting from hatchback to full-size sedan. If you are running low on budget, then it may be wise to purchase a second-hand car instead of a new car.
It is a known fact that car travel is comfortable and safer than bike or even walking. And then you do not have to worry about weather conditions before you start your journey.
3. Live with the best
To be the best you have to live with the best! I always try to rent my house in a posh location. Of course, it costs more money, but there are many benefits which could devalue money.
If you want to think like successful people, you have to live with them. Remember “Fake it until you make it”. Living with wealthy and successful people gives you an opportunity window to know them well, learn their secrets and follow their footsteps.
You may get many opportunities for networking with successful people since you are living with them in the same locality. You could meet them in lifts, parks, community events and sometimes your neighbour tag could get you invited to big parties.
Your living status makes it easier to fake your credibility in the eyes of successful people around you. I have seen people getting a stash of cash worth consultancy order within few informal meetings.
All these posh localities are placed in the most prominent locations in the city. Sometimes you could even land few steps away from your work areas. In turn, you will be saving money and time commuting to the office.
Other benefits of these localities are safety, availability of emergency response team, reachability to major public facilities and amenities like hospitals, schools, shopping malls, etc.
Conclusion
There is no harm leveraging your lifestyle to market yourself. Money attracts money. To gain success and capital in the shorter or longer run, you may have to do a certain amount of investment.
Confidence and hard work are the keys to getting the maximum out of Fake it ’til you make it strategy. A study has shown that even overconfidence makes an individual appear competent and credible to others.
But do not forget your originality. Be humble and generous. Do not get stuck in gleam and sparkle of money. Money alone will not make you happy in the longer run. When you achieve success and earn money, donate a part of it to people who are starving or some other social cause.
So, what are your thoughts behind Fake it till you make it strategy for success? Do let me know in the comments section below.
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Originally published at www.stemjar.com on May 19, 2017.
