Act As If
Seriously, WTF.<p>I hate this <i>"fake it til you make it attitude"</i> and I see it both in the startup industry and the one we work in (photography). This works for Conan and actors because the worst-case is he has a bad show. It can work in an investor pitch meeting because the worst-case is you bomb and they don't invest. But once you're providing a professional service to someone else (consulting, wedding photography, training) or leading employees at a company, you have no effing business <i>pretending to be something you're not</i>.<p>- If you've never at least attempted to start a business, you have no business coaching people in lean startup methodologies and taking their money.<p>- If you've never assisted at a wedding and learned your camera, you have no business buying an SLR at Costco and taking money to photograph someone's wedding.<p>- If you don't know anything about basic web app security, you have no business taking someone's money and building them an ecommerce site.<p>Yes, at a certain point you can learn new things as you go. But IMO too many people are straight-up lying about what they are and what they know.<p>I feel the concepts of humility, apprenticeship, and a desire for learning/mastery are being lost in favor of "act as if" and "get big fast".<p>---<p>EDIT: I get now that this article is addressed to those with <i>impostor syndrome</i> and not actual impostors. Personally I think actual impostors are more endemic and just as likely to latch onto advice like this.