I was driving expediently from Boulder to Denver yesterday with my friend the barista. We were discussing what she wanted to do with her future and a masters degree came up. I asked her why she wanted to study Art History and she said to get the proper credentials for the job that she wanted. What came to mind was that she really didn’t need to go to school.
Perhaps I’m just cynical, because grad school often times sounds like a hardy excuse to me. It’s like a chain smoker saying that they’ll quit tomorrow. A halfhearted promise that is only meant to sooth the bearers mind. What I told her instead was that there are few domains out there that require actual credentials and even those can be faked (Frank Abagnale).
In fact, if you were to ask a handful of the most successful people in this world what their secret was they would unanimously say, in one form or another, that they learned to play the system (read: fake it). Allow me to get down to the bottom of what I mean by this.
What if I were to tell you that everything that is order in our daily lives was fabricated unconsciously by humans. There would be no open market or dollar value if we did not exist on this planet. After all, if a tree fell in the woods, and no one was there to witness, would it make a sound? So following this train of logic it’s reasonable to assume that we make the rules for this system. It’s not by magic that celebrities rise to fame. We the population create the conditions that establish the opportunities by which the right people are successful. Now, there is something to be said about the collective social organization that is culture and society but that’s an entirely different discussion.
The point that I’m assembling is that since this is all made up anyway then every participant in turn is also making it up as they go along. For a breath of reality take a look at other cultures and what they consider socially acceptable. In some societies writing on a piece of paper that you won’t recommit a crime is enough because honor is everything. That is their norm/reality.
If you’re still following along then you’ve probably come to the next question. If all things are faked then what can one do to learn to fake it better? I believe that it’s really simple. Learn to say things with a straight face i.e. bluff. Bill Gates managed to walk into IBM, tell them that Microsoft had an operating system to sell, retained ownership and received royalties on said software, yet didn’t once give away that he had nothing. That’s right, he didn’t have a single line of code to offer up on the chopping block. This feat lead to one of the greatest wealths in history.
So back to my friend whom wants to be a curator in a gallery. I recommended that she pick a few that she wanted to work at, walk into each dressed professionally and say, “I love the work here, I love the art world, and I want to work for you.” To that she’ll probably hear, “What are your credentials?” Her reply should be, “Honestly I don’t have a formal degree, though I am an artist and more importantly I have the desire and passion to learn everything there is to learn about this industry.” At this point one of three things will probably occur.
- The owner says, “Sorry but you need the appropriate credentials and I can’t hire you.”
- The owner says, “I love your fire. When can you start?”
- The owner says, “I love your drive but right now we’re not hiring. Let’s see if we can work something out.”
If you get response 1 then you really didn’t want to work there anyway. The owner lacks the vision to hire someone so forward thinking. In a perfect world we’d always get response 2. The most likely retort would probably be 3. In this scenario you need to then ask yourself how badly do you really want the job? If you take a play from P Diddy’s biography then you’ll find yourself saying, “Let me prove myself. I’ll work for free for now. If you like what I do then hire me. If you don’t then tell me to go away.” True story.
I’ve probably mentioned this a million times, rules are only meant to teach you general lessons until you learn that rules do not exist. Remember back in high school when you looked up to the popular kids? As you grew up you realized that there wasn’t anything overbearingly special about them. What about the new kid in school? Did you know that she was a complete dork in the last one? We’ve been faking it since day one and it would be naive to think that anything has change. Maybe the game has been scaled up a bit but the players are still the same.
October 12th, 2009
16 Comments at "Everybody is Faking It"
You have a great point here. I think that mostly what is required to do what you want, is the desire and drive to do it.
I wonder if the faking takes a second level. I am currently in college and a programmer, but I have may friends who say that they want to do something, but then because this or that don’t think they are good enough. Sometimes I wonder if they too are faking it and don’t really desire it, because if they did, they could easily attain it.
[...] yourself by moving up the chain of command before you start your own company. Or you could simply fake it until you make it. In fact, if you were to ask a handful of the most successful people in this world what their [...]
I rarely leave comments on any blog, hell I rarely do more than scan an article, but I thoroughly enjoyed this post and the points it makes. What I took away from your post is that we as individuals can redefine ourselves in many ways and it is important to tailor ones self to the current situation in order to achieve the desired outcome.
Sounds like you haven’t really met too many talented people; everyone isn’t faking it, and the only people who think that are the ones faking it.
Some people are deeply talented at what they do and work in fields where faking it just isn’t possible. In those fields, those who aren’t faking it can instantly tell when someone is faking it.
By the Bill Gates just walking into IBM and getting the deal of a lifetime is a myth, the fact is Gates mother was on the board of the United Way, along with John Opel, an executive at IBM. His connections got him in, he didn’t just stroll in.
Great point, indeed. I definitely agree but I also think it’s slightly incomplete. I would argue that the owner of the gallery wasn’t necessarily lacking vision just because they wanted credentials but usually people aren’t turned away for that exact reason but often another. Saying “you don’t have the credentials” is sometimes a veil for that person not being hired for some other reason.
Also, not having credentials is fine but in the end, drive and passion are good but insufficient alone to get to great success. You still do need to have the ability to grow your talent because of your drive and passion or have a natural or innate talent that supports your drive and passion. It’s unfortunate (but real) that there are many people out there that love to do X and hate doing Y but talented at Y and not X and may never become very talented at X at all because they lack some ability to develop the talent necessary to really excel at X.
Interesting.
So, going by your argument, would you like to be treated by a doctor who got in via option 2?
Daniel
@daniel:
when’s the last time you ask ur doctors where s/he got the md from?
@x
Fortunately, no doctor is allowed to open a practice in the UK or Switzerland without credentials. That’s not the case everywhere in the world, though. And going to the author’s example, I definitely wouldn’t want to be treated by Frank Abagnale.
Daniel
What you call faking is really the fundamental process of nature. It is called marketing. Every flower is a billboard for insects.
http://www.paulgraham.com/credentials.html the issue isn’t faking it, its using credentials instead of performance.
Great article! Thanks!
It’s important to distinguish between society’s rules and the laws of nature. 2+2 always equals 4…but if I get a degree in art history, it won’t make me a great curator - I don’t have an affinity for it. And a lack of a degree doesn’t mean your friend can’t be a great curator.
I suggest option 4: get a job at the gallery and get them to pay tuition. Relevant experience is the best credential.
“The owner lacks the vision to hire someone so forward thinking” - bc she said no to some weirdo who showed up at the door asking for a job?
You do need chutspah, and product of chutspah can bring tangible benefits both to yourself and to the community in which you live. Read the sneaker slogans!
But what about the Madoff’s of the world, whose “faking it” risks, or ends up, causing others real pain.
You mentioned P Diddy, I’ll mention Django–at the end of the day you’re going to need real chops.
I think you can only fake it so much. At some point, credentials come into play. The Frank Abagnale example is perfect. He couldn’t continue to be a doctor because he wasn’t educated to be a doctor. So he fled.
On the other hand, I agree with you that people use grad school as an excuse to avoid real life, and to put off working (if that’s what you meant?) But, if they can afford the exorbitant sum required for grad school, more power to em. I will concede however, that for a few professions, a graduate degree is justly required.
Damn good! Was just writing on my blog about the same thing, put a link on mine to yours! So true, love the comment that the players remain the same, just that the ante is upped!
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