We are all Frauds: The Job demands it
What does tomorrow look like?
Nobody knows but we promise that our art can change the world.
We make claims that if you read that book, your perception will change
If you buy my course, you will be able to do X better
Once I’m done with the designs, you would love them
If you read my blog, you will enjoy it
On and on it goes.
Yet, we can’t say for sure if any of these will every happen.
Art is unpredictable, yet we make that promise.
We vouch for our work, irrespective.
That’s fraudulent.
Not fraudulent that we are trying to dupe anyone of their money. We shouldn’t do that.
But fraudulent that we are trying to predict a future we are not sure of ourselves
This is the job of a creative.
We cannot predict the outcome of creative work.
We cannot say for sure what will happen after all these.
But we are crazy optimists who put in the work expecting that the result comes out as expected
That’s why creative work is risky.
We are putting our reputation on the line.
Far away from our comfort zone.
That’s what leadership is about.
Inspiring hope unforeseen.
Building momentum and courage in the face of war.
Challenging people to take the upper hand.
Even when we aren’t sure of what is on the other side.
A leader might be scared of war but his job is to lead his people to war not to be scared of it.
To do his job, he has to be an impostor
He has to show that he is bold even when he is not
I am leading a 30-day writing challenge.
I am scared that I’d mess up
I still find it difficult to write.
I still struggle to be disciplined to put words to paper and ship.
I am still scared of failure.
But I have a job to inspire people to write more.
And that’s the job I do.
Irrespective of my fear, of my struggles, I still go to these people to inspire courage in them
I still give them advices on how to get the job done
I still encourage them to get to the finish line.
Meanwhile, I need these the most.
We are frauds. We are impostors.
We are predicting a future that we haven’t seen.
We are crazy. We are misfits
For putting our lives on the line
All on the basis of a misguided/guided hope
That it might work!
But, it might not work tomorrow.
The change might not come.
Our prediction might be wrong.
The book might not sell.
The business might not scale
Your customer might not like the design.
Your readers might not enjoy your post.
And it is fine!
It is fine because in the first place, we hoped it comes out fine.
Not because we knew for sure but because we trusted in our art.
We trusted in our guts.
We trusted in our ability to change the world.
But it did not work.
So try again until it does or try something better.
But when you feel like a fraud, embrace it.
Don’t run from it. It wants you to run
Don’t let it eat you. It wants to eat your dreams
Don’t fight it. You cannot win it
Embrace it. We are all frauds
For in embracing who you are – a fraud – is how you can do better work.
Our work is hinged on uncertainties.
Embrace your identity.
We are all frauds.
The job demands it.
Wow!! This is another angle that shows how much we believe in our work/art despite the challenges
Wow. This!
Nice!