There's a lot of bad advice floating around out there, related to your business and pretty much everything else you can think of (health, wealth, relationships, etc).
Every niche or industry has its charlatans and gurus who just want to milk you of your money, and who don't care if they deliver the goods.
You're probably nodding your head right now, thinking of one or more things that go on in your industry that are flat-out wrong.
Then there's the good advice that gets misinterpreted.
Fake it till you make it falls into this second category.
Largely because many people misinterpret it to mean:
"Even though you're not an expert you can still position yourself as one."
No.
That's actually lying to people about your skill set and capabilities.
You need to actually BE an expert in order to claim that status. You need to have the goods, which you can only get by learning and doing.
It takes time.
You don't become a "master" of anything in 3 months.
And if you pretend to be an expert just to get people to pay you, they're going to find out and it's going to hurt.
Posing with a rented Lambo or high rise condo...
...making up testimonials or credentials...
...misrepresenting how big your company is...
...are all forms of fakery that will end up hurting you.
Real bad.
Here's the good news:
If you are an expert (or are building your expertise) there are things you CAN fake, without lying to your customers.
Things like:
CONFIDENCE to match your current level of skill.
COURAGE to put yourself out there while others are hiding behind their insecurities.
COMMITMENT to work your damn ass off to deliver on your promises.
You cannot fake facts... but you CAN fake how you feel, think and act.
When you do (and when do it consistently) you'll outperform just about everyone else, because they're letting the stupid thoughts in their head get in their way.
Do it long enough and you'll prove YOURSELF right.
And in the process you'll be in the game, helping real people with real problems using real skills you've attained.
Before long, you won't have to fake those pesky facts... they'll all be true.
Paul Keetch
