“Believe it till you become it” is the better way of saying “fake it till you make it.”
I’ve never loved the phrase, “fake it till you make it,” but the message behind it is a good one. You have to leap before you’re ready. You have to confront imposter syndrome and persist even if you’re not sure you’re good enough.
But you shouldn’t be “faking it.” You’re not a fraud, you’re just a little inexperienced. And the goal isn’t to “make it” because what does that even mean in today’s world? Success is in the eye of the beholder. “Making it” isn’t the goal for me, personally. My goal is to become someone I’m proud of.
That’s why I love “believe it till you become it.” Belief is much more genuine than faking it. And becoming is more personal than making it. “Making it” is about someone else’s standards. Whereas “becoming” is about self actualization.
If you believe you’re a writer, you’ll wake up every day and write. If you’re faking being a writer, you won’t actually put in the work.
No one is going to pick you. Do the work and believe it until you become it.
Thank you Jeff Goins for mentioning the phrase on David Kadavy’s podcast. I highly recommend giving it a listen.