Fake It Till You Make It: How a Vision Carried Me Through the Hardest Moments

In 2020, self-doubt hit hard.

Like many of us, I was feeling down, unsure of what the future held.

It was the height of the pandemic—no one knew what was coming next. Alone in Oslo, away from family and friends during Easter, I found myself confined to four walls with only an idea for a platform I believed in: Material Mapper.

Joining the world’s largest online hackathon with over 15,000 participants from 20+ countries, I knew it would be intense, but I had no idea how challenging it would get.

I was working around the clock, barely finding time to eat or even take a toilet break.

One night, sleep-deprived and frustrated, I felt like giving up. It seemed like I couldn’t find the right people for the right tasks, like nothing was going my way.

Then, a friend reminded me: “Success is on the other side of pushing through.”

I had already envisioned the end result, I could almost touch it.... I couldn’t stop now.

Re-energized, I pressed on, searching tirelessly for the right team members.

And within an hour, everything shifted. I found exactly who I needed, and we pulled together, giving it our all. In the end, we emerged as the winners.

That hackathon became a turning point, the start of so many other achievements with Material Mapper.

This wasn’t about pretending to have all the answers; it was about acting as if I could already see the finish line. I knew exactly how the result that wins will look like!

When we embrace that mindset, our vision can carry us through even the toughest stretches. Now, that experience reminds me that sometimes, all we need to do is see ourselves on the other side of success and keep pushing.

So if self-doubt creeps in, try envisioning the success you’re aiming for.

I do not believe in "manifesting".

But I 100% believe in envisioning success - and acting like you have it!

Do you?