are you a fraud?

When you first start any new endeavor, at some point you’re going to feel like a fraud.

When I first started my job as a nonprofit headhunter I had never - at that point - successfully recruited anyone to a new job. And yet, I was calling myself - and selling my services as - a recruiter.

“I’m not a recruiter,” I remember thinking. “I’m a liar.”

There’s always a tension between your current reality and the self you intend to be. And in that gap lurks the imposter syndrome.

So, how do you know if you’re a fraud or not?

One word.

And that word is not “excellence,” “mastery”, or even “success.”

As many have said, you have to be willing to suck at something at first. Even blockbuster-making Pixar acknowledges - when the stories were still being written, shaped, and tested - that every one of their films was at first an “ugly baby.” Not even Finding Nemo started out as a masterpiece.

So, how do you know if you’re a fraud?

One word.

And that one word is action.

Every new business, story, or work of art starts out as a dream. But what separates the dreamers and those who actually achieve their dreams is action.

A writer may not yet be published (success) but a writer is - at the very least - writing (action).

The world needs your creative visions, but more accurately, it needs that vision to be birthed into something helpful.

One of my friends is an incredibly gifted songwriter and years before he recorded his first album, we were having a conversation about his music.

“When are we going to see an album?”

“Well, I actually have plans for two or three albums that I’m working on,” he explained.

My response?

“One album in my hands is better than two in your head.”

Two lessons here.

First, stop getting mired in self-doubt or perfectionism and get it out there. Figure out the next practical step to take and take it.

“Real artists ship,” Steve Jobs famously said.

But the lesson is also that if you are slowly but steadily working towards your dream, then own it. Let it shape your identity.

Are you writing? You’re a writer.

Are you working on your new business, new album, or new project? You’re an entrepreneur, an artist, or a leader.

Write it down. Say it out loud. Put it on your LinkedIn bio.

“I am a ___________,” Designer. Artist. Architect. Songwriter. Salesperson. Animator. Novelist. Coach. Speaker. Photographer. Filmmaker. YouTuber. Actor. Owner. Creative.

It’s ok to suck at it at first… as long as you’re taking action.