Fake it 'til you... (pt.1)

Fake it 'til you make it! You've heard it. You've

said it. You've even tried it - be honest! So how did it go?

I'd like to think there is a faith component involved in fake it til you make it. But truly, the phrase makes me feel fraudulent. Thinking about this post, a quick search on the Google led me to believe there are many fake it til you make it proponents out there. At the same time the anti-fake-it-til-you-make-it contingent has a strong voice.

Enter Amy Cuddy's powerful TED Talk entitled Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.

Link to Amy Cuddy's Ted Talk

I confess to being a bit of a TED addict. And the perspective Cuddy brings to the discussion is both insightful and powerful.

Along with Cuddy's TED Talk - to which we'll return - I recently saw the 2004 version of The Alamo. It may not rank with Gone With the Wind or Citizen Kane, but buried within are are some quotes that resonate. My favorite comes from Billy Bob Thorton's Davy Crockett. Crockett and Jim Bowie, two larger-than-life frontier legends, are reflecting as Santa Anna's massive army besieges the small rebel force within the Alamo. As they laugh (in the face of near-certain death) about the tall-tales told about them, Crockett admits,

"If it was just me, simple old David from Tennessee, 

I might drop over that wall some night... 

take my chances. But that Davy Crockett feller... 

they're all watchin' him." 

In this statement, Crockett (at least the fictional one) admits apprehension and the sense he feels that he can't live up to his - that Davy Crockett feller's - hype. Mixed with this, however, is the inner strength and conviction that he must fulfill the role to which he is called.

Ever felt that way? You've probably never waded the Mississippi, leapt the Ohio or killed bears with your bare hands either. (For the over 45 crowd, cue the music... Davy, Davy Crockett... King of the wild frontier...) OK, real world - at what point did you suddenly feel equipped to be a parent? Or even more challenging, parent teens? The fact is, you and I are thrust into roles for which we feel unprepared and under-equipped.

I have had the opportunity to serve in several leadership roles over the span of my first 50. Into some of them I carried an awkward combination of confidence and sense of under-qualification. For many years I served as the senior pastor of a good size church. It was at times a daunting spot for ... simple old David... who just wanted to... drop over the wall some night...  I now find myself in a capacity in which I am often the least qualified and technically savvy person in the room; yet the responsibility for decision lies with my role.

So what are we to do? Fake it 'til we make it? Though the idea has merit at points, I think it falls short. And again, the phrase and the concept have the aroma of being a bit disingenuous. When I hear those words I picture people I've come across over the years who exhibit a heightened sense of self-importance and an underdeveloped character. I don't want to be one. Yet, I don't want to settle. As a matter of fact I want to press on... to achieve more, to serve more, to BE more!

TED :)

I hope to expand on this a little in pt.2. So I'm going to leave you hanging for now. In the meantime, watch Amy Cuddy's TED Talk when you get a chance. I promise you'll be inspired.

For now...
D