Fake It Until You Maybe Make It

screenshot by the author

I recently caught up with an old friend, and we spent some time updating each other on our lives, more than a decade after I left Italy. We grew up together, even studied the same thing, but then our paths diverged: he stayed in the town where we grew up, while I moved abroad. Neither choice is inherently better or worse — they’re just different paths, each with its own set of pros and cons.

He remained in familiar surroundings, building on the network he had cultivated over the years, while I ventured into new territory, starting from scratch, battling with foreign languages, and navigating unfamiliar bureaucracies. But in doing so, I broadened my horizons. That self-imposed challenging situation may be what pushed me out of my comfort zone, leading me to adopt a more proactive approach to work and business.

Our conversation ended with this brief exchange (in Italian), where he paid me a compliment, and I responded with humility:

He: “Una capa. Come sempre.”
Me: “Ci si prova. Come sempre.”

Literally translated, this means:

He: “A (girl) boss, as usual.”
Me: “We keep trying, as usual.”

This playful exchange lingered in my mind for days, as a perfect synthesis of the “Fake it until you make it” mindset — a…