I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
A couple of years ago I had a short conversation with a colleague that went something like this:
Me: I sometimes feel like any minute now the whole world is going to figure me out. That I am a fraud, that I’m not qualified to do what I am doing, and they are going to finally realize what I’ve been trying to prove isn’t the truth.
Him: Are we talking about you, or me?
Up until tonight I’ve never encountered anyone other than that guy who was willing to admit they felt that way. Then I read the following:
When I read someplace that a lot of people found themselves haunted by the irrational thought that they were frauds, I recognized myself immediately-with the difference, of course, that I really was a fraud.
That comes from Peter Robinson, in his book, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life.
It is really quite amazing to read that. Since I joined Ricochet I’ve asked myself how it is that these great men and women found themselves in a position to know so much about politics and history and the world. I realize reading Peter’s comment and reflecting on my own life that they are just like me: simply trying to get by in the world and doing the best they can and making sense out of life. They aren’t any greater than me. Peter goes on to say that working for Ronald Reagan made him realize that if the President could have simple, common views on important issues, then he could relax as a speechwriter and as a citizen. For me, reading how Peter learned this lesson from Reagan helps me to learn it as well.
So what do you say? How many frauds do we have on Ricochet?
- Comment (80)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (5)
Comments:
Oct '11
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
The difference between the child and the adult is the paradigm of responsibility. The child sees his freedom of action in each situation he encounters, but the habit of responsibility teaches us to see what each situation calls for from us.
Me, I'm the real thing. Not exactly sure what, but I'm working on that.
Peter is too - a genuinely responsible writer and commentator, who illustrates that courtesy and openness make the most effective interviewer. Can you imagine Peter Robinson ever pulling a Mike Wallace ambush job?
The realization of that weight can shake one's confidence if it becomes a predominant focus, but it is prima facie evidence of moral maturity. To ask the question proves one is no fraud, Ken.
May '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
Me too, Ken. Total fraud. A frickin' ditch digger commenting on politics, of all things. Sooner or later I'll be exposed and rightly humiliated. (Like you I took special note of that passage from Peter's book. See also a column by Steyn from many years ago, "The Brutal Afghan Winter", which makes the similar point that one needn't be a member of the "credentialed class" to have both perfectly valid opinions and the right to say them good and loud.)
May '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
Definitely plagued by fraud fears.
I do think it's a peculiarly modern psychic sickness.
May '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
I entertain all delusions of adequacy. It keeps me going. Otherwise the black dog would steal my lunch and I wouldn't get up in the morning.
That said, my dreams are no longer for me. I am what I am. My hopes lie in my children.
Feb '12
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
EJHill: I entertain all delusions of adequacy. It keeps me going. Otherwise the black dog would steal my lunch and I wouldn't get up in the morning.
That said, my dreams are no longer for me. I am what I am. My hopes lie in my children. · 29 minutes ago
That was incredibly well said.
Apr '11
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
Fake it till you make it.
Dec '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
In 1994 I was working for a relatively large retail company and we had a consultant come out to train me on a new software system. I happened to also be the one who approved all of the invoices for our department and I was rather shocked when I saw the hourly rate we had paid the guy.
A year and a half later, I found myself working as a consultant for the same software company. It took me a few years to get used to the fact that they actually billed people that same rate (and higher) for what was in my head. Not that my paycheck contained anywhere close to that rate, but...
Now I'm independent, self employed. I still marvel at how much clients are willing to pay for my knowledge, but I am proud to say that the clients are paying 15% less per hour now than they were in 1994... if they hire me instead of the software company's consultants.
Oct '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
I was a fraud until I finally realized, or was it an epiphany, or actually a revelation from God. He is a very personal Creator, and intimately engaged with His creation. As one of His children, I have discovered that my identity isn't the guy who lives in this body, and I am not the mind that thinks my thoughts. My fulfillment is found in my Creator.
Whatever I am in life, I can never be a fraud as long as my will is given over to my Creator. He is my sufficiency. Even when I am in over my head, I am not in over His head.
Aug '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
Those who have fear of being a fraud are usually in fact competent. If you live without any doubt that you're super-competent, there's a good chance you're a fraud. (See: Obama, Barack.)My wife, in her professional career, had a saying: "Fake it till you make it." There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you actually, eventually "make it."
Nov '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
Of course, it's a comforting thought to know that many others struggle with the same fears and hangups as I do. It gives me courage when I'm sitting across the table from someone in a meeting, to know that they are sitting there thinking to themselves "How do I make myself relevant?" In one sense, it gives me an incredible opportunity to influence others. I don't think there is any better way to win someone to your side than to encourage them. And what better way to encourage someone than to build them up and help blow away their fear of incompetence?
Apr '12
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
It absolutely is. I'm prone to depression courtesy of my biology, so I get my head pshrunk now and again. Doc said that the tendency to feel like a fraud seems to be most common among the intelligent and gifted. The mindset being, when it comes easily for us by comparison to others, we must be cheating or undeserving of credit.
Apr '12
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
As a woman in business, I seem to be in industries where I was always the groundbreaker female - mining and finance. Also, in my MBA, I was one of the five women that year. That is not so hard because the majority of men are interested in getting the job done with little fuss. I very much feel like a fraud when with the full time, stay at home mums who I value very much. I am afraid they will exclude me for my lack of house and garden skills. There is nothing more terrifying than all mother lunches.
May '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
RetroGeek
It absolutely is. I'm prone to depression courtesy of my biology, so I get my head pshrunk now and again. Doc said that the tendency to feel like a fraud seems to be most common among the intelligent and gifted.
Are you sure he's not a fraud?
Apr '11
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
Quite. We can't let others know. The veneer of knowledge and superiority is how we control the proletariat. If they ever figure this out we 1% won't be able to exploit them any more.
Nov '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
It's funny how pervasive this feeling is, and across different walks of life. I can tell you that most stay at home moms I know feel like abject failures, and that their defining moment will be when they find out their kid just gunned down a bunch of students at the local community college, yelling "If only mom had loved me more!" I'm thinking of another quote from Peter's book, let me grab the iPad...hang on...ok, found it...
He's quoting Lionel Trilling, referring to George Orwell. But it could easily be about Reagan says Peter. Or any one of us, says Ken: "..the virtue of not being a genius, of fronting the world with nothing more than one's simple, direct, undeceived intelligence, and a respect for the powers one does have, and the work one undertakes to do..."
Apr '11
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
This reminds me of a story about my favorite film director: when the writer Michael Herr called up his old friend Stanley Kubrick and asked him how he was doing, Kubrick replied with "I'm still fooling them, somehow."
Nov '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
I'm sorry, but you've thrown off the emperor's groove...
Jan '11
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
I've already admitted I'm an idiot. If I also admit I'm a fraud, well, then, I'll only be suited for government work.
By the way, Ken, be careful what you admit ... when I declared that I was an idiot, no one contradicted me.
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
I was quoted today by NPR.
I'm feeling quite uneasy and vulnerable about being a fraud.
May '10
Re: I'm a Fraud, and I'm Proud of It
The smartest, most articulate, and insightful ditch digger I've ever met.