“Fake it till you make it.”

It’s a catchphrase I’ve been hearing a lot lately (usually after two glasses of red wine with girlfriends on a Friday night, rehashing a week’s worth of insecurities and career-related concerns).

“Is that really what people do nowadays?”

“I guess so, yeah.”

The phrase caught on around the same time that The Optimist Guide for Pessimists became a bestseller. It’s obvious–pretending is trending. There is a revolution of women learning how to fake it to get ahead in life and in their careers. We have two options: say “Yes I can” and join the revolution, or say “I don’t know” and fall behind.

“I don’t know” is not the right answer
Since nobody has the time or willingness to teach anyone anything, the expectation is set higher than we can reach. We have to figure it out ourselves. There is really no other option except to fake it. We’re competing with other professionals who may be more confident, experienced and qualified in certain areas than we are. If you say you don’t know, you’ll sound incompetent. If you say you can, you may be jumping the gun, but who’s to say you can’t figure it out later? Google it.

Fake it until you become it
Amy Cuddy, a Harvard social psychologist, preaches this idea. Fake it until you become it. Stop doubting yourself and simply position your body the way Maya Rudolph did as Beyoncé on SNL: hands on hips, feet apart, facing a stage fan (if you have one). You’ll start to feel the secret weapon that more and more people are using: You can mentally trick your brain into thinking it knows EVERYTHING. With the Internet as a resource, it’s not much of a stretch either. Everywhere we look, there is information and how-to guides. Oh, and friends that know stuff, too.

I started faking it and now I’m addicted
Last month, I quit my corporate job without a plan. Now, I’m in a new role with a bunch of new people, doing things I’ve never done before. But that doesn’t matter. I’m figuring it out as I go. Just last week, I wrote my first ever press release. I doubted I could write something that would justify being in a reporter’s inbox. (Would he care? How dramatic should I be?) I debated underlining “EXCLUSIVE” or inserting “OMG READ THIS, FREE SHIT!” in the subject line. Instead, I emailed a few ex-colleagues, called my dad’s PR friend and Googled the heck out of it. Boom, the first draft was done. I did it. And in the end, everything was fine. The best part was that I didn’t sound like a cheesy club promoter on King Street. You can imagine how proud I was. Big deal!

Real talk, there are too many talented people in Toronto
Toronto is booming with up-and-coming talented women, equipped with skills in almost anything. If you say you don’t know, you might miss out on an opportunity. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not flattering to admit to faking it. I don’t really know what I’m doing or if I’m doing it right, but I think I am. And until I fail, I won’t know otherwise. But I’m never going to say, “I don’t know,” because I know I can find a way to do it. So try it. Get out there. Fake it.