Brand Design Photography & Styling Clarity Consulting

Lesson Learned: We're all faking it

What a whirlwind of a weekend. I just got back from a trip to Palm Springs where I attended a designer retreat with 50 other creative like-minded women. I’ll be honest and say that the trip was really exhausting, mostly mentally. For me, I felt like I had to constantly be networking to make use of the opportunity in front of me… this meant I was basically talking with new people for 4 days straight. Whew!

This trip was extremely helpful in making me realize something REALLY important. I found out through honest conversations that all of us ladies felt like we were faking it. We all had really no idea what we were doing with our creative careers and that we are all flying by the seat of our pants. After making this realization there was this wave of comfort that covered the entire room of participants.

Whether you are just starting out in the freelance world, creating a business from the ground up, or chugging through your day job…we’re all faking it. Knowing this equals the playing field and gave me a new sense of confidence to keep going…to keep figuring things out as I go and pursuing my dreams.

I’ll be back to talk about more tactical things I learned at the retreat, but the biggest and most comforting take away is that we are all faking it!

24 comments on “Lesson Learned: We're all faking it

  1. I love hearing when people are truly honest about how they feel in their careers. I heard Alan Dye speak a couple years ago (one of the CD’s at Apple, used to be at Kate Spade) and he said he is constantly worried that he “is going to be found out”. it’s so humbling to hear from big designers that they feel the same fears as us!

  2. Love the pictures you took! It was nice to meet you in person, everything feels so different in off screen. I was thinking about everything on my plane ride home and agree, the biggest thing I took away was that we are all faking it and still figuring shit out. So comforting.
    We may not know where we are going but that’s ok as long as we keep at it.

    1. It was really nice meeting you to and putting a face to one of my most frequent blog commenters. Definitely keep in touch and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need someone to talk shop with.

  3. Cassie, it was great meeting you even if briefly! Wish we could have chatted more, but I ended up heading home early, so I totally get the exhaustion thing–will definitely be making sure my pre-designer vaca week next year is less busy and I’m more energized! The faking it thing so resonates with me–knowing that everyone feels lost sometimes was such a comfort!!

  4. OH MY GOSH THESE PHOTOS ARE BEAUTIFUL! What did you shoot with? Wow. Just wow.

    I’m so happy we got to meet, Cassie. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your gems…especially the styling. You are talent. Whatever you touch will turn to gold.

    1. Hi Becky! It was so great getting to meet you this weekend. You’ve got beautiful energy and a really fun spirit to be around. Keep up the great work on ChipperThings because you’ve got a really unique perspective and I love all your creativity.

      For the photos, I just shot with my iPhone and edited with VSCO 🙂

  5. This is so refreshing. As someone who is still considering where I want to be in the creative world, hearing this is refreshing and amazing. I feel so lost at times and it is so rewarding to know that the ideal of ‘having it all sorted out’ like so many of my idols in the creative industry is a crazy notion that comes from me.

    Thanks for sharing this inspiring revelation.

    1. Thanks for stopping by Hannah. It is refreshing isn’t it and I bet you anything that those people you look up to are faking it too 😉

  6. 1. These photos are gorgeous and make me want to drive straight to Palm Springs. but I’ll save that for another day.
    2. LOVE LOVE LOVE that you shared this take-away. Sometimes there is true comfort in knowing that you’re not alone, and that no one else has it all figured out. Thank you for the perspective!!

  7. I feel entirely relieved because sometimes I feel as if I’m missing some type of confidence in my design work! Not gonna lie, faking it is so true.

    Xo Jess

  8. Beautiful images! Its nice to hear your honesty and the honesty of others. I constantly am confused and it gets frustrating not having the confidence I feel I should have or the direction I feel should be set for me. It’s nice that you got to meet so many ladies with a like-minded brains. I’m sure it was great.

    1. Hi Anna! Hope all is well. Haven’t talked in awhile.
      The trip was really nice but SO exhausting. I feel like I’m still processing everything.

  9. This is amazing! So glad you admitted this… I definitely feel like I’m faking it, and now I don’t have to feel so bad about it! I watched a TedTalks presentation about ‘faking it until you make it’ — that’s what your post reminded me of. It’s worth a watch. 🙂 We all have to fake it until we make it and who knows what ‘making it’ even means these days!

    Best,

    Candace

  10. Thank you so much for posting this little bit of insight. As someone just starting out / trying to figure it out it’s so calming to hear this from others!

  11. Cassie! I am so glad you were able to be there! It was great to see you again! Your site looks amazing. Thanks for being such an inspiration to us all.

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