Live any honestly self reflective life and you’ll have this thought:

“I’m full of shit.”

Occasionally paired with this thought:

“I hope no one else notices.”

I know I do.  More often than I’d like actually.

So where is all this coming from?  Clay brought it up when we met up for brunch on my roadtrip.

“People are full of shit.” That’s what he said.

I laughed.  I knew it was true.

Look at it this way.  There is this epic joke that one day people are going to catch on to.  That I’ve really no clue as to how to live and have just been ranting and raving lunatic things.  That’s how I’m certain it looks.  We’re on the edge – our unconventional lifestyles, vagabonding, freedom businesses, liberation manifestos, working for no man…  we teeter very close to lunacy (not that I mind).

So we’ve got to push the joke past the limits.  You’ve got to believe your own joke.

Really, that’s it.  Being the real deal is doing it even when you don’t believe yourself.  You’ve got a mission, the hard facts of life, and the road before you.  If the words that come out of your mouth feel fake – fake it.  Sometimes to be the real deal we have to act it, like David Duchovny.

That’s right.  You’ve got to be so full of it that you can fool yourself into believing it’s possible.  That’s your game.  It isn’t just positive affirmations and productivity tools it’s about action in the face of self doubt.

Once you’ve got that.  You’ve got it.

As long as you’re the only person to catch on – good – the longer you can get away with it.

Cause, really, we’re all full of shit.

Flickr photo courtesy of danny.hammontree.

Also, this post in no way has been endorsed by David Duchovny – even though I think it should be.