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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 31, 2006 / 9 Mar-Cheshvan, 5767

Fake it 'til you make it

By Marty Nemko

Nemko
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | If I filled a room with 100 people who are passionate about their career, 90 would say they didn't feel passionate about it until long after they were in the career.


Take, for example, the college grad who was career clueless. Then, a relative said, "You want to work in a dashboard manufacturing plant?" He certainly had no passion for dashboards, but not having a better option, he said yes. He acted, however, as if he were passionate about dashboards: He carefully observed his co-workers, he asked questions, he read articles on dashboard manufacture. He pursued dashboard expertise like an unleashed tiger pursues a cross rib roast.


Soon, co-workers started coming to him with questions, and he eventually became the go-to guy on the factory floor. Not surprisingly, he also soon got promoted. Now, not surprisingly, he's passionate about dashboards. Typically, passion doesn't come from choosing a sexy-sounding career, it comes from feeling expert, respected, and in-demand. Lesson: Act as-if... As with sex, passion often doesn't come instantly — it takes time to get worked up.


Yesterday, I gave a workshop called "Smart Yet Stuck." for adults still not sure what they want to be when they grow up. An attendee said, "I met a major Democrat operative, who asked me to email him a proposal, but I'm too scared to follow through." I asked him to stop thinking and act as-if: "Pretend you're the most confident self you've ever been and do what that self would do." I added, "If you feel fear building up, say 'Stop!' aloud and go back to acting as if you were that best self." I'm not sure he meant it, but he did say he was optimistic that that simple technique would be enough to get him to send that proposal.


When I'm relaxed, people are always complimenting me on the quality of my voice. So, especially when I'm in a pressure situation, I remind myself to — you guessed it — act as if I were my relaxed self. That works…sometimes.


Acting-as if…, faking it 'til you make it, can often be a shortcut to triumphing over fears and putting fire in your belly.

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400+ of Dr. Nemko's published writings are on www.martynemko.com. Comment by clicking here.

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