Fake it til you make it” and Usopp

“Fake it til you make it” and Usopp

Usopp is a One Piece character known for his lies (and the trend that his lies somehow turn into reality in time). Maybe he is a great personification of “fake it til you make it”.

On one hand, this thought can be interpreted as encouraging aspirations and dreams, and manifesting that dreams by acting as if you are what you dreamed. On the other hand, this can be dangerous and inauthentic.

If a present lie becomes a reality in the future, does present lie cease being a lie? If one fakes it and makes it, does the previous fakery become authentic?

Maybe a more appropriate framing is that there’s no such thing as “making it”; there is no permanent destination or dream, and flourishing is a continuous process of becoming. When one aspires for a higher growth, one inevitably becomes aware of what they lack. Through training and persistence, what is lacking is filled, and through reflection and self-awareness, one can cultivate a kind of confidence anchored on authenticity and not on fakery, bluff, nor fluff.

YouTubers and One Piece fans have analyzed the dream of Usopp: to be the bravest warrior of the sea. As the most cowardly member of the Straw Hat Pirates, he is always in the process of facing his numerous fears. And in a way, everytime he conquers his fears no matter how big or small, he indeed becomes, even for a moment, the bravest man on the sea.

In a way, authenticity is that constant journey, or struggle even, to align what is seen and the unseen. There should be nothing fake in an attempt to “make it”. And, if “making it” really matters personally, the only one we’re fooling when we’re “faking it” is ourselves.

Luke 11:37-41. Although you cleanse the outside, inside you are filled with plunder and evil

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 284: OCTOBER 11, 2022]