Years ago, I wrote for a magazine called The Conference Board Review. One of my editors was Vadim Liberman, and he was the sort of boss who taught me all about logical fallacies without overtly saying, “Hey, your article is a piece of garbage and makes no sense.”
In return for his excellent editing and critical thinking skills, I’ve turned Vadim into a superstar. He knows all my HR famous friends, and he’s now doing Off-Off-Broadway shows where he talks about leadership and ethics while being wildly entertaining.
Workers Gone Wild | Vadim Liberman | DisruptHR Talks from DisruptHR on Vimeo.
(Seriously, you should book him to speak at your HR conference. He’s way better than whatever motivational speaker you have lined up.)
But I’m not here to brag about making Vadim famous, although I will take full credit and 10% of whatever he earns. I am here because he is relaunching his blog and being a total baby about it.
For starters, Vadim is worried about getting the tagline right. A Renegade Guide to Work and Life? A Contrarian Guide to Work and Life? A Rebel Guide to Work and Life? Who gives a shit. Pick one and write.
He’s also concerned that his content won’t be interesting enough, which is totally dumb because everything he writes is hilarious and he knows it. He’s been writing about a broken television since 2014 and people still find it fascinating.
And, finally, Vadim has imposter syndrome. He’s not sure if he’s capable of doing anything other than eating and drinking a lot. Fair point, to be sure, because Vadim is so incredibly fat and lazy. He needs to get on the Tic Tac and Diet Water Zero Lite® program immediately to burn off the two ounces of frozen yogurt I once saw him eat back in 2015.
So here’s what I told him:
Stop being a bitch and hit publish. Let’s go. Get back to being a writer.
All that other shit is artiface.
artifice
(Stupid tiny screen and typos.)
I also told him that, at some point, imposter syndrome is narcissism. Are you good enough? No, dammit, you’ll never be good enough. Are you smart enough? Probably not. Will people see right through you? Of course. But running a software company has taught me one thing: nobody knows shit, everybody sucks, and it’s never the right time to do anything in this world.
Do it, anyway, and stop looking for reassurance. The world is a cold place, so tend the fragile fire in your own heart to keep warm.
So here’s to Vadim Liberman and his rebooted website! Whoo hoo! He’s had many roles in life: journalist, editor, fake personal injury attorney, gastroenterologist, and blogger. You’ll probably suck at blogging, but typing burns calories and keeps you from watching too much TV.
I’m glad you are back!
For the record, it was not frozen yogurt. It was sorbet! And the last time you saw me eat was in 2014. I’ve since not eaten in public. Let’s hope the Diet Water Zero Lite program burns enough to create negative calories. Thanks for everything!
We had dinner with Mathew and Jennifer, last year. I forgot all about that. You ate two buckets of pasta and demanded more carbs.
I forgot about that too! You’re right! I’m still trying to work off those carbs!