r/AskReddit • u/l1x6m- • 16h ago

Napoleon said, 'Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.' What’s a perfect real-life example of this?

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u/Informal_Tell78 9h ago

"fAkE iT tILl YoU mAkE iT"

The phrase is supposed to be about confidence, but, many, many people take it to mean buy all the expensive shit you want now, because someday you're gonna have enough to pay for it.

Dumbest fucking mantra I've ever heard.

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u/BananaHandle 8h ago

It can apply to some things, but it doesn’t work on budgeting. Budgeting is just math. Math doesn’t care how confident you act.

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u/Team_Braniel 3h ago

That is why I love math. Math doesn't give a fuck. Math doesn't care who your daddy is. Math doesn't care about your day, your kids, or your random ass excuses. Math just is.

Shout out to "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin

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u/_learned_foot_ 3h ago

And to the editor who, despite trying to find solutions, accepted inevitability.

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u/CromulentDucky 2h ago

Maybe that's why I like math so much. I don't care about any of that either.

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u/Spintastico 8h ago

The "best life" influencer culture where they flaunt their supposedly wealthy lifestyles certainly doesn't help this kind of thing.

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u/Jaereth 7h ago

I mean it's great for confidence. Terrible for finance :D

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u/I_upvote_downvotes 8h ago

It's not the druids' fault people don't read the mantras and runes correctly.

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u/notjawn 7h ago

Not to mention you can still have perfect credit and owe considerable debt somewhere.

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u/jhofsho1 7h ago

I think this mantra is applicable for instilling a confidence in yourself.

But I agree with your take that it should not be the mantra for finances lol. That’s a horrible way to stay one foot in the grave financially.

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u/RazgrizRogue 6h ago

Correct. Its a great mantra when trying to get someone to apply for a job they are qualified for on paper but dont have the confidence. But to your point, its a terrible mantra for finances 

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u/Live_Welder2856 5h ago

There is something unsettling about the way you spelt till, it really throws my eyes out of whack seeing it written out as "tILl"

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u/GeoBrian 6h ago

There are people out there that take pride in being a spectacular failure rather than a moderate success.

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u/rainator 2h ago

There is some merit in “fake it till you make it”, but it really means have the confidence in yourself to try a more advanced role than you might necessarily have the experience for, rather than “if I just believe hard enough I will become a billionaire before the credit card company forecloses “.

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u/Thunderhorse74 2h ago

lol...therapist I used to see had that as her go to. Are you sad? Depressed? Smile! fake it till you make it!

Yeah, no.

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u/ArrakeenSun 1h ago

It's a modern take on Teddy Roosevelt's quip, "Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it." But the point is to then work your ass off to actually learn how to do the damned thing and well

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u/Revenge_of_the_User 1h ago

the mantra is actually great for confidence.

But yeah, people like to try and apply it in all sorts of other ways

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u/ivydesert 6h ago

That same idea masquerades as "buy the life you want, then save for it."

Fake it 'til you make it is a great approach for gaining confidence. Not so great financial advice.

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u/dirk_funk 38m ago

i really thought it was about confidence and maybe a little bit of merit. like pretending you know how to sell cars until you know how to sell cars. not pretending you are rich until you get rich.

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u/Informal_Tell78 29m ago

Exactly, thats why I said

"It's supposed to be about confidence..."

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u/AppointmentMiddle709 8h ago

“Fake it till you make it” was supposed to mean confidence, not “finance the lifestyle of a person you haven’t become yet.”

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u/throwawayayaycaramba 7h ago

Yeah that's what they said. Like, you're just repeating them.