You can’t believe everything you see on the internet. You’ve heard this a thousand times. You also may have heard Perception is Reality. In most cases, this can be seen as correct. What people believe is their reality. If you drive a Ferrari, or wear expensive shoes the belief is that you’re well off. However, you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes. These people could be up to their eyeballs in debt, living pay cheque to pay cheque.

If you’re like me – you probably follow a few blogs, or those who publish on Linkedin. For example – I enjoy reading / following Ramit Sethi, Gary Vaynerchuk and Keith Ferrazzi (a quick Google of their names and you’ll get a bunch of results). Their stuff has me nodding along in agreement. Then, the sceptical guy in me wants to pull back the curtain to see how great things really are for them. In other words, do they practice what they preach?

A quick search on Glassdoor.com and you’ll see everything isn’t as rosy as the above and many others perceive. In many instances the biggest critiques of the companies of these ‘big’ CEO’s who have huge followings online is that their reality isn’t what was originally perceived. These companies tend to be disorganized, low paying, and not worth the time and effort. Again, you can’t 100% trust these online reviews, but it does bring everything into perspective.

If it’s too good to be true it probably is

Another cliché and for good reason. NO ONE is perfect. Everyone (even you) and every company has their flaws. The funny part – is everyone can cover up these flaws online. You can put out media saying whatever you want it to say. You can cover up your flaws, and preach to the world that you’re the best, and everyone should follow your lead. You drink the Kool-Aid, and that’s okay.

The beautiful thing about the web is it also levels the playing field. If you want to do your research you can find out so much about people and companies. A quick search on Google or Glassdoor can reveal the good, and bad about you or your company. You can try and cover up as much as you want, but eventually the truth always comes out.

I don’t know if this has to do with our upbringing or what, but we always try and compensate or withdraw our flaws. In doing this, you make people sceptical because everyone’s BS meter is cranked to 10. You can’t ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ any more. People will find out.

Don’t beat yourself up over the perception of someone being more successful than you. You shouldn’t be comparing yourself to someone else anyway. You don’t know their circumstances, you don’t know the whole story, and most of all – you probably don’t even know that person. It’s easy to say, but so extremely difficult to do – BE YOURSELF! You will find those that follow you, whether in business or in life. In everything you do – you have a choice. Never forget that.

With the BS swirling around today – I try and be as forthcoming as possible with this blog. You can believe what you want, but I try and showcase my triumphs and struggles. It’s damn hard working a 9 – 5, and handling an online biz on the side. It’s exhausting, puts pressure on the relationship I have with my wife, and of course, hurts the pocket book. Having said that, I enjoy that I can be me. I can bring value to those around me, and when others are happy it makes me happy.

If you’re every doubting yourself or comparing yourself to others – reach out to me on Twitter or Linkedin, and we can chat about it. I know where you’ve been, and I plan on ensuring you can get to where you want to be. Heck, you may already be there, but just haven’t realized it yet. Your perception could already be your reality.

Love you,

Jordan ‘The Guy with the Bow Tie’ Rycroft