Fake it Until you Make it!

Ten years ago, I was the typical boy-friend you find waiting outside the shoe store while their partner went in to do their shopping. I had no interest in shoes whatsoever prior to opening my shoe shops. During then, I had three pairs of shoes; one for work, one for basketball and a pair of thongs for the weekend. #at was more than enough for me.

Everything changed after the opening my first shoe store. I went from being the guy outside the shoe shop to the guy on his knees helping customers to “t on their shoes for three years. Truth be told, I had no choice but to fake my enthusiasm for the staff and customers about my love for shoes. I simply could not lead a team without any knowledge, love and understanding about shoes.

I started researching in depth into the fashion, the style and the make of a good pair of shoes. Not only that, I went to the extent of  understanding the basic about podiatry. I was at a stage where I could determine people’s shoe size by looking at people’s feet. I do not exactly remember at what point of my life did I start walking with my head facing the %oor, checking out on everyone’s pair of shoes. But that was the whole turning point towards my passion for shoes. I currently own more pairs of shoes than all the Levi’s jeans add together in my closet (I have many, many pairs of Levi’s). Not a number I wish to brag about, considering the fact that a good number of the human population in the third world countries still do not have any shoes on their feet.

My vocabulary of shoes went from Air Jordan to wedges, stilettos, pump, %at, loafer, Mary Jane to clogs and mules, from Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo to Manolo Blahnik (to be pronounced Blakhnik, with the K) and many more. Beyond a shoe connoisseur, I am officially now, a shoe addict! A break through lesson I learned from attending Anothony Robbins’ seminar 10 years ago was that behavior dictates emotion. You cannot remain in a depressed zone, if your body posture is straight, and you do funny faces in front of the mirror.
I guess the same principle applies in this scenario. When you fake passion long enough, you will catch on the love. Ask any of your grand parents who have been through arranged marriage to explain this notion further for you.