I’m great at bluffing.
Occasionally, I like to introduce myself to people using one of my aliases— typically something Russian. “Nikolai Mirinov” is my go-to.
Then, I just try to NOT get caught in the lie, which is TOUGH.
Every time, the first question I get asked is, “Nikolai Mirinov? What the hell is that? Russian?” Once you get past this first pothole, you’re in the clear.
“Yeah, my father is 1/8th Russian. That’s explains why I don’t look or sound Russian, but still have a Russian-sounding name. See, I’m not lying.”
Flawless.
You’re out of the deep end.
Now, you need to work your way into the easier lies. Those lies pertaining to your occupation tend to be a rather scalable climb.
“I’m an attorney, specializing in intellectual property.”
It’s always prudent to choose an occupation that you can talk AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT about. For this reason, I only choose jobs that my family/friends/acquaintances actually have and have told me about.
The more obscure the occupation, the easier the lie. If they keep nagging you for details, say something like, “basically, I’m the jet-engine that streamlines all types of communicative technologies back and forth, all over the industry.” What you’ve just said means VIRTUALLY nothing, but the buzzwords are key, because that’s what the people latch on to. You’ve basically just laid down common ground with somebody without really saying anything.
Take it from there—do what you want.
I’m Jeff Bridges’ cousin.
Until next time,
Michael J. Erickson, CEO & Co-Founder
