[AndrewKemendo]

I simply don't believe you can be something external to yourself. Certainly you can trick yourself into thinking that it is who you are (in whatever "phase" of life you are in), but again, IMO, that is a reductive line of thinking.

That's the crux of it and I think is wrong with lot's of examples to prove otherwise.

Look at any U.S. Marine. They ARE Marines, or any Olympic athlete, they are whatever their sporting role is.

Of course setting up the idea as though the only way to do it is to "trick yourself" makes it impossible to refute so I will just leave it at this:

Common startup wisdom seems to believe that if you want to be the founder of a billion dollar company, you probably need to "trick yourself," or however you want to say it, into believing you are your company.

[jedunnigan]

Fair enough, my wording was a bit more limiting than I meant it to be. But I hear you, and you make some good points.

I guess I'll just use an old saying to put it one other way: 'the river is separate from the bed on which it flows'.