Being underestimated is a gift. Nobody’s guarding the door you’re about to walk through.

When people expect little from you, nobody is watching closely, nobody is competing for your spot, and nobody is preparing for what you might do next. Low expectations are uncomfortable to sit inside and they are also cover. You get to work without an audience deciding in advance what you are allowed to become.

Stop spending energy on convincing people ahead of time. Use the quiet to build something that argues for itself. Let the correction happen later, when there is something to look at.