Semi-related, as this reminded me of a quote from Cary Grant:

I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me.

This was then repurposed on Star Trek Strange New Worlds by chief engineer Pelia (from a species that lives several centuries):

Most heroes I've seen... are just pretending half the time. There's this one guy I remember, he said to me, 'I always pretended to be someone I wanted to be, until finally, I became that someone, or he became me.'