I think this misses the point of the article. The author says something like "even though you're successful you feel like you're not" (on my phone so sorry for paraphrasing). I think the idea of rhe article is that if you're already making it, act as if you're making it. It's not like Conan doesn't put in hours and hours of hard work offstage to make his show happen. Acting "as if" is just a way to psychologically get himself in tune with his success and project an air of confidence.