I think it’s a significant realization that belief in yourself is different than belief in a deity (and that was partly my point with this strip). In the self it’s more meant as “confidence,” whereas in a deity it is in blind acceptance.
And I have a similar double-feeling about many celebrities who’s work I like, that I’m not sure I’d get along with them in person. As a creative person, I know how deceptive art can be to an artist’s nature.
I think it’s a distraction to get caught up in the tarentella that is comprehending how your work is received compared to how you personally are received. I can’t stand the books of John Shirley but he’s a cool dude on his own. I admire Bruce Sterling’s craftsmanship and polish but the man in person comes across as one of his own cyberpunk corporate villains. We cannot both be who we would like to be perceived and the person authoring art that comes from one’s essence. Maybe there’s somebody out there who is universally loved in print as he or she is in person, but they’re few. For every Marion Zimmer Bradley there are a dozen Harlan Ellisons. Wouldn’t worry about it. It just gets in the way of the work.