Authentic is a day to day process.
It’s constantly chipping away at what the outside world says you should do, and putting forward something new and valuable.
There is no replicating what authenticity brings to the world. It can’t be copied or given to another person. When you decide to stop or are no longer around it just doesn’t exist the same way anymore. And everyone misses out.
That’s what makes it valuable.
Authenticity is a reflection of your experiences, your values, your hard times, rejections, successes and failures. And then putting those on the table.
It’s not just doing what you feel like, or doing whatever you want. It’s trusting that what you know is going to be of more value than the direction everyone else is going in.
It takes genuine leadership to be authentic.
Daniel Goleman, author of emotional intelligence, tells the story of a young director who, despite some initial directing success, was discouraged by the film studio’s who he felt were butchering his films, and decided to finance his own movie.
Everyone in the film business said this was a huge mistake, that he was crazy. But he felt convinced he just had to do it to preserve his movie and his vision.
He wrote the movie over many years, started filming it, and then… he ran out of money. But after multiple rejections from 11 banks, he managed to finish the film for a little over $11 million dollars.
He finally released it in 1977. The film was Star Wars, and it grossed over $513 in its initial release.
Authenticity is valuable. If it hits, the energy created is amazing and it draws in people to see something new. If you’re trying too hard, or play safe, it won’t hit. Because things become stagnant & uninteresting.
It’s valuable work to chip away and go against the outside voices. It means you know and trust yourself.
It’s a daily pursuit, but in the long run, it will hit.
Everything we do moment to moment has some influence or social pressure pushing or pulling at us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t listen to our instinct against that better judgement and trust what we know.
In a time where ideas and processes are becoming more commoditized and automated. What is unique and authentic prospers.
