A few years back, I was at this crossroads. I knew how to present myself as a marketer, but something felt out of place. I had the tools to package myself effectively, but it wasn’t working.
I started to look for answers, and I found that everybody talked about authenticity. “Be authentic” is still the most popular advice in the personal branding space.
But I couldn’t understand- “How do you do authentic?” Amidst the different roles, desires, and expectations, I couldn’t understand. Who am I? And what do I want? It felt like a puzzle with a missing piece.
This identity crisis took me on a journey to dive deep into personal branding, write a book on the subject, immerse myself in coaching, and unravel the intricacies of NLP.
On this journey, I came across an acronym, and all the pieces started to fall into place :
F. Find out who you are
U.Understand what you want
N. Now go and be and do it
Authenticity isn’t merely a facade; it’s a deep-rooted understanding and acceptance of our true selves. When we understand ourselves and our deepest desires, we find what brings us Fun and Joy. We find what makes us feel truly alive. This essence of aliveness and being yourself makes us authentic and emotionally attracts others.
Drawing a parallel, consider the difference between cats and dogs. While dogs often look outside for validation, cats symbolize self-sufficiency and independence. They act as they wish, always staying true to their nature.
Laetitia Casta’s insightful words, “Real beauty is to be true to oneself,” resonate with this sentiment. True power lies not in seeking external validation but in introspection and self-acceptance.
Moreover, a magical shift occurs once we embrace this authenticity and start doing what makes us feel ALIVE. We begin to magnetize the right people, drawing in our tribe and the customers who genuinely resonate with our essence. Just like this cat decided to take part in our photoshoot because we were having FUN 🙂
What is authenticity to you?
p.s. Looking for inspiration and want to know more? Follow me here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olesijasaue/
