What Does It Really Mean To Be Authentic?

At the heart of all the work that I do, there’s a golden thread which connects it all around figuring out who you really are and bringing more of that out into the world. 

Whether it’s my podcast, my self-awareness ebook, my coaching, or my obsession with personal reinvention, there’s this question which permeates it all that asks: “Who am I?”

Essentially, it’s figuring out how to be unapologetically authentic.

Authenticity is a pretty popular topic in the personal development world, but what does it really mean to be authentic?

Ask most people and they will say some version of “to be yourself”.

But simply leaving it there is missing a critical detail.

And that is that if all we ever did was focus on being “ourselves”, we would never push ourselves to grow into our full potential.

(Now, I have some thoughts about the word potential and our possibility of ever reaching it, but for the purpose of this post, let’s assume it to mean becoming all that you’re capable of becoming.)

Instead, I’d like to suggest that to be truly authentic means to push and stretch and grow, even and especially when it’s uncomfortable, to achieve all we are capable of achieving.

It is our ideal self, not our current self, which is truly authentic.

It’s You with a capital Y.

If you can close your eyes and visualize a version of You that’s totally crushing it in all areas of life, then you are catching a glimpse of the real authentic You.

There’s a quote by this dude Richard Bach that says, “You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”

And, if you’re not “working for it” by taking the actions necessary to become the person who achieves that dream (if it’s really important to you), then sorry to say it, but you’re being inauthentic.

Remember, reinvention is not about becoming someone that you’re not. It’s becoming someone that you’re not YET.

To be truly authentic, figure out what the best (2.0) version of You looks like, and then commit to doing the small things every day to slowly become that person. The world is waiting for You.