Hey everyone! Welcome back to the fifth edition of Lessons Learned From Crushing It! (GaryVee's Newest Book). Yesterday we talked about intent - the first characteristic on Gary's list of what really matters. Today we'll talk about the second characteristic - authenticity. In case you missed it, here's the original quote that I'm referring to:
"It's not hard to figure out why so many who attempt to [build a personal brand] fail. In general it's because they're putting their energies into the wrong things. They care, but not enough about what really matters. And what really matters is a pretty short list: intent, authenticity, passion, patience, speed, work, and attention."
Current Book & Quotes From: Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Why Does Authenticity Matter?
"Your intent will be reflected in your authenticity. You will be a thousand times more successful if you wake up eager to share and create something because you believe the world will enjoy it rather than because you have calculated that this is what you need to do to become an Instagram celebrity."
Being authentic is a lens through which your audience will view your intent. If you aren't authentic, then you have bad intent and your audience will absolutely figure that out. You should really enjoy what you do and love whatever it is that you're talking about. If you don't, then you're not being authentic with your audience and that is a lose-lose situation for everyone.
"The more authentic you are, the more people will be willing to forgive your inevitable mistakes and stumbles."
This really broadly applies to everything in life and has already had a major impact on me. I struggle with a major hindrance in my life and that is other peoples' opinions. I catch myself constantly thinking about what other people think of me and how I'm viewed if I do X. I constantly question my actions, asking myself, "What if I do X wrong? What if they don't like that I'm doing X? Did I say that right? Did that sound right to them?" etc. etc. etc.
I've gotten better over the years with suppressing these feelings and just trying to do the right thing and letting the pieces fall as they will, but what Gary said about being authentic and letting people forgive your inevitable mistakes really resonates with me on this. If I just have good intent and be authentic with people, then they will forgive me if I offend them somehow or say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing.
Gary's Example of Someone Who's Crushing Authenticity
Lauryn Evarts from The Skinny Confidential is a great example of someone who is Crushing It! at being authentic and sharing her true self with her audience in a genuine way. What really stood out to me about Lauryn's story is that she talked about all the mainstream health tips - like dieting - but she also talked about more unconventional topics like botox and boob jobs. She also shared the deepest parts of her own life - like her engagement and marriage and the passing of her grandmother.
Being authentic means that you share who you truly are with your audience. You don't hold back. People have a good sense of when someone is faking authenticity. Talk about what you know and don't hold back because you're afraid of what people might think about you. Just share your unfiltered thoughts and be genuine about it and you will make relationships and build a genuine connection with your audience.
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
Are you being authentic in how you present yourself and your intentions or are you trying to please everyone you meet by trying to fit the image that you think they'll like the most?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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Thanks again for sharing this insight:
For a few days I tried some things with my posts that just were not me. I got more views, more resteems and a greater number of upvotes and comments then ever on Steemit but I also got a headache and wasn't having fun. It was "forced" and not inspired.
Authenticity has something to do with personalization. If I like what I am teaching then kids like it. The same is with my blog. Spending energy to make it something that it's not will in the long wrong fail.
In Korean the phrase is "light ears" as opposed to "heavy ears". Those with "light ears" are influenced by the mainstream and everything people say. I was like this a lot and still am. I can't help being influenced by people. I try to learn from them without losing authenticity.
I like this @khaleelkazi engaging in dialect just sharing a book and what you learned today. The adventurer ripping apart the kitchen sink is interesting too. You are doing a pretty good job being yourself in this blog. More consistent than me.
I remember doing a job for a customer and they asked me "Why wasn't this done when it was installed?" and I immediately answered "We forgot"... He had this shock of respect as he probably expected a song and dance since that is what everyone was giving him during the construction of his house. Respect > Cost of mistake ...It so key to be honest and authentic.
I was recently looking into Gary Vaynerchuk, how do you like the book so far? Was thinking about getting it... Have you read any of his other books?
Love this discussion and lesson! I used to be that way. I used to try to be what people expected. A few years ago I stopped and now I am just me...funny thing...people like me more!
i think you write about a great topic....i like it....i hope everybody like your post...thanks for shear it..
good to know on this post.keep sharing.hope everyone like it.thanks for sharing.keep it up.we learn good something on this post.thank you
Assalamualaikum..
I will learn to keep trying to please others
Nice tooic to talk about
Very well managed post
@khaleelkazi
e mucha calidad tu post, y tienes mucha razón, saludos :D
Finally a meaningful post around! Beautiful, thanks. Have you heard about the controversial Jordan Peterson? He talks his truth about relationships, life... and free speech. Refreshing to listen sensible humans! I'll resteem.
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I think being authentic is being Unique and being Unique too is been Different. The world is already a crowded place to wanna fit in. You won't get noticed if you do things the way others are doing them. Thanks for sharing @khaleelkazi. I'm sure a lot of us are learning something new and positive from you
Well, I'm definitely trying to be authentic in how I present myself. I'm always honest and I share my experiences. And I don't really care if someone wouldn't like me for who I am. I would never try to fit the image that people would like the most. If I'm not myself, I will never love what I do and it will all be fake...
Since I'm always trying to become my greatest version I'm always happy to write about my experiences and share it with the world in hopes that it could also help someone else to become their greatest versions.
If I was to write about something else (that I don't even know about or like it), then I would most definitely fail at it, because I would have no energy or motivation to do it like I do now...
Authenticity is what separates success and failure in my opinion. I have struggled with being authentic my whole life, it's something I've been getting better and better at as I lose the fear that people will dislike or disapprove of the real me.
My intentions are to be myself, put myself out there, I still have some work to go in being forthcoming and vulnerable in expressing some of the deeper parts of myself, but I'm getting there. I will make it a point to put more of myself out there in the coming months
Haha! The first tiger bird in known distance
Wow that made me laugh out loud.
This is absolutely true and very correct
Authenticity is all that matters in life and in business, like you wrote above, even people will get to forgive us when we err but remain authentic in it,
I remain myself always and don't dont loose or adjust my authenticity when I come across people.