In my opinion, one of the best quotes of all time about personal branding is the well-known quote from Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” It is a compelling quote that focuses on one of the pillars of personal branding, authenticity. Being yourself, being authentic and faithful to your way of being is essential.
But WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN AUTHENTIC PERSON? Well, someone is consistent with himself and shows himself as he is. That is to say, he is faithful to his way of being and does not try to give an image of what he is not.
And in a world with so much posturing, with (in my opinion) excessive use of social networks, I dare to say that there exists in our society a great problem of lack of authenticity. Many people appear to be one thing and are another. They want to show themselves to others as they would like to be instead of how they are.
Furthermore, the digital revolution and the explosion of personal branding in recent years have brought very positive aspects but have also caused a significant increase in the lack of authenticity.
AND WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO BE YOURSELF, TO BE MORE AUTHENTIC? Well, I would summarize it in the following way: know yourself better and act accordingly. In this sense, YOU MUST KNOW 3 FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS ABOUT YOURSELF:
- TALENTS: You must be very clear about what you are good at, and what your talents and strengths are. In which areas do you have greater potential. Discover them and put your talents to work. You may find my previous post 5+1 ways to discover your talent useful. Discover your talents and try to use them most of your time. Let them be part of your daily life and help you achieve great results.
- MOTIVATIONS: Understanding your motivations is essential to enhance your authenticity. Discover what motivates you, what gives you energy, and what makes you move. We are all motivated by different things. The clearer you are about what really motivates you and the more you can keep it in mind in your daily life, the easier and more sustainable it will be for you to be yourself and enjoy the journey.
- VALUES: For me, the third essential element to be authentic. Analyze well what you value in this life, and what is most important to you. And act accordingly. As Stephen Covey said, “Your peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with your values.”
Given the great problems of inauthenticity in our current society, I suggest you be yourself. To do this, discover your talents, motivations, and values. And put them to work, align them in your life, and try to make them part of your daily life. Only in this way, can you be more authentic, have better results, and, above all, live a happier life.
And I end with a quote that I love: “Be yourself except if you are an asshole, then you better be someone else.”
