It’s required.
“If you want to make a difference, there is nothing more important than owning who you are and then building the confidence to project yourself authentically, publicly.
How many do you know who try to be all things to all people or can’t voice themselves for ‘political’ reasons?”
-Ray Zingler on X
In 15 years of business, I haven’t learned it all, but I’ve learned a lot.
Not only about myself (most important), but others as well (a lot to be learned there, too).
They say that if you give people enough time, they’ll show you their true colors. It’s true.
I have found it to be so incredibly important to be yourself. Your authentic true self.
And while this seems like a simple, straightforward concept, many people struggle with the idea for so many reasons.
Many people spend time “adjusting their image” as they desire to be liked by all. How can they position themselves to strike the most buttons with the most people to get the most followers?
Then you’ve got another group of folks who will say one thing that sounds good in theory but then perform a different action (or none at all) when it comes to the practical application side. You know those people. And you know how much they suck, too.
And then you even have a demographic of people who won’t be who they are publicly because they “can’t”.
They work a job that disallows them to share themselves authentically. If they do something as simple as speak out publicly against the (shitty, broken) narrative or God forbid, stand up for what is right, big brother Bill, corporate suck Joe, or tenured suit Tanya is eager and ready to pull the plug on them.
But here’s the deal:
If you want to make a difference, a real difference, you have to be you. And you have to, with confidence, share your true self with others, authentically.
No fence rider in the history of the world has ever made a difference.
Nobody who has said they’ll do one thing and then not followed through has made an impact.
And you can call yourself a leader all you want, but if you let garbage go or refuse to speak up for what is right because you’re fearful of losing a job, you’re not a leader at all. You’re a coward who is enslaved to the (broken) system.
You’re not going to be for everybody.
Nobody is.
But that’s the point.
You may as well be you and make a difference in the process.
