Be Authentic To Drive Sales
It never fails, you log on to Facebook or your website. Your wall or comment area, as usual, is filled with new posts. People you hardly know have found their way on your friend list. The comments on your site posts are filled with spam or are totally irrelevant to the post itself. Yet, one thing is common.
Nearly 80% of these updates and comments are photos, opinions, videos, and links of people pretending to be someone they are not. All of them wanting to create a perception that they are happy, powerful, and showing their lives are totally awesome.
The sad truth is most of these people are actually miserable. On the surface, they might seem to enjoy what they do but dig a little deeper and you will find little value in what they are claiming. These people have forgotten what is to be true to oneself. They have fallen into the trap of pretending so much, and so often, that they no longer know the freedom and joy which comes from being authentic.
So how do you make sure that you don’t lose sight of yourself? Just make sure you remind yourself of these four qualities.
Honesty
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs
The wisest of mankind have said that the inner self has answers to all our doubts. But due to the pressure of impressing others, we drown out this inner voice almost all the time.
Whenever you are faced with making a decision, just ask yourself ‘Will this decision help me become who I have always wanted to be? Or will it be one which will make people around me happy?’ If you are making those around you happy all the time - you will end up miserable.
Passion
The easiest way you can be authentic is to do what you love. One of the primary reasons people start faking is when they choose to do what they hate. Whether it is doing a job which you don’t love, or being with a person with whom you can’t be yourself, every moment of such time spent in these situations takes away your authenticity.
If what you are doing in your life doesn’t excite you, start exploring. Assess your strengths and figure out what comes to you naturally. Nature has made us all unique and with this uniqueness comes a combination of talents which only we have access to. Put them to work and live with passion. You don’t have eternity to figure out how to be true to yourself. So you might as well start now.
Courage to Fail
One thing which marks people who are authentic is their fearlessness. And this quality is present because they have failed more than anyone else. Because they learn rapidly from these failures, they are not afraid to step out and try new things.
This courage gives them the confidence to constantly innovate and push their boundaries. They are always on the move, trying to figure out ways they can do what they love and be successful at it. Within this process, they become leaders who blaze a new trail that gives direction to others. The alternative is becoming a wannabe and following the trail of someone else.
Next time you follow you heart, don’t let the fear of failure stop you. It will be worth going through the ordeals once you see the outcome of what your true potential can achieve.
Indifference
Too many people complain that they would rather be doing something else in life. “I start doing stuff which excites me I give up midway through because I don’t know what others will think of me.”
Sound familiar? You need to start becoming indifferent. Indifference is a powerful weapon when you use it against the right enemies. And there is one very potent enemy which stops you from being authentic – What others think of you.
The need to be liked is universal and there is nothing wrong with it. The problem arises when this need of being liked consumes your life and starts demanding you do anything and everything just to be liked. We can see it right here on WA with people wanting to be in the Top 500, 100, or getting an Ambassador badge. They create mediocre content and give replies that don’t really help anyone but their own rankings.
Understand one thing. You never have control what others think of you. And no matter what you do, there will always be people trying to hold you back or those that laugh at you. The authentic ones are those who shrug the naysayers off and boldly move forward to create their own destinies.
Authenticity is all about being yourself, and having the guts to do what you want to do in life and being unapologetic about it. So go ahead and live the life you always wanted to!
When you follow these principles it comes across in your writing and the presentation you have on your website. You take that extra time on your site to make sure that everything is just right. It’s these small things that your site visitors will notice. It is the reason they will follow you on social media, purchase from your site, and recommend you to their friends and family.
Be authentic to yourself.
Recent Comments
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You said LC, we are what we belief and sometimes we have to change certain beliefs, especially those about ourselves. We can't let others define us or telling us what is right or wrong. To stand up for oneself certainly takes courage!!!
Thanks for sharing. :)
Thank you. Hope it helps those who struggle with content and worrying about what other may think.
I have never worried about what others think, except my mother of course, but they are words of truth. I have 4 daughters that were teenagers at one time and dealt with that subject for years. Thanks again LC.
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The depth of the insight in your blog says so much about the person you are.....thank you for this tremendous example of the very thing you are writing about!