A Manifesto of Authenticity

A Thought: Authenticity is the most important value to uphold in professional life.

A Reason: Being authentic brings deeper levels of success and leads to building happiness, not only satisfaction.

A Reality: We work for most part of our days. Business life matters. It is not an island. It burns that it is practically impossible to be authentic in business.

A Fussy-Wussy: A professional survey screams: “you question ‘conventional wisdom and conventional behaviours’, you are a bit unconventional yourself.”

A Process: The child is no longer an infant, no longer a teenager. He is an activist. Out goes he. Plans to change the world. The corporation hits. The corporation demands. And he normalizes self. Others did as well.

Open Parentheses: I drank the cool aid, quenched my thirst, became a "team player", and played the role of "culture carrier". That is great and all. But what really happened? During this process, I drifted towards the status quo and the median. I gradually replicated behaviours and practices that had been established, used, and implemented by others in the past. I did think, I did create, I did innovate, I did deliver, I did produce. But, in all instances, I felt constrained. Constrained to act within accepted parameters. It was rare to deviate one step further, to really question the underlying philosophy of value proposition. In all, I was not able to channel my “authentic genius”, meaning working from my truest, rawest, bestest, or worst expression of myself. I did not find that realm where mistakes happen but where real, true innovation occurs. Close Parentheses.

A Conclusion: Authenticity is most challenged during career development because people do not easily accept what is unconventional until after the fact. We resist authenticity and chose to adapt, flex, and deliver within the expectations. We challenge authenticity because we believe that norms and rules add to productivity. We prefer to operate in comfortable spaces where the level of risk is lower. When we are authentic, we are at our best, deliver the most, reach full potential.

A Secret: I find myself living at the peripheral areas of my brain. Before, I did not. Now, my brain makes decisions considering notions of career success that seem to respond more to ego needs, societal demands, or perceptions of what a career path should look like.

A Suggestion: Act, study, relate to others from a point of absolute raw expression. Build on everything learned but operate from a no-pose point of view. Make this choice because life then becomes a risk-free environment in which we get to understand our very mortality. You will then build resilience. In that way, channel unconventionality in productive ways.

Most Cliche-d Explanation: Enhance unconventionality and become authentic. Leave an impactful, lucrative, and exciting trace. Search for something special. That is the opportunity to be. Find a business, role, function to channel energy. Repeat NOT others, find self, this will lead to a deeper level of success and build happiness, not only satisfaction.

Drink this cool-aid.