A Success Tip About Authenticity

Have you ever considered that your level of authenticity may be impacting your success? Judy Garland got it right when she said, it's always better to be a first rate version of yourself, rather than a second rate version of someone else.

Not only is it better, but given that human beings are really animals - the two legged and not the four - we all have the ability to sense when something's not quite right, when someone's not being authentic. It's called our animal instinct. When other people feel that we're being inauthentic, that there's something not just right, it's harder for them to place their trust in us, for any reason, regardless of what we say. If we're the person in question, this in turn can impact us financially, socially, or vocationally.

A couple of years ago I was co-leading a workshop with a colleague. It was an interesting mix. As one participant remarked, we sure were a study in contrasts, adding that interestingly enough the combination worked. I believe it worked because we were true to ourselves, reveled in our differences and didn't try to be more similar than dissimilar. My co-presenter, a whimsical, angelic like person, sprinkled some of her fairy dust onto me. And she benefitted from my organizational abilities and focus, which kept us on time and on point.

During our workshop, my whimsical co-leader put on a tiara and waved a musical magic wand, which she pulled off with a lot of panache. It added a lot of levity to our workshop. Had I done the same thing, I would have looked ridiculous and felt uncomfortable. My discomfort would have been noticed by the workshop participants, who would have felt intuitively that something was off.

The world needs each and every one of our gifts and attributes, which only we can bring. It's the differences that add the spice and the flavour to life. Wouldn't it be a bore if all there was to eat was Chinese? Each of us has a unique style and to create the best "dish," we must follow our own unique recipe. For example, wouldn't Julia Child have looked inauthentic and ridiculous acting like Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen fame, swearing and cursing around the kitchen? But it works for Ramsay, if the numbers of his TV viewers are any indication.

Some things you might want to consider when reclaiming your authenticity on the road to enhancing your success:
* Look at the roles you play in your life, be it employee, parent, sibling, spouse, partner or friend. For each role, rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 as to how authentically "you," are showing up for each role.
* Next, look at what it is costing you, if anything, emotionally, physically, spiritually and/or mentally to be someone or something you are not.
* If there is a cost, over the next week, dump the role and step up as your authentic self.
* Then compare the personal impact/results of being your authentic and inauthentic selves.
* Lastly, choose how you will act from this moment forward in that particular role, using your emotional, spiritual, mental and physical selves as your measuring stick.

There's a familiar adage in marketing that says people like to do business with people they like, know and trust. There's no better way to get people to like you than to be your authentic self. And don't take it personally if some people don't like your "flavor." Some people like chocolate ice cream and others raspberry ripple. The people that don't like your particular "flavor," were never your customers or part of your tribe anyway.

Kathy Santini, the CEO of Savvy About Success knows that success leaves clues, making it easy to model and replicate. She takes the mystery out of success by showing success-oriented individuals and business owners how to be more successful by teaching them what successful people know and do.

As a coach/educator, Kathy offers coaching, group coaching and mastermind programs, and hosts teleseminars and telesummits on the subject of success.

To learn more about her offerings, to subscribe to her weekly Ezine, full of success tips or to get your own copy of her FREE report, 101 Ways to Become More Successful - Learn What Successful People Know and Do visit http://SavvyAboutSuccess.com

Kathy's expertise has been profiled in Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, on Canada's national broadcaster, CBC Radio; in newspapers across North America and on radio stations across Canada. She is a former coaching columnist for The Business Examiner Newspaper and Exceptionalife Magazine, has written guest columns and articles for various publications and been a guest on numerous TV programs.