“AUTHENTIC”

Yes, yes. Another diatribe about authenticity.

I won’t beleaguer the point voluminously (which is my wont,) but I’ll say this and let you get back to the other blog posts on my site that you probably won’t read anyway…

People aren’t authentic – and that’s OK. Trying to be is stressing you out and making your marketing and branding less effective.

But we’re not just talking brand, business or marketing – we’re talking all the time. All of us.

You go on a first date. Do you fart in front of your date? Do you invite them back to your place to rifle through your finances? Do you wear the clothes from the bottom of the hamper?

No – you hold it in, you pretend like you’ve got plenty of money and you wear something nice.

Not because you don’t fart, not because you’re broke or rich, and not because you just gotta wear nice, clean clothes.

You want to impress that person and put forward the best version (or vision) of you.

AND THAT’S FINE.

We do it. All of us. All the time.

If you examine the amount of time and effort we all put into distracting people from the nitty-gritty of who we REALLY are – you’ll see that it’s true and that it’s right, that it’s not unnatural, harmful or a “sign of trauma” that we don’t air dirty (or even worse – BORING) laundry in the name of transparency or authenticity.

So – when a brand expert or marketing guru tells you to be authentic, what they’re really looking for is for you to magnify the interesting parts of yourself or your brand and strategize the use or obfuscation of the parts that aren’t interesting or important or sexy.

And that’s just not “authentic” in the true sense of the word.

AND THAT’S FINE.

Not lies. Not even half-truths. Razzle-dazzle. Marketing. Salesmanship.

Just like on a date. You’re dating your customers & clients. You don’t want to show up in the worst clothes you have, smelling like cow shit and bumming smokes from the folks at the bar. At the same time, you don’t want to show up in a rented Maserati, doused in Drakkar Noir  and flashing stacks of Bennies when you actually drive a used Ford Focus and work at Citgo for minimum wage.

You want to present the best parts. The interesting parts. The parts that smell nice.

Unless you’re into some kinky shit – but that’s more of Leather Daddy’s realm.

Authenticity is another tool. When you put intent into being “authentic,” you immediately become anything BUT authentic. If you have to try, you’re not being real – and not trying isn’t an option when it comes to business.

Or dating.

What were we talking about?

Oh – that’s right. Severance is the best television show in the past 20 years. That was it.