“Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy, and gratitude into our lives.”
Brene Brown, “The Gifts of Imperfection”
There’s a famous adage in the marketing and sales world:
“The customer doesn’t need a drill. They need a hole.”
The purpose behind this statement is explanatory. First, understand your customer’s true desire or need. And then, focus your message on meeting that desire or need. Your message should hook into your customer’s emotional state about that desire.
If you’re selling a drill, talk about the hole, not the drill.
Why do we even care about authenticity? Why are we searching for our authentic selves? Why does it matter?
Because our ultimate desire, the hole we’re trying to create (fill, maybe?), is to invite grace, joy, and gratitude into our lives. No matter who you are and your personal history, you’ve experienced these emotions. Even those who might not use those exact terms or deep down don’t feel worthy (you are, though, you are). We all have at least some experience and are on a journey to reclaim.
Authenticity is the method and the path.
Authenticity isn’t an excuse for knee-jerk reactions, or blind tribe loyalty, or status claiming. Nor is it a destination. The authentic you doesn’t exist as an endpoint but as an asymptote.
And convergence toward that asymptote requires practice.
