Tag: truth

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let out true selves be seen.”

Brene Brown

There is a reason Michael Jordan is one the most successful sportsman of all time…. he was uniquely authentic to who he was, no matter the situation. This is reiterated in one of his famous quotes, “Authenticity is about being true to who you are.” Okay, yes of course, especially when you watch back some of the footage… he was an INSANELY talented basketball player, but being talented doesn’t make you successful. It is mad when you think about it… he is one of the most successful sports people ever in an era way before social media and our modern technology. He created a brand for himself that still makes him stand out above the current generation of athletes. His authenticity and passion towards what he did created the legend that he is, and the same with Usain Bolt. He was making waves just by being true to who he was and what he believed in – no gimmicks, no materialistic needs, just him, his team and undeniable passion. With this leads to the fact now they are not just sportsman. Their sport lead them to become truly successful businessmen and their brand becoming huge. When we think about Jordans deal with Nike – he showed loyalty and built a relationship over time through trust and authenticity which sees 36 years later after he first signed with Nike in 1984, to the current day, he has just hit 3.1 billion in profit last year just from Nike alone. That’s from the franchise of Jordan in 2004.

People LOVE authenticity. When people put on the Jordan shoes they want to be like Michael Jordan – I think even more so now after the last dance Netflix documentary. This is what you need for your business, when people step into your business you want them to be like, ” HEY, I’m part of this business, I’m proud, I wan’t to tell everyone that I’m part of it,” and how do we do that? Through authenticity, trust and building strong relatable relationships with whom your customers are.

So when we think of authenticity to who you are, and authenticity to your consumer, providing information for what your consumers needs and wants are…. Your brand needs to be authentic to the needs of your clients. For example as a coach, we speak about what is it that your clients struggle with, what are their pain points, what is it they ask you the most that they want to know… there is your marketing strategy right there. Help your audience through their pain points, by

So here is a question for you….

How often have you gone to say something/post something/write an email/text and thought and paused for a moment and thought, “I’m not going to say that because…. 1) they will probably think it’s a ridiculous idea, 2) Will this person disagree, 3) People will just think what a know it all 4) fill the blank.”

Essentially how many times have you stopped yourself from saying or doing something out of the fear of what someone else might think? YES, I can see all those hands up, we have all done it… then How many times have you regretted that you didn’t do or say anything because now YOU don’t feel like you are being authentic to you? YES, I can see all those hands going up again.

These above are all just little stories going around in your head. I got this of one of my best friends and amazing life coach – www.lucyspicer.com. I did a session with Lucy, as I still sometimes feel those fears and those stories now, so I have to take some time every so often to remind myself that being authentically me is how I need to be. If you have something you want to say that you genuinely believe could be of value or help – just say it. Obviously of course, if it is going to genuinely upset someone maybe have more tact how you approach it. Just be assured that people will respect you so much more for doing that AND you also set the boundaries for yourself in any relationships because people know where they stand and then everything is all just a little bit rosier. Michael Jordan for example – I don’t know if any of you have watched his latest documentary (if you are reading this and you haven’t I highly recommend you do), but the reason he was so awe inspiring as that he was just himself, upfront, straight to the point, some people liked him, some were afraid BUT everyone knew where they stood with him and he became one of the most well recognised sports stars in history.

So here’s the next question: If there was one thing you could do right now that you have held back on and not voiced what would that be? Is there something you have been wanting to say or shout about but you have been afraid to do so? Why don’t you take this as your sign to take the leap and do it. Is it something to do with something amazing you have achieved this week – literally could be as simple as you are really pleased because this week you have done exercise every day, OR this week I stuck to my spending budget, or this week I really focused on my turning my passion into my career and it’s really starting to come together.

For so many years, while I was stuck in my eating disorder I created habits that would tell me I wasn’t good enough, right through to walking out onto the pitch for Glasgow 2014, I still had moments of doubt that everyone thought I was a joke. Something I have learnt to cope with and create methods and strategies to deal with it, BUT alot of that is about just being authentically you. That means on every level – social media, family, friends, work because the more you accept you and are kinder to you (and I mean not over criticising yourself every 2 seconds and reminding yourself you are worth your vo ice). So if you are reading this and you, right now, hold back a little, and dull yourself down to blend in… im here to say STOP! You have blended in for too long, and you need to relearn how to shine, and be authentically you because thats where you are going to be your happiest. So take some time over the next week, assessing whats holding you back from truly being your authentic most happiest self, but also take some time identifying what does truly make you happy. Do you ever have that feeling of wanting something more?

Task

I want you to try the below: The Bus Task from page 50 of my book, Free-ed.

Spend 10 – 15 minutes on each bus. Right now we are going to envision what it is you want to feel, see, the energy you want to emit and attract.

Bus 1:
Right now what makes you readjust yourself and be inauthentic – write in all the seats those things.
– ideas for example: inadequacy, fear, stress, and so on.
Then identify where those come from finance, friendship, work etc.

Identify situations you can change and ones that may just need adjustment. What about those stresses causes you to be inauthentic and why? Go on – WRITE it down.

Then write down now how you want to feel, how do you want your days to be, what your friendships will be and on bus 2 I want you write down what that looks like.

Bus 2
I want you to identify what would you need to do have on your team to be authentically you, authentically happy.

I know this task will be eye opening for a lot of you. From each of these tasks you then have the basis of your action plan. From there you can start to make small goals to get from Bus 1 to Bus 2.

Remember YOU deserve to live the life you imagine.

Final Words:
Authenticity isn’t about how popular you are, it isn’t about the number of likes on social media or the number of friends you have, trust me the more authentic you are the more genuine the above will be and you will watch yourself blossom and bloom.

If you are afraid and trust me I know this can be scary, here’s my quote for you:
“You attract the right things when you have a sense of who you are.” Amy Poehler

Just remember that, when you know who you are, you attract the energy you put out.

Sending all my love,

Jayne xx