We’ve spoken about authenticity before. My definition of authenticity, I borrowed from a note on someone’s desk I saw some 35 years ago, is this:
Authenticity means: there is nothing in the unsaid. There is nothing that you should say that you don’t.
That doesn’t mean you should say everything… No, no, no. The one who says everything is not authentic, he is a bore. Or she is. And often seemingly saying everything is a smokescreen that covers up what you are not saying.
This topic came up because some of the people I coach are in the middle of starting to use their strengths… or about to start.
But often these strengths come with serious weaknesses.
- You can be a starter… and not a finisher
- You can be an idea person… and not an implementer
- You can see what someone else should do… but you don’t, you can’t do it yourself… even though it would make you successful.
So if you pretend to know what you are talking about: you are a fake. Inauthentic, a pretender. False guru.
Admittedly we have a lot of those. The doctors who die younger than their clients… (Dead doctors don’t lie!). The psychologist who can’t stay married.
There is even a saying about that: the shoemaker walks barefoot… or something like that.
But you don’t want to be that.
So we need to talk again about what is knowledge.
- An idea doesn’t count as knowledge, even if you can repeat a whole book.
- Book knowledge isn’t knowledge. Only implemented it becomes knowledge.
Book knowledge makes you sound really smart, but implemented knowledge will make you healthy, wealthy and happy. Choose.
I, when I choose someone to follow, someone to learn from, someone to accept advice from, I research their track record. I observe what they do. I often find the gap between what they teach and what they do a good enough reason to not follow them.
Arguably, they can have the best ideas, but if they have never done any of it, how can I, why should I trust them with my life, with my business? My health. My happiness.
It already started in Architecture School (1966-1971). All my design teachers were people who had never built anything. Going out into the real world, knowing that I learned from idea people was the scariest thing I had ever done. I still feel the anxiety pressing on my chest as I recall how I felt then… for years.
Since I came to this country, I have had many coaches and teachers.
To date I have had a grand total of three teachers who practiced what they taught. Three out of 30.
Unless I can turn my life over to someone who claims to be my teacher, and they would ‘drive it’ better than I am, they don’t qualify in my world to be my teacher or my coach.
I am working on creating a mobile only site, it’s called an app, and I am stuck. So I sent a request to the creator of that program I am using if he can recommend help. And to my surprise, he has already thought of that.
He said: there are people for whom time is more important than money…
That’s me.
It was a revelation to me how he turned my ‘complaint’ around. I said: I am old, I need help. He said: I want help and I am willing to pay for it.
There is nothing wrong with not knowing, not having the skill to do something. But simply tell the truth about it. Or do something about it. Implement your own ideas, if your ideas is your main product.
For example my idea person student, when he suggests to his clients to build an email list, he can refer that client to an email list builder expert… instead of claiming that he knows how to do it… When you refer, you get a commission…
Same with all the business activities he has no experience to actually do, but are needed for his clients… referral. Joint venture. Totally valid.
One of the things that my relationship to Source provides is authenticity. How? Source hurts me if and when I lie, or pretend to be better or more than I am. Or forces me to go through stuff, so I can learn how it is, and learn how to heal it… like this cancer.
The cancer is real…
Recently I found myself having cancer grow in my digestive system. I muscletested, for quite a long time, for ways to heal it. And then I could recommend it to my clients who came down with cancer growing in their bodies.
I don’t teach anything, I don’t recommend anything that I don’t so, that I am not using myself. OK, I am fibbing: when I need to test something new, I do recommend something either for free or for a nominal price, so I have a larger pool of people testing the idea… not just myself.
If something works for me, it is not a guarantee that it will work for you. It is also true that something that doesn’t work on me may work on you… each person is an individual. But knowing this, having integrity and authenticity makes my muscletesting almost perfectly accurate.
95% accurate.
But if I had low integrity and low authenticity scores, my muscletesting would be like yours… 50-50… not much better than flipping a coin.
I am a slow implementer of what I learn. In almost a whole year I implemented 4-5 items from the hundreds I could have from my current teacher’s teachings. But even that pulled me out of barely making it, and put me in a position where I can save 35% all my revenue for the inevitable rainy day.
I am a lot faster when it comes to my health. I implemented the appetite suppressing herbal stuff. It definitely doesn’t have all the bad stuff that used to drive people hyper, manic, and even crazy… I sleep like a log with it… and I am up to 3 lbs loss in less than a week. Wow.
Want to check out what I found? Here is the link.
But before you go and buy it, let me check if it is going to work for you. I don’t think everything works for everyone.
I need your picture at least to be able to check… So if you are not a customer, just send me a picture of yourself and a request to measure if the thing will work for you… I’ll do it right away… unless, of course, I am busy otherwise.
BONUS: That is an affiliate link… SO I get paid if you buy through it. That is why I am willing to give you a bonus: measuring your health measurements. It’s a $25 value. It will tell you what’s off with your body and what are the causes. If it is an illness, I’ll even attempt to identify what it is for you. You need to send me your receipt from buying. And, of course a picture and your date of birth.
PS: What are your strengths workshop is this afternoon at 4.
