10thHuman: The power of authenticity

The effect we have on others-2I’ve long been a proponent of authenticity. Be who you are, speak that power and truth and you cannot go wrong in business or life.

I read a book today called Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility, by James P. Carse. This is not a book about gameplay, not in the least. As I read through it, I found myself taken back to Paulo Coelho’s Warrior of Light, truth be told. The prose, while not lyrical, had the same sense for me as Coelho’s text.

There were a number of profound takeaways but today I share with you two in particular.

First:

When I forsake my genius and speak to you as though you were another, I also speak to you as someone you are not and somewhere you are not. I address you as audience, and do not expect you to respond as the genius you are.

This struck me as quite possibly the most profound statement on authenticity I have ever read. It is an affirmation that when we are authentic, when we speak our truth to others, we are offering respect and acknowledgement of their true self, as well.

Second:

To speak, or act, or think originally is to erase the boundary of the self.

When we open ourselves up authentically, when we communicate, we are giving of ourselves to another. We are asking them to consider our words, our communication, and add this to their personal narrative.

I submit to you that if you can establish this rapport, this authentic conversation, new horizons will open to you.