Authentic Success

One of the surest routes to doing amazing work, being incredibly successful and feeling truly satisfied is by being who you really are.

Whether you’re in a paid role or you’re self-employed, being authentic is immediately apparent and incredibly attractive. People around you will trust you and want to work with you, your efforts will be sustainable [it’s hard pretending to be someone you’re not] and your results will impress.

If you’re keen to boost your authenticity in work or business, it is important to:

+ Know your values

Values can be hard to pin down. If you struggle with the concept, I suggest trying this:

• Grab a piece of paper and a pen and complete this sentence: The five most important things in my life are ________.
• Then for each of those five things complete this sentence: and for me that means _______.

Example: Family is one of the most important things in my life and for me family means: connection, joy and kindness. So connection, joy and kindness are values of mine.

+ Use your Values

Once you know your values, use them to anchor your decision making.

[Ummm, whaaat?]

Here’s what I mean. When you find yourself with a big decision to make, ask yourself: what course of action will sit best with my values? It’s important to acknowledge that values often compete, so you will need to consider which one will guide you best in which particular moment.

Example: I am offered a big coaching opportunity that will mean I will have to be away from home one week each month. It pays amazing money and will allow me to learn and connect with other great coaches but I will miss out on one in four weeks with my two very little ones, who are my greatest joy. I turn it down.

+ Employ your strengths

Before you consciously draw on your strengths, you need to know what they are. [Genius, yes?!] Some people are fundamentally aware of what they’re good at but others struggle to think and speak positively about themselves. If you aren’t sure, you might like to try the evidence-based VIA Strengths Questionnaire.

Example: I am good at self-regulating; I am incredibly disciplined. But I am not necessarily all that brave; I tend to shrink from scary stuff. So in running my own business I trust myself to take small, regular steps towards big goals instead of asking myself to leap right in. I rely on my strengths to take me where I want to go.

+ Create, don’t copy

oooh, tricky one! There’s so much stuff on the internet that is inspiring, it can be easy to overstep that fine line between appreciating someone else’s efforts and copying their work.

Example: a client came to me wanting to set up her own coaching business. We worked together and then a little while later I was sent a link to her website. The similarities between her material and mine were disconcertingly uncanny. I wondered how long she could sustain a business that seemed based on someone else’s approach. Since then she has overhauled her focus. I hope this new direction is a truer fit and a great success.

If you’re creating and building your own business and you find yourself tempted to borrow ideas/pictures/words, stay away from the material. Avoid it altogether! At least until you’ve managed to hone your own look, style and voice.

+ Tweak Along the Way

There are very few career and business decisions that are irreversible. If you find that something is not a good fit: change it.

Example: I started on Twitter because I thought I should. I thought that’s what businesses did and almost immediately I hated it. I felt completely overwhelmed by all the noise. [argh!!] I am currently refreshing my website and the first thing to go: my twitter link! In its place will be Instagram, which inspires me and makes me feel happy and calm.

Getting to a place where you really feel like you can take a bit of work and staying true to who you are is an ongoing process. But the results are incredibly worthwhile.

Tags: authentic, choices, strengths, values