Authenticity is the new currency
The imagination is not a state: it is the human existence itself.
William Blake
A Letter From the Young William Blake in Defense of the Imagination
I tend to mostly value sincerity over originality. I think I perform better when I focus less on being original and more on being honest.
Timothy Ferriss • Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World
“If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.” ~Brene Brown
“You are consciousness dressed in form, my love. Consciousness is divine. Matter is divine. Creation is divine. Everything is divine. Are you somehow the only exception?”
Martha Beck • Diana, Herself
But nothing important, or meaningful, or beautiful, or interesting, or great ever came out of imitations. The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.
This is more difficult, because there is no zeitgeist to read, no template to follow, no mask to wear. Set aside what... See more
This is more difficult, because there is no zeitgeist to read, no template to follow, no mask to wear. Set aside what... See more
James Clear • “1999 Mount Holyoke Commencement Speech”
All of the people I know who are very talented and could be hugely successful have an obvious cringe activity standing between them and their reward and they just aren’t yet willing to walk into the tsunami of cringe
Sasha Chapinx.comWhen being real is your priority, the various parts of your life start to groove. Your career will begin to reflect your true passion; your living room will match your values; your friends will fit your soul; and your wealth—of which there are many definitions—will start to measure up with your notion of freedom. Sometimes the courage to be true to
... See moreDanielle LaPorte • The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms
If it’s authentic enough, believe me—it will feel original.
Elizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“What the really great artists do is they're entirely themselves. They've got their own vision, their own way of fracturing reality, and then if it's authentic and true, you will feel it in your nerve endings”
— David Foster Wallace