09: Be Authentic, Not Perfect

Oscar Wilde said, “Always be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” That goes along perfectly with our topic for today–authenticity. What does it mean? How do we lead authentic lives? What does it look like when we aren’t authentic? Let’s discuss the idea of authenticity together.

If you heard the show’s intro, then you heard me say that this is a weekly podcast–but that isn’t entirely true. It’s been almost two weeks since the last one, so what’s up? Why have I not been authentic? The answer is that I’ve gotten caught in the trap of wanting everything to be perfect. Have you been there? If you have, then you know that trying to be perfect for everyone else is very time-consuming and energy-consuming. In short, it’s just plain exhausting, so isn’t it better to just be your authentic self?

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• The weirdness of talking to a microphone in my office when I’m much more used to a real audience with real faces
• The point of the podcast is to be real and honest in mentoring women
• Making yourself fit into what everyone else thinks you should be does NOT make you authentic; it just makes you a good actor
• “Be true to who you are and know that who you are is enough.”
• Why I teach mindfulness: because it teaches you to notice the story line going through your head
• Speaking about leadership challenges me to lead by example, and–after all–isn’t that what mentoring really is?
• How I imagine the many faces listening to me (and I want to hear back from YOU!)
• How do we be the best that we can be? We share aspirations and always leave room for growth and own when we fall down
• One of my favorite memories from my college days
• What it means to be willing to “take the hit”
• My challenge to you this week: Be honest, be real, and be willing to take the hit

Resources:

www.elisahays.com

www.youtube.com/elisahays

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