{"id":6451,"date":"2018-02-20T16:23:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T16:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=6451"},"modified":"2018-02-20T16:23:59","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T16:23:59","slug":"just-be-you-why-authentic-beats-artificial-every-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/just-be-you-why-authentic-beats-artificial-every-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Be You: Why Authentic Beats Artificial, Every Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Just<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s that time of year for plenty of posts on how to \u201ctransform\u201d yourself for the new year, and setting goals to better yourself is certainly a worthy pursuit no matter when you do it. But I can\u2019t help thinking that sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to live up to\u00a0other people\u2019s\u00a0<\/i>expectations that it\u2019s easy to lose sight of what makes us unique as individuals. Whether online or out in the world, we live in an era when those expectations are always on display, and our mistakes, mishaps, and embarrassing moments are more public than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

One option is to give in to those expectations, hide your true feelings, toe the line, and filter your actions based on what you think other people want to see. You won\u2019t be surprised to learn that I advocate for a\u00a0slightly\u00a0<\/i>different position.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe who you are and say what you feel, because, in the end, those who matter don\u2019t mind,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and those who mind don\u2019t matter.\u201d ~<\/span>Dr. Seuss<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

If you want to see the full spectrum, from too real to totally artificial, just visit your favorite social platform. You\u2019ll find some influencers who aim to build a following solely by doing what\u2019s expected, playing on audience expectations, and never revealing a thing about who they really are. They may say something controversial, as long as they believe that\u2019s what their audience wants to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n

These people may succeed initially in building a following, but it\u2019s a fickle thing. One wrong step \u2013 or break from character \u2013 and that same audience will move onto someone else who tells them what they want to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then you have the people who always speak their mind, no matter what, even when saying nothing would be the much wiser path. TMI is real, and it\u2019s not hard to find someone who wants to tell you about their bodily functions, or discuss their position on every controversial political and social issue of the day. It\u2019s great to feel comfortable being open, but you don\u2019t necessarily need to share every single gory detail.<\/span><\/p>\n

The true influencers \u2013 those who last, build connections, and foster relationships \u2013 know how to be authentic, honest, and real, without going over the top. They might touch on a controversial subject, but they\u2019ll do it thoughtfully, rather than offering a rapid-fire opinion on every trending topic. They\u2019ll let you in on meaningful details of their personal lives without sharing so much that you feel like you\u2019re at someone else\u2019s family reunion. They\u2019re not perfect, but they embrace that fact and accept that they can\u2019t please everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, they\u2019re comfortable in their own skin \u2013 which is important both online and out in the world. I gravitate toward people who are authentic and confident in who they are, and I try to be the same way when dealing with other people. I may not always say exactly what you want to hear, but what I do say is coming from an honest place. My opinions are just mine, and I try to provide enough background that you\u2019ll understand where I\u2019m coming from, even if you don\u2019t ultimately agree.<\/span><\/p>\n

On a marketing, social, and influence level, you\u2019ll often go much farther being authentic than you will by only saying and doing the expected. But this isn\u2019t just about building a following. Being who you are, connecting with the people who matter, and refusing to be dragged down by the negative, ultimately makes for a happier life with more freedom.\u00a0Just be \u201cyou,\u201d and the rest will come along.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

#FollowThePath<\/a><\/span>\u00a0#RonR<\/span><\/a>\u2026\u00a0<\/span>#NoLetUp!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Previously posted at\u00a0TedRubin.co<\/a>m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year for plenty of posts on how to \u201ctransform\u201d yourself for the new year, and setting goals to better yourself is certainly a worthy pursuit no matter when you do it. But I can\u2019t help thinking that sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to live up to\u00a0other people\u2019s\u00a0expectations that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tedrubin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6452,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6451\/revisions\/6452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}