Being yourself isn't a luxury
We often feel that to get ahead, especially professionally, we have to pretend. Say the right words. Put on the right smiles. Hide our true thoughts.
But actually, no.
Your personal and professional success depends entirely on your ability to integrate who you really are into every aspect of your life.
It's the source of your inner peace. But also the source of your productivity, your value, and therefore your usefulness to others. No one will pay you very much for being just like everyone else.
The good news is that this can be learned. All the people you admire have at some point gone through these stages in one form or another:
- Discovering who you are on your own. Seeing which outside gazes constantly weigh on you. Exploring and embracing your vision, your taste, your ambitions.
- Learning to maintain this identity in public and under pressure. Developing strategies and safeguards so you don't conform and you keep your intrinsic value.
"Being yourself in a freakish environment, that's the real skill." – Conan O'Brien