I recently e-met with ex-colleagues of mine for a catch up and at one point in the conversation my friend jokingly commented that I was trying to be the next [famous Hindu guru’s name].

Now I take that as a compliment, of course – this guru is wise and motivational, it’s like he is on another plane of existence, with his insights. Thus, to compare my inspirational quotes to his is humbling and beautiful. Yet, I found this comment niggling me and being the self-aware person that I am, I decided to dig a little bit deeper as to why this was still playing on my mind.

Then I got it. The insight.

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Perhaps. To me, pure imitation is just that, a copy. It never strives to be anything more. Not the original and never will be.

I asked myself, am I being a copy of something or someone else? Is this just a mask, as the means to an end?

After introspecting, the resounding answer was No. I am uniquely me and have always strived to be so. It’s noticeable that I am different, even in very traditional roles in my career. When I undertook corporate business development I was atypical in my sales approach. Yet, I built those coveted relationships, brought in the flows and hence the desired results. As a financial analyst, I was also atypical, very strategically focused as opposed to just technically proficient in models and analysis. Still, I was market-rated for my work and brought in flows to my stockbroking firm. In my current business, it’s UVP is a value-chain that superficially seems distinct and separate, yet are quite tangibly linked. The steep learning curve of a growing business makes me wonder if I should just take a page out of someone else’s book to be scaling up quicker.

It is difficult to break out of the mould. To set oneself apart. Certain industries demand that you align and shapeshift into their ideal candidate in order for you to make it big, or even just get a foothold in. And once you are in, boy oh boy, does that engine just propel you even further into the quagmire of its demands – ruthless aggression, tiresome effort, ridiculously long clocked-in hours, proficiency to the nth degree as some examples. Are you nodding your head yet because this sounds familiar?

How then does one go about living one’s values every day, despite the confines of work and other demands? This is where the power of authenticity reveals itself.

By definition, to be authentic is to be true of and about yourself (meaning self-awareness), as well as driven by purpose. In my article ‘The importance of revealing your personal brand’ I make mention that authenticity also includes mindfulness, not just of self but of others too.

Mike Robbins, in his TedX talk on the power of authenticity, spoke about a continuum to authenticity: phony (massaging the truth), honest (being truthful but it can be hurtful or come across judgemental) and authentic (absolutely honest, minus the righteousness, plus vulnerability).