Working in branding, you quickly realize that the powerful brands are authentic.
To become truly powerful as a human and a business, it is necessary to be authentic.
In this shortcut, we’ll see:
Either you live with internal conflict because you’re not being 100% you, or you have external conflict because everyone sees you as different.
The “internal conflict” path, when translated into action, becomes “fitting in”.
I call this path “The Public Lie.”
The “external conflict” path, when translated into action, is “doing abnormal/exceptional stuff”.
I call this path “The Legend.”
The critical realization is that nobody can fit in and be exceptional at the same time.
Both paths can lead to your definition of success. Still, only The Legend guarantees that you won’t be wearing a mask when you achieve success.
So, if you want to be exceptional (i.e., do exceptional things), you’re bound to get external conflict.
That’s when authenticity becomes a helpful tool.
No matter which path you choose, life will throw you internal or external conflicts.
You want to be the exception?
Great. Enter in conflict with the world.
You want to fit in?
Great. Enter into conflict with yourself.
Saying “I want to follow The Legend path” is like saying “I want external conflict in my life,” and so, the world will give you haters.
Saying “I want to follow The Public Lie path” is like saying “I want internal conflict in my life,” and so, the world will give you the worst hater of all: yourself.
In any case, the problem with conflict, whether external or internal, is that we struggle to deal with it.
Conflict makes us tense and makes us do stupid shit.
What’s great about authenticity is that it helps us in dealing with both external and internal conflict at scale.
Definition of authenticity:
How you behave when you have zero threat of punishment.
From this pragmatic definition, we can deduce what “being authentic” truly is:
Being authentic:
Behave as if nothing could punish you.
You can effectively avoid internal and external conflict by behaving authentically.
In other words, if you do stuff and do not care at all about what people think, you can fit in or do exceptional things as you please.
The key is to do it.
Behave the way you want first.
Then resolve the internal/external conflict by not caring about external opinions.
Do not let what people think affect you, and nobody will be able to punish you.
Because people have an opinion about what you do doesn’t mean you should listen to them or even care about what they think.
In the end, authenticity is just a fancy word for aligning three things:
Warning:
Authenticity cannot be experienced through thoughts.
It has to be lived through your every action.
Success leaves clues. Exceptional stuff is always made through authenticity. Everybody sees and knows it because real differentiation is noticeable.
Assuming your difference is respected across categories because people fear being potentially rejected and admire those who brave that fear.
By assuming your difference and allowing yourself to be exceptional:
People who use big fancy business words would say, “These are the benefits of aligning your identity, positioning, and strategy.”
I would say these are the benefits of aligning what you think, say, and do.
As individuals, we are all unique.
We are all made up of different experiences and memories.
We all have different backgrounds, different origins, and different thoughts.
As a brand, it’s the same thing. Your brand has its origin and its own past experiences. A mission of its own. And so on.
These elements make it unique and give it value in the market.
To be authentic is to take ownership of all that, and behave accordingly.
To be authentic as a brand is to accept being yourself and not apologize for it.
One could almost say that branding is a way to assert one’s authenticity through reinforcement of associations.
Being yourself means abandoning the idea of trying to please everyone.
Being yourself does not mean turning into a perfect version of yourself.
Being yourself means listening to yourself to then be true to yourself.
Never dilute yourself for anyone.
Your brand has values, beliefs, goals, and limiting thoughts.
To become yourself is to question yourself.
It’s an exercise that puts your brand’s beliefs, goals, values, and limiting thoughts into perspective.
You need to ask yourself the question, “How would we behave if no one were there to punish us?” and start acting exactly like that.
It is a work of definition that allows you to break the patterns that you have locked your brand into. This work will help you remove the fears and protective shells you’ve built for your brand over time.
The objective here is to know which behaviors you want to keep and which behaviors you want to remove from your brand.
A good brand identity contains the methods that allow your brand to be itself.
Your brand identity definition should allow your brand to stay on track by defining its “raison d’être”, mission, vision, values, name, reward/punishment system, etc.
Embrace your difference. Accept to be yourself.
Your objective: to allow your brand to provide value while not diluting itself.
I already said this, but we need to be reminded more than we need to be taught, so:
You can’t be normal and exceptional at the same time.
Pick one.
When you’re authentic, you reap the fruits of truth.
When you’re not, you get the consequences of building a lie.
Be false — worst case scenario: you’ll be out of trouble.
Be false — best case scenario: you’ll be praised for wearing a mask and get trapped in this role forever.
Be authentic — worst case scenario: you’ll learn something.
Be authentic — best case scenario: you’ll be praised for being yourself.
Be false; Be authentic. Your choice.
Some people need to read about more tangible benefits for their business before stopping making excuses.
That’s for them:
By allowing your brand to be itself, it commands respect.
Many will not agree with what your brand stands for, but your brand’s true fans will follow it to the world’s edge.
Defining your brand’s authentic behaviors will help draw eyes to it. Using what makes your brand unique will give it the edge and boost its visibility, since competitors won’t do it.
And speaking of competition:
Being unique is also about protecting yourself from theft. No one can steal what makes your brand uniquely memorable.
Many may try to copy you, but it will only strengthen the brand of origin: your brand.
The best copycat can only hope to be 2nd place at being someone else.
Doing what only you can do ensures being 1st at being you.
Your difference becomes your greatest strength. Your fans will become true ambassadors for your brand. They are the ones who will spark your strong community.
Your fans will give your brand stability. You’ll never have to worry about being a trend that will fade over time.
Being authentic is aligning what you think, say, and do.
The problem is that most people don’t know what they think, suck at communicating, and are afraid of getting in trouble.
Don’t be like most people.
PROVOK.