A Great Day Starts with an Authentic You

The most powerful interactions are those where you and another are present in a real, authentic way. You’re not trying to impress each other, or sell something, you’re just connecting on a very real level. In this world of superficiality and social media, making an authentic connection is harder than ever. But there are a few things you can do to make it go much easier.

As a gay person, telling the truth about who I was when I was younger was unbelievably hard. People were ignorant about what it meant to be gay, so I was often shamed or ostracized. Despite the potential repercussions, I forced myself to do it anyway. When I was training or teaching or consulting or just talking on a plane to my seat partner, at an appropriate moment, I would share that I had a partner and talk about what she and I would do together. By judging the other person’s reaction, I could then easily gauge their openness and discover who was to become an ally.

My authenticity often encouraged reciprocity and made it possible for others to share who they truly were. It also helped those who weren’t as exposed to gay people step back and (hopefully) rethink their beliefs about people like me. I didn’t do it to rile people but to build a bridge between us — all of us.

I caught a moment of the Ellen show recently and stopped to watch the interview with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. As an actor I loved Lily’s style of theatre and I modeled my acting style after hers, playing multiple characters (without any props) on stage. Ellen was asking her to talk about when Time magazine invited her to be on the cover and come out as gay in 1975. Lily talked about why she turned them down. It was a scary era and she was trying to make a career happen for herself. I thought wow it took another 22 years for Ellen to come out and even then her career took a hit. But she did it and now look, right?

We live in a world that is constantly bombarding us with who we should be, how we should look, what we should buy and where we should invest our time. And with all that information it’s difficult to know what’s right for you. But your Creative Genius knows, it’s watching your progression to become a better, more authentic you in every moment.

This week, take time to be you, the real you. Challenge yourself to find a way to share with those you come into contact with. Look them in the eyes, invite them to tell you how their day, week, or year is going so far. Then, if appropriate, share something about yourself. Be open with one another, and see if there isn’t a way you can help to make their day, week, or year go a little bit better.

I’d like to make your year better too! Last week I invited you to tell me what gets in your way of goal getting (or even goal setting). Thanks to those of you who took the time to write me back. This week I’m raising the stakes. For each one of you that takes this super-quick 7 question survey, I’ll send you a FREE e-copy of my 9 Tips to Up Your Creative Genius book, AND I’ll enter you into a contest to win a BLAST OFF GIFT PACK worth over $300. I can’t wait to read what you have to say and I thank you for every authentic CREATIVE GENIUS moment you take in the world.