BAJAN SUN
Bajan Sun Magazine
MAY 2014
HOW
AUTHENTIC
ARE YOU?
By Norma T. Hollis
Norma T. Hollis
Have you ever considered how authentic you are? Not just how real
you are when you run into someone that you know, but how authentic
you are to the person you were born to be? We each come to earth
with gifts and talents that prepare us to succeed. Have you retained the
authentic gifts and talents you were born with? Have you developed
these gifts so that you express them in ways that authentically reveal
who you are? Or have you lost your gifts to the institutions that have
raised you and conditioned you to societal structure?
America’s Leading Authentic Voice Doctor®
Mentor, Transformational Artist ~ Visionary
Advocate of the Human Spirit
I have been studying authenticity for most of my life. It started when I
was a child and watched the adults around me. Some had retained the
joy that my friends and I knew as children but most of the adults
seemed to have lost their joy. They were short tempered, always in a
hurry, and not readily responsive to the needs of those around them. I
wondered what caused happy children to turn into unhappy adults. I
later learned that many adults lose their joy due to the demand of
earning a living and many earn a living in areas that are not
compatible with their authenticity.
Later, when I directed child care programs, I met a few adults who
were excited about their role in the lives of young children. Yet there
were other adults who were only there for the paycheck. I found this
to also be true in corporate America when I provided training to
middle and senior management teams. I began to see a pattern in
people – most were living a less than authentic life and it was
expressed in their lack of joy, lack of taking care of themselves, lack
of job satisfaction and basically uncomfortable with life in general.
Then I began coaching speakers and entrepreneurs to be more
successful in life through using their voice. Here too I found that some
individuals had a strong sense of their authentic self while others did
not. The speakers and entrepreneurs who I found were most
successful and joyful were those who were living an authentic life –
listening to their inner voice, engaging in activities that were
compatible with their personality, and expressing themselves in ways
that allowed them to share themselves with others.
So if you desire an authentic life remember these three basic elements
to achieving the authenticity that leads to joy:
1. Know Yourself
Authenticity begins with self-knowledge. Gain self-knowledge by
listening to the inner voice that speaks within and let it guide you to
know yourself on a deep level.
2. Be Yourself
Authenticity is about being who you were meant to be. It means being
consistent in how you present yourself, and the people you surround
yourself with.
3. Express Yourself
Share your authentic self with the world! Let your authentic nature
shine through the work that you do and the way that you communicate
with others. Express your authentic voice every chance that you can.
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