Authenticity requires courage, vulnerability and integrity. Integrity means to be whole. This means presenting your face to the world that incorporates all of the conscious and subconscious parts of your psyche: Your higher Self, your inner child, and your shadow. Arthur Schopenhauer, the great philosopher, wrote "We forfeit three-quarters of ourselves in order to be like other people." Where we fail, is to show ourselves. Not being authentic, as so many celebrity families can attest, may be deadly. K.L Toth wrote "One of the
greatest tragedies in life is to lose your own sense of Self
and accept the version of you that is expected by
everyone else."
Anaïs Nin wrote "She lives on the reflections of herself in the eyes of others. She doesn't dare to be herself."
Roger 'Verbal' Kint says in the film 'The Usual Suspects' that "A man can convince anyone he's someone else, but never himself."
As William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet:
"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
Have you noticed that those who wish you harm hide and creep in the shadows of their inauthenticity? Professor Brené Brown warned “If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.”
As the American politician Sarah Huckabee Sanders said "People are just looking for honesty and authenticity more than anything." Similarly Gabrielle Bernstein, the author and spiritual supercoach wrote that "I believe that my work has been well-received because it is authentic. All people really want are authenticity and Truth."
Speaking Truth and being authentic won't be easy, but it is so worth it. E. E. Cummings said that "To be nobody but myself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else - means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight, and never stop fighting." Robin Sharma wrote that "Personal Mastery is a currency that will make you authentically wealthy. And your wisest investment is making yourself into all you can BE."
As my favourite philosopher, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Yung wrote "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." Let's dive in...
Are you headed for authenticity or did you make a 'U-turn'?
What is authenticity?
I believe that authenticity is the outer manifestation of our true Self. It means to be congruent: Where your outer behaviour is in alignment with your inner purpose and who you know your Self to BE.
Adam Grant states this perfectly, that "Authenticity means erasing the gap between what you firmly believe inside and what you reveal to the outside world." Authenticity means to express who you truly are, regardless of any pressure to act otherwise. Your purpose, your beliefs, your core values, and your actions are all in alignment. You are vulnerable, transparent, open, honest, willing, whole, and have integrity. You can feel it, even if it's indescribable. You don't try to be like other people or fit a mould. It is very brave yet also liberating. Mary Sarton wrote “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that Self may prove to be.”
Authenticity has been discussed since the time of Aristotle, and through the ages by the great philosophers including St. Augustine (the philosopher and theologian of Berber origin, also known as Augustine of Hippo from North Africa), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (the German philosopher with the French name who influenced the 'Age of Enlightenment'), Martin Heidegger (the German philosopher who was heavily involved in Existentialism - he is often considered to be among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th century: He was known for his thoughts about how we are 'BEing' in the world), Søren Kierkegaard (the Danish philosopher and theologian), Arthur Schopenhauer (the German philosopher - though his work failed to garner substantial attention during his lifetime, he had a posthumous significant impact across various disciplines, including philosophy, literature, science, and art), and Jean-Paul Sartre (the Nobel Laureate and French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, who was considered a leading figure in 20th-century French thought. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of Existentialism). They catalogue the rise of the individual, and how that may be balanced against the needs of society. As the philosophical ideas around authenticity evolved, so did concepts around inauthenticity. The Existentialists were very interested in how human BEings were BEing and living and whether there is an authentic way to live. Sartre and his partner; also an Existentialist - Simone De Beauvoir, spoke of how authenticity is the opposite of Narcissism. They stressed that authenticity is a constant daily battle of not falling back into conformity.
Professor Brené Brown wrote in 'The Gifts of Imperfection' that “Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true Selves be seen.” In 'Daring Greatly', she wrote “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance... Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”
Friedrich Nietzsche was very interested in the way of the individual. He said that we need to get in touch with our 'inner genius'. You become an ideal version of your Self. You allow your 'inner bud' to blossom and watch the unfolding occur.
Authenticity is not the easy choice, but it's the right choice. And it is a choice. Nathaniel Branden said “It is naive to think that self-assertiveness is easy. To live Self-assertively - which means to live authentically - is an act of high courage. That is why so many people spend the better part of their lives in hiding - from others and also from themselves.”
The very first question that I asked my therapist almost four years ago was "Who am I? If you take away everything I have there is no me!" He laughed and said, "Yes there is a you: You just don't know you yet." As Vironika Tugaleva wrote “You’ll never know who you are unless you shed who you pretend to be.” For this, the 'Hero's Journey' is required.
Laurie E. Smith wrote in 'Leap With Me' that “The greatest transformation comes when we see ourselves in a new light and start applying our personal insights to our lives in our own way.” This is the clarity and beauty of transformation.
I resonated deeply with Coco Chanel when she said that: "Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity" (Coco Chanel). Transformation and authenticity are not easy, and that's why so few people successfully embark on and complete this journey.: But it is the greatest thing that you will ever do. There are no short-cuts, despite what influencers may say. Kabir Khan wrote "I think authenticity is something you cannot compromise on. You always have to be authentic."
Real is real, as one of my own coaches said. Bibi Bourelly echoed "Authenticity can't be replicated or faked. You're either real or you're not." There is a dearth of being real right now.
Amy Cuddy gets it just right when she said "Authenticity doesn't just mean you're not filtering what you're saying, it's about being able to know and access the best parts of your Self and bring them forward." Authenticity really is about the real you - the soul. John Legend wrote "Soul is about authenticity. Soul is about finding the things in your life that are real and pure."
As Trish Regan wrote "Authenticity matters; and, most importantly, the Truth matters." When you are out of alignment with your core values and purpose, you know it as you can feel it. When you are in alignment you can feel it too: For me, I feel it as a tingling, alive, alert, stillness.
Fashion designer Zac Posen cuts to the chase, saying that "Authenticity is what's cool." Real is cool, in case you missed the memo.
The rewards will be instantaneous: Constance Wu wrote that "People's passion and desire for authenticity is strong." Alan Cohen wrote that "Everything will line up perfectly when knowing and living the Truth becomes more important than looking good." Appearances are deceiving, irrelevant, and no-one actually looks like the fake plastic self that they bizarrely want to portray.
Marianne Williamson, the recent American Presidential candidate, who advocates and teaches 'A Course in Miracles', who wrote the fabulous book 'A Return to Love' wrote "Enlightenment is the key to everything, and it is the key to intimacy, because it is the goal of true authenticity."
As Eckhart Tolle, the spiritual guru, wrote "Only the Truth of who you are, if realised, will set you free." Your true Self is your soul. As author Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote "The authentic self is soul made visible."
Dr. Phil nails it, saying "Be your authentic Self. Your authentic Self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment, or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you're supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic Self."
Barbara De Angelis sums this section up beautifully when she wrote "We need to find the courage to say no to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity." Bye bye.
Authenticity versus attachment
When we are born we come from our soul. But then our soul and our psyche fragments as we try to rationalise our two survival needs as children: Attachment (to our parents, guardians, and society) versus authenticity (who we really are). Attachment always wins as it is a greater survival need: If our parents abandon us we will actually die when we are very young. But we hold on to this fear, like a life jacket or raft, when we become adults, when we no longer need it, feeling that we have to continue to wear a mask to be accepted and loved. It's like an invisible lion. We are forever in survival mode, living from our reptilian brain rather than our whole, integrated higher brain.
There is a certain irony in that Jim Carey starred in the film 'The Mask' and he famously said "I wish everyone could get rich and famous and everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that's not the answer." That's the whole problem: We all build a mask - our public persona, thinking that we will be loved and that will make us happy. But no-one loves our fake self, not even our Self. Once we drop the mask and realise that we are actually loved for being who we truly are then the whole world transmutes for us.
Authenticity invites others to understand rather than judge
Whether people understand or not reflects more on them and their preparedness to do the inner work than on you. Roy T. Bennet wrote in 'Light in the Heart' that “We are all different. Don’t judge, understand instead.”
Live your life
Give up your people pleasing. It doesn't please anyone, including your Self. Roy T. Bennet wrote “Don't let the expectations and opinions of other people affect your decisions. It's your life, not theirs. Do what matters most to you; do what makes you feel alive and happy. Don't let the expectations and ideas of others limit who you are. If you let others tell you who you are, you are living their reality - not yours. There is more to life than pleasing people. There is much more to life than following others' prescribed path. There is so much more to life than what you are experiencing right now. You need to decide who you are for yourself. Become a whole BEing. Adventure.” Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the greatest minds of Western civilisation, believed that there is nothing better than to live a life that is one’s own.
Carl Gustav Jung, one of the founding fathers of analytical psychology, and an all-round genius, wrote “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
If you start from an inauthentic place, there is still hope. Jean-Luc Godard, the celebrated French film-maker, said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to." It's not the cards that you are dealt with, it's how you play them that counts.
Steve Maraboli wrote “Make a pact with yourself today to not be defined by your past. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of all your hard work isn't what you get for it, but what you become for it. Shake things up today! Be You...Be Free... Share... There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person being themselves. Imagine going through your day being unapologetically you... A lot of the conflict you have in your life exists simply because you're not living in alignment; you're not be being true to your Self... Live authentically. Why would you continue to compromise something that's beautiful to create something that is fake?.. Free yourself from the inauthenticity and disempowerment of your story.” Find your voice. Speak aloud. The world needs to hear your Truth. Sharon Adler wrote “Confidence is knowing who you are and not changing it a bit because of someone’s version of reality is not your reality.” Stop getting attached to your thoughts. And stop thinking about other people's thinking about you. They are irrelevant.
Be you! The Existential genius philosopher Albert Camus wrote “But above all, in order to BE, never try to seem.” Don't try to seem: BE.
What do you want?
All we want as humans is to be accepted and loved. We all go different ways about achieving that outcome. The problem is that we think we have to put on a mask - we lose our authenticity in favour of survival. The distance between who we are and who we think we are – our ego and our higher Self is proportional to the pain that we feel from not being unconditionally loved. We belong to a sinking, dying, unconscious civilisation that rewards ‘imitation love’ then seeks to destroy those who achieve it. Then they expect an invitation to their funeral and to receive a press release. Well, neither of those things will happen if you read this article.
Roy T. Bennet wrote “If you don't know who you truly are, you'll never know what you really want.”
Taking off the mask
The mask has a dual function - it is an invulnerable concrete armour to protect our ego (our terrified 7-year old self) or it is a fake self that we have created that we feel that we can show to the world. For that to happen we have to abandon the parts of our selves that we believe are unlovable: We abandon our true Selves and banish them to the shadows.
Albert Einstein wrote "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be." Masks are our 'should be'. The tragedy is that "No one reveals himself as he is; we all wear a mask and play a role." (Arthur Schopenhauer). Once we begin to see other people as souls then perhaps we can truly call each other friends. Souls cannot help but love one another. What is love? It is the absence of judgement and unconditionally loving people for who they are, not the mask that they wear. If you practice being open, vulnerable, authentic, willing, and whole in all your human connections, you will heal, and so will they.
Cate Blanchett said "For 'Blue Jasmine,' I made a decision not to wear any make up in the last shot of the film, as I felt like she had such a mask on - I thought it would be a good idea to leave her with nothing and become completely transparent." What bliss that must have felt for her and what joy for all those around her.
Monica Bellucci said "Because I'm pretty, everybody thinks I'm stupid. But it is like a mask, and you have to break the mask to show that there is something else behind it. You have to show who you are to make the others come to discover you." It is only in authentic human connection that we feel real love, that we are not alone, and that we are invited to connect.
Annette Bening said "I remember hearing someone say that good acting is more about taking off a mask than putting one on, and in movie acting, certainly that's true. With the camera so close, you can see right down into your soul, hopefully. So being able to do that in a way is terrifying, and in another way, truly liberating. And I like that about it."
Once you show up in your authenticity people will buy into you. No one likes your fake self, not even you. You cannot hide behind a mask forever - there is nothing to fear about taking it off. Søren Kierkegaard the Danish philosopher wrote "Don't you know that a midnight hour comes when everyone has to take off his mask? Do you think life always lets itself be trifled with? Do you think you can sneak off a little before midnight to escape this?" I think not.
Jane Monica-Jones write in 'The Billionaire Buddha' "Ironically, when we own the shadow aspects of our self and put down our masks - this is when we become truly lovable." Is it becoming clear now? As Charles Glassman wrote "As the masks come off, what I look forward to most are all your smiling faces." That sounds good to me!
River Phoenix, who died at the age of 23 from an overdose, said "Acting is like a Halloween mask that you put on." It's so sad that he felt that a mask was required over BEing.
Jim Morrison, who died at the age of 27, perhaps puts it best "The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask." Isn't it time that you set your Self and others free? You can't imprison them anyway.
We need to take our effort off creating more and more beautiful superficial masks and spend it on discovering who we truly are coming from that inner place. This would be a good definition of authenticity.
Alaric Hutchinson said in 'Living Peace' that “Vulnerability really means to be strong and secure enough within your Self that you are able to walk outside without your armour on. You are able to show up in life as just you. That is genuine strength and courage. Armour may look tough, but all it does is mask insecurity and fear.”
Stephen Pressfield wrote “If you find yourself criticising other people, you're probably doing it out of resistance. When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own. Individuals who are realised in their own lives almost never criticise others. if they speak at all, it is to offer encouragement. Watch yourself. Of all the manifestations of resistance, most only harm ourselves. Criticism and cruelty harm others as well.”
Vulnerability, openness, and authenticity
Vulnerability and openness are your strengths - be open! Honestly! “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change” (Brené Brown). I would also add connection to that list.
Coco Chanel wrote "Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity." This is my lived experience.
“It takes a brave person to be open. To speak your Truth even when your voice shakes and to feel safe to show up as who you truly are is how warriors roll. Anyone can put on a mask. It’s easy to wear a suit of armour as you navigate this dangerous world. Yet to be raw and real and decent and good. Oh - that takes strength. And true leadership” (Robin Sharma). But, oh, the rewards are infinite!
Andre Gide said that "It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not." The Truth is that no-one loves you for what you are not: Everyone loves you for what you are. Truly.
Carl Rogers said "People only seriously consider change when they feel accepted for exactly who they are... When someone really hears you without passing judgment on you, without trying to take responsibility for you, without trying to mould you, it feels damn good... When a person realises he has been deeply heard, his eyes moisten. I think in some real sense he is weeping for joy. It is as though he were saying, "Thank God, somebody heard me. Someone knows what it's like to be me"" Once you step into your authenticity, accept all your inner parts: Inner child; higher Self; Your shadow: Then you can come from a place of integrity. You are truly whole. You don't need a mask as people will love you more for the authentic connection. You have nothing to fear. You then feel the joyful bliss of BEing in your Truth. There is no striving to get to heaven as you are already here. There is nowhere to go. Hell is trying to be elsewhere. Enlightenment is realising that there is nothing to do, nothing to strive for and nowhere to go and that you don’t need to be anyone other than exactly who you are being right now. Knowing opens the door to experience. So now you know. The door is wide open.
Don’t care what others think: Don’t even care what you think
As you become Enlightened, awareness replaces thought. “The greatest act of courage is to be and to own all of who you are - without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the Truth of who you are” (Debbie Ford), coach and author). “The path of spiritual awakening involves uncovering the values and ideas that are authentic to you, regardless of what others think” (Danielle Kloberdanz, developmental psychologist). “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness” (Brené Brown). What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how you feel, what you believe, and who you are? "Being your true authentic Self means what you say in life aligns with what your actions” (Brené Brown). “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony” (Mahatma Gandhi). Authenticity is a concept in psychology, psychiatry, and existential philosophy.
Authenticity and compassion
Professor Brené Brown wrote "It's hard to practice compassion when we're struggling with our authenticity or when our own worthiness is off-balance."
Authenticity builds connection and bridges
Being vulnerable, genuine, and authentic opens the channels of human connection.
Michelle Tillis Lederman wrote “It is through the strength of what is genuine that meaningful connections build into relationships.”
Vulnerability underpins the genuine capacity for human connection. It is a foundational stone of empowerment, possibility, and success in all areas of life.
Vulnerability cultivates a relationship with your true Self, as well as a genuine connection with others, and a deep communion with the divine (then unseen power of the Universe that Albert Einstein referred to). Vulnerability means to recognise that you are essentially whole and unbroken: You can’t allow your Self to be vulnerable if you think that you are in pieces: You are not. The only way we can truly know ourselves and live this way is by being willing to be vulnerable. It is only by smelling your own emotional bouquet that the landscape of reality will reveal itself to you in all its awe, wonder, and splendour, where you may breathe in a little bit of the real world’s fragrant oxygen, beyond the most foul stink of illusion and inauthenticity.
Would you like to lead a miraculous life full of infinite possibility, Real Personal Power, and abundance? Amy Poelher wrote that “It’s very hard to have ideas. It’s very hard to put yourself out there, it’s very hard to be vulnerable, but those people who do that are the dreamers, the thinkers and the creators. They are the magic people of the world.”
So, take off your mask: Even you don't love the fake you. Carl Jung wrote that "People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls... Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside (ego), dreams; who looks inside (the soul), awakes.”
Deepak Chopra wrote “Embracing vulnerability allows us to connect deeply with others.” Pema Chödrön said that “True connection is only possible through vulnerability.” Frank Crane wrote “We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.”
John Bradshaw, like all best authors, writes from the heart, personal lived experience, vast expertise, and is a modern day philosopher. Shame, resulting from a totally unvalidated dysfunctional childhood is truly the pandemic of our disconnected times. Toxic shame is a fundamental belief that “I am bad. I am broken. I need to hide my authentic self from the world.”
Brené Brown said that "If we are going to find our way back to each other, then vulnerability will be that path."
Rumi wrote:
“Soul, if you want to learn secrets,
your heart must forget about
shame and dignity.
You are God’s lover,
yet you worry
what people
are saying.”
Kamand Kojouri wrote “Vulnerability is the courage to be yourself in a world that constantly tries to shape you" and then shames and judges you for taking on that shape.
Face your shadow
Brennan Manning wrote “Accepting the reality of our sinfulness means accepting our authentic self. Judas could not face his shadow; Peter could. The latter befriended the impostor within; the former raged against him.”
Existentialism and authenticity
In existentialism, authenticity is the degree to which a person's actions are congruent with their beliefs and desires, despite external pressures to conform. This involves:
1. Speaking your opinions honestly in a healthy way
2. Making decisions that align with your values and beliefs
3. Pursuing your passions
4. Listening to the intuitive inner voice guiding you forward - you can’t not create when you are BEing
5. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and open-hearted
6. Setting boundaries and walking away from toxic people and situations
Existentialism may be seen as a philosophical movement that rejects that life has an inherent meaning, but that instead requires each individual to posit his or her own subjective values. As a result, questions regarding existence and subjective experience are seen as being of paramount importance, and initially above all other scientific and philosophical pursuits.
Authenticity and success
“No matter how you define success, you will need to be resilient, empowered, authentic, and limber to get there.”
Horace Mann warns us that "If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both."
Authenticity and leadership
Deepak Chopra wrote “Yes, in all my research, the greatest leaders looked inward and were able to tell a good story with authenticity and passion.”
Rebekah Elizabeth Gamble wrote "A person who does not know himself... can not commit to another person. Without being genuine to yourself you are unable to be genuine to anyone else.”
At the Temple of Apollo in Delphi the inscription above the entrance is "Know Thyself."
As Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
As William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” He also nailed it when he wrote "No legacy is so rich as honesty." And that is very rare and beautiful.
As Aristotle wrote "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Meister Eckhart, the German scholar and philosopher, wrote "A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don't know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox's or bear's, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there." Lord Byron wrote “Adversity is the first path to Truth.”
Make authenticity your brand
Howard Schultz wrote in 'Pour Your Heart Into It' that “In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic... Mass advertising can help build brands, but authenticity is what makes them last. If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”
Forgive your Self and be authentic
Roy Bennet wrote “Embrace being perfectly imperfect. Learn from your mistakes and forgive yourself, you’ll be happier.” Kamand Kojouri wrote “You have to be transparent so you no longer cast a shadow but instead let the light pass through you.”
Authenticity laid bare in poetry
The poet Ryokan wrote:
“Keep your heart clear
And transparent,
And you will
Never be bound.
A single disturbed thought
Creates ten thousand distractions.”
Rachel Andrews wrote:
“The more of me I be,
The clearer I can see.”
Conclusions
Eckhart Tolle wrote that “Only the Truth of who you are, if realised, will set you free.”
Roy T. Bennet wrote “When you open your mind, you open new doors to new possibilities for yourself and new opportunities to help others.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote "How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people.What is true is invisible to the eye. It is only with the heart that one can see clearly."
Rachel Andrews wrote “As you become more aligned with the truth of who you are, the question of liking yourself goes away. It is a natural state of BEing.”
Mollie Marti wrote “Our power lies in our small daily choices, one after another, to create eternal ripples of a life well lived.” It's your choice.
Rick Warren wrote “Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy.”
Chuck Klosterman wrote that some people will despise your authenticity because they are envious of it. Anne Lamott wrote that “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better.” Sayonara!
My role as a coach is exactly this (if we connect): Mollie Marti wrote “Let others see their own greatness when looking in your eyes.” Always remember this: Mollie continued “Your greatest path of influence is love.” I just love her short, incisive quotes. She wrote that “High above the noise and fear mongering of critics and cynics softly speaks your true Self.” Mollie Marti is a psychologist, lawyer, and adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Iowa. She wrote that “Your truest spiritual path will lead you to your Self for it is devoted to becoming... Listen for the call of your destiny, and when it comes, release your plans and follow... Your greatest responsibility is to live a life that nourishes your highest Truth.”
Brené Brown wrote "If you think dealing with issues like worthiness and authenticity and vulnerability are not worthwhile because there are more pressing issues, like the bottom line or attendance or standardised test scores, you are sadly, sadly mistaken. It underpins everything."
Authenticity is as beacon to light the way. David O. Russell wrote "The closer you stay to emotional authenticity and people, character authenticity, the less you can go wrong. That's how I feel now, no matter what you're doing." Hubert Humphrey wrote "Just be what you are and speak from your guts and heart - it's all a man has." When you do this, as George Bernard Shaw wrote "Keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you see the world."
Hildegard Von Bingen wrote "Dare to declare who you are. It is not far from the shores of silence to the boundaries of speech. The path is not long, but the way is deep. You must not only walk there, you must be prepared to leap."
Mother Teresa said in her own inimitable way "Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway."
When you get well, by healing and recovering, you will find your own voice. Your authenticity is unique to you.
This frivolous yet totally on point quote from Mandy Hale says it all “Consider the fact that maybe… just maybe… beauty and worth aren’t found in a makeup bottle, or a salon-fresh hairstyle, or a fabulous outfit. Maybe our sparkle comes from somewhere deeper inside, somewhere so pure and authentic and REAL, it doesn’t need gloss or polish or glitter to shine.” Amen.
My gift is to be your guide on your very own 'Hero's Journey'...
Email me: hello@transformativelifecoach.co.uk
“Transformative life coaching uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your self afresh, with clarity, and step into new ways of BEing, which will transform how you perceive and intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve.” Olly Alexander Branford
My coaching themes and services: Transformative Life Coaching, Transformational Coaching, Life Coaching, Personal Coaching, Positive Psychology Coaching, Recovery Coaching, Trauma Informed Coaching, Work Addiction Coaching, Workaholism Coaching, Addiction Coaching, Mindfulness Coaching.
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Hello,
I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my website for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching.
See you soon,
Olly Alexander Branford MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD
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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.