HOW TO BE AN AUTHENTIC ORIGINAL

Raise your hand if you've ever looked at someone else's body of work and thought to yourself "Damn! They're so creative". And then follow up with "I wish I was that creative". *closes laptop then runs to bathroom to cry*

Trust me when I say I can relate. 

I actually made it a point to study and analyze how the people I admired create. And I believe I've discovered their secret. 

Ready? The secret is....BEING and EXPRESSING your authentic self. 

What does being authentic even mean? 

Simply put....

It means publishing brief blogs posts that don't follow the SEO standard (like this). 

It means only having one offer on your website when everyone else has three (because you really just want to offer one). 

It means acknowledging and admitting to yourself that you love using pink peonies in your Instagram photos too. 

It means really knowing what you like, what you like looking at, what you value, and how you want folks to value what you do. 

When you do something that comes from the core of who you are no one can replicate that.  

We often say that someone is creative because their work is original.  

Original is being different. "Never ever seen before" kind of different. 

It means creating stuff that even you have never seen before because you haven't made it yet. (Bonus creative secret: create shit that you WANT to see in the world but haven't been able to find). 

And I think that's what being authentic means. 

Being yourself and then being brave in expressing yourself. 

So be authentic and then you'll be creative.  

What does authenticity mean to you?