Are You Capable of True Authenticity?
A Rare Trait
Welcome to the free edition of YouTopian Journey, a Substack featured publication. Each week I will be sharing unique wisdom that can help you in the daily battles that we must all fight in the game of life. This week we discuss the importance of being authentic.
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WHERE HAS OUR AUTHENTICITY GONE?
“Man is a strange, inauthentic creature who has very little contact with real existence. Intellectuals cut themselves off from reality by trapping themselves in a world of concepts; ordinary men are cut off from reality because they are so self-absorbed, so involved in the pettiness of everyday existence. They live in a meaningless world because they find it so difficult to mean anything.”-Colin Wilson
Our society is one of abundance and this abundance will lead many to believe that we aren’t lacking for anything. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
We lack so much.
Resources.
Happiness.
Meaning.
Truth
And most importantly, authenticity. The sheer ability to be genuine, to be legitimate, to be real.
Real in our dealings with others.
Real in our dealings with ourselves.
Throughout our history, the individual has always struggled with their own personal authenticity. It has been a daily campaign. The first battle is against yourself. Many have to defeat their thoughts of doubt and their feelings of inadequacy. They must maneuver within their minds, outsmarting, outflanking, and outmatching these negative thoughts. Only then can they take authentic action that is unique to them and them alone.
The second battle is against conformity, what society says we should be doing. We should be following what everyone else is. We should not be questioning authority. We should not be trying to change the status quo. We all have our role in society and the best we can do is conform, no matter if we fit this role or not.
And most sacrifice the best parts of themselves to fit this role. To be part of the group, to have their place in the herd, their special title in the corporate hierarchy. They gladly exchange their authenticity for safety and comfort.
This desire for safety has removed our authenticity from our DNA.
And what has entered into the void?
A false world of influencers, braggarts, “entrepreneurs,” gurus, transformational coaches, streamers, high performance coaches, public figures, forex traders, manifestation mavens, six figure side hustle experts, crypto kings, digital creators, models, OnlyFans promoters, and real estate moguls. Everyone has become a happy and rich entrepreneur overnight. Within the past decade, countless people have popped up that are offering services you don’t want (and certainly don’t need) as well as preaching a lifestyle that is the epitome of being false and inauthentic.
The poor who attempt to look rich, the cute who attempt to filter their way to what society believes is beauty, the stupid who do their best to appear smart, and the depressed who try to appear happy.
This is inauthenticity in action.
And the masses? What do they think of this deliberate inauthenticity and sheer phoniness?
The masses eat it up.
Why?
Because the authentic world, the real world, is too difficult for many. It is too harsh and too unforgiving. Far easier to follow someone that is doing something fun than set off and achieve your own goals.
Sunset cocktails in Tulum are preferable to long hours of toil in the dark office.
Beautiful people partying in exotic locations are preferable to the corner bar in the middle of winter in your hometown.
It is much easier to follow what appears authentic than to be authentic.
Because I will share with you a little secret.
You may have suspected this, but few would ever admit it.
And as I come from a world of celebrities, athletes, and models, I can confidently relay this message.
No one’s lives online are as amazing as they seem.
Not a single one.
No one is as beautiful as they appear.
No one is as wealthy.
No one is as fit.
And most importantly, no one is as happy.
Understand that it is far more powerful and beneficial to you to possess actual influence than be regarded as an influencer. The former can take action and achieve goals with action while the latter needs to bombard their every move and hope that their followers act.
And to obtain actual influence in the world, one must be truly authentic.
You must wage the battle. You must press forward in the pursuit of your own goals and desires. You must push back and ignore what is shilled, beckoning you to join the inauthenticity of it all.
To fail to do so is to rob yourself and society of a true gift that you and you alone can provide, the authentic individual.
“Not to know one’s true identity is to be a mad, disensouled thing- a golem. And, indeed, this image, sickeningly Orwellian, applies to the mass of human beings now living in the high-tech industrial democracies. Their authenticity lies in their ability to obey and follow mass style changes that are conveyed through the media. Immersed in junk food, trash media, and cryp-tofascist politics, they are condemned to toxic lives of low awareness. Sedated by the prescription daily television fix, they are a living dead, lost to all but the act of consuming.”-Terence McKenna
DEFINE YOURSELF
“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”-Viktor Frankl
In order to have true authenticity, you have to be true to yourself.
You have to define yourself.
You have to walk your own path, take responsibility for your own actions, and act on what is inherently within you.
This is more difficult than many realize.
Why is this the case?
Because no one else can do it for you.
No one else can be you.
No one else can achieve what you achieve and fail where you fail.
No one else can live your life for you. They may make the attempt to manipulate and control your actions, but no one can live through your experiences and feelings.
You are a unique being who has never existed before and will never exist again.
Your authentic existence is your own and can only truly be defined by you.
You will recognize the authentic individuals when you meet them because they are different. In the way that they act, their manner of thinking, and in the method that they carry themselves. They often have some uniqueness that sets them apart from the crowd. This uniqueness is often responsible for their success.
Those who fake it can never truly make it.
Why?
Because their lives are shaped by the crowd. Their thoughts, tastes, and mannerisms are copied. They bring about nothing unique because they fear what others may think of them. They prefer the life of safety and comfort to a life of risk and adventure. They rather be a drone than a warrior.
This is never a worthy trade.
Understand that the inauthentic follow a manufactured algorithm to determine what to do, what to say, and how to act. The authentic individual follows their heart. They have an inner compass that points to true north. The journey is treacherous and difficult but they don’t let anyone stop them from making it.
This is why it is essential for you to define yourself.
The crowd comes and goes. What is popular today may be nothing more than a memory tomorrow.
Remember the Harlem Shake?
Neither do I.
Don’t follow the assembly line of life. Don’t go after what is trending. Don’t give into conformity. Don’t seek to join the endless ranks of people whose only difference between them is their username.
Follow your heart and your own line of thinking.
It may be the hardest thing you ever attempt.
But it will be worth it.
I promise.
“Anyone can achieve their fullest potential, who we are might be predetermined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing. We should never allow our fears or the expectations of others to set the frontiers of our destiny. Your destiny can't be changed but, it can be challenged. Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.”-Martin Heidegger
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Thank you for being here. Catch you next time!
Shaun.