Tag: blog

Authentic

Posted on by philipdodson

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Authentic, what does this mean? Well, the dictionary definition is – not being false, being genuine, being real.

It’s weird then, that we need to be told to be authentic really. It has become a real buzz word in this brave new world of the start-ups and entrepreneurship (more buzz words). We often hear ‘experts’/’guru’s’/’advisors’/’mentors’ saying ‘be authentic’.

But why wouldn’t you be authentic? Does this imply that before that people were all liars, cheats, untrustworthy and generally manipulative?

Well in varying degrees yes. Perhaps liars or cheats is harsh, although there have been a few to be honest.

The old school mentality is one of manipulation, either of the employee, the customer, the voter, the pupil and so on. We live in a world full of manipulations.

The real successes stories however, are always about the genuine, real and authentic. They never had to be told to be that way, as that’s how they have always been and always will be.

So be yourself always and don’t succumb to the manipulative world that surrounds us, be different and think different.

‘Where is the money in that?’

Posted on by philipdodson

The stock question is always ‘how does this make money?’. That is the problem with the world, everything has to be about money, never about values and helping other human beings for no gain, other than the massive boast to our own feel good factor.

Happiness is the route to success in life and happiness is a choice for all of us. If you choose happiness, then you would look upon helping another human being as a positive thing to do. You would not look for the financial gain, you would only look at the positive impact that it will have on your well-being.

Many people give up on things after listening to feedback from others, as they are easily put off by the ‘where’s the money it that?’ response. However, some of the greatest ideas ever, never made commercial sense, especially in the early days.

People are successful with ideas because they have a real passion and a burning desire to inspire others about their dreams. It is all to do with the ‘why’ not the ‘what’.

Great revolutions, great inventions, massive shifts in an industry, or new ways of doing things have never been about money. They have been about an individuals ability to inspire others with their ‘why’.

So don’t set out to sell someone something, set out to inspire them.

That is why it is important in life to work out what your own personal ‘why’ is. Why are you on this planet? What is the legacy that you are going to leave behind? What is the point of your life? Why do we exist?

These are deep questions that most of us turn off from or ignore, as sometimes finding the answers is either painful, as we have to face certain fears or demons to chase those dreams. Also, we often feel trapped in our comfort zones (discomfort zones).

Start with our lives, not looking at what we do to fill the hours of each day, but look at why we get up in the morning and why we do what we do.

Often when we do this, we realise that we aren’t doing the thing that inspires us. We are simply doing something to exist, to pay bills, to fill the day etc.

The sooner we all look at our life purpose, the sooner we can get on with finding the thing that we love, the thing that has a meaning for us and thing that we can do for lifetime that will leave a legacy for the people who matter. Then the sooner we become fulfilled.

Otherwise, then what is the point of simply getting up each day doing something to fill time until we die?

It is an over-used point, but an apt one here. You only get the one life, so why wait to find out what you love doing? Then why wait to actually then start chasing that dream?

There is no point in waiting, just start now and never look back, because at the end of your life it won’t matter anyway, but you will have had a more fulfilling life and you will leave behind something meaningful.