I AM BACK!
I hope everyone had fantastic holidays and spent lots of time with family and friends. I decided to take some time off during the holidays from writing to rest and recharge, but I am back in full force.
As I continue my journey of personal branding, I want to continue to share the ups and downs I experience along the way.
Along these lines, I want to share a personal experience with you which really drove home a principle I hold dear.
AUTHENTICITY
I believe it is important to show up the same way in all avenues of our life. For example, the impression you get of me from reading my blogs or seeing my posts on LinkedIn should hopefully align with the person you meet in real life. The messages I share may not always be with perfect grammar, but they do reflect my personality and my values.
Recently, I was invited to be a guest on a show. The host was recording multiple guests for different shows that day and when I looked at the roster, I was so excited to see one of the guests was someone I had been following on LinkedIn for a couple of years. I loved this person’s content and stayed for an hour after my recording to meet this person. I will refer to this person as Alex but know this is not the real name.
I was sitting in the lobby and could see the elevators through the glass entryway. As the doors opened, Alex and entourage emerged. I could barely contain my excitement! I have the spirit of a child when I get excited and am not afraid to show it. The moment arrives and Alex enters the same space I occupy….with the most unapproachable look I have ever seen on anyone’s face. Alex looks neither right nor left to greet the other guests, but continues to the green room without a word.
Okay, I thought. Maybe this is just a little overwhelming and Alex needs to get settled.
I wait for a little bit and then head to the green room to introduce myself.
Again, that cold icy stare as I make an introduction. At this point, I try one more time to engage by sharing with Alex I have followed his content and love the messages he shares. He snaps at me! I was astounded by the rudeness this person who always shares such uplifting messages was displaying.
I left the green room extremely disappointed. In fact, and I am not proud of this, I let it ruin the entire experience of the day. Instead of focusing on the show I had just recorded and the other amazing people I met, I focused on the negative experience I had with Alex.
SHAME ON ME!
As I was working through my advance work for coaching school, I learned about the core values. AUTHENTICITY is at the top of the list. I realized the reason I was so disappointed when I met Alex is that the person I thought I knew from online was nothing like the person in real life. He was not authentic and this realization broke my heart. In a sense, I had to mourn the loss of the person I looked up to because he did not exist.
It is important to “walk the talk.” I have seen many instances where this is not the case over the past month, or maybe I am just more sensitive to them at the moment. It does not matter what your “talk” is, just be true to it.
When you meet me in person, I hope you will find I show up the same then as I do through my blogs, podcasts, and social media!
