authenticity Archives - Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Musings on Authenticity.

The modern fascination with it caught my attention years ago at Jazz Fest when a friend in town from Los Angeles told me she loved being in New Orleans because the city and its citizens were so real. Different she said from California where people tried to be something they weren’t while striving to be authentic. May have been that same festival year but a different day when a friend and marketing professor mentioned to me that authenticity was all the rage in the marketing world. It probably came up because we were at the very crowded Acura Stage for Jimmy Buffett and a woman on the tarp behind us took off her top and danced wildly. Never before nor since have I seen anything like that there.

At some point after I wrote about authenticity.

Nowadays, my silver-gray hair brings out reactions from people that relate. I grew out my color for many reasons including time, cost, and health but mostly because my hair didn’t look very good. Color just wasn’t working for me so now I’m gray. It is both fascinating and surprising how hair evokes such strong feelings combined with the need to comment. Either it looks terrible (yes, friends, family, and strangers have said that) or women tell me they wish they had the guts to do it. Really? Guts to have gray hair? Why is that? Yes, I look older with gray hair and guess what? I am older.

Another one is ghost writing. What are the ethical implications of paying a writer to create a piece that you then put out with your name on it? Tony Schwartz has apparently given this question some consideration as well. I’m always curious to know who had a particular thought – the name on the post/article/book/etc or the ghost writer?

As a content marketer I want you to see my stuff and try my best to make that happen. Would love to automate with Hootsuite or Edgar and just let it spew. But what if there’s a crisis and it just keeps spewing?

One of my favorite statements on authenticity is from the Hunger Games trilogy. Remember the people from The Capital?

The world looks at us all in so many ways. It’s tough out there so I’m trying to keep it real.

What is authenticity to you? Would love to know your thoughts. Share in the comments below.

Three traits keep appearing in articles, conversations, & blog posts so I have to write about them. Not sure of their relationship but I am pondering. In no particular order they are:

Narcissism: Interesting research came out recently about status updates and tagging yourself on social media and the relationship to “socially disruptive” narcissism. It was found in a sample of people that there is a correlation between those with many fb friends who post/tag a lot and high scores on a Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Personally, I like it when people post often because I feel connected to them and know what’s up. I do not consider them narcissists.

Authenticity: I’ve been mulling how it is all the rage. For the last year people have really been talking about authenticity. Advertisers and marketers are focused on this and businesses large or small and individuals want others to perceive them as authentic. A way we share ourselves and establish our authenticity is through social media posts.

Vulnerability: Talking with a group last week when authenticity came up. Someone asked how you can be authentic but not be vulnerable. I could only think to say “what’s wrong with being vulnerable?” because I believe everyone is vulnerable in some way. Reminds me of a Martha Beck quote: “All humans are united, no matter how great our differences, by our fear of looking dorky.”

That’s a funny one but I’m still trying to figure this out. Is narcissism the outer shell protecting the vulnerability inside?

And, is it a problem if you reveal it through your authenticity-establishing but possibly narcissistic social media activity?

Or maybe it’s a continuum: vulnerability <-> authenticity <-> narcissism.

Help me out here. What do you think?