April 21, 2009
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In This Issue
Featured Article: Why It Can Be Hard to Be Authentic
Announcements
Speaking Schedule
Daddy's Little Girls
Welcome to a new issue of my weekly Appreciation (and Authenticity) in Action e-newsletter!
Things continue to be wonderfully exciting with the launch of new book Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken!I’m feeling grateful, honored, and humbled by the huge response we received with the events and online launch campaign last week. Thank you!
You and those around you can still participate in our big online launch campaign – by purchasing discounted copies of my new book and receiving loads of free bonus gifts from authors like Jack Canfield, Marci Shimoff, Wayne Dyer, and many others, click here.
Over the next few weeks, my newsletter articles will highlight some of the key aspects, ideas, and principles of my new book. I hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for being on my e-zine list. I appreciate your continued interest in and support of me and my work. Have a great day and rest of your week!
With Gratitude,
Why It Can Be Hard to Be Authentic
Why is it hard to be authentic? More important, why is it hard for you to be authentic?
This isn’t an accusation or a judgment, it’s an important question. If we can ask and answer this question honestly, without judging ourselves, we’re well on our way to becoming more of who we really are and ultimately more authentic.
For me, being honest, real, and authentic in a vulnerable way is what I aspire to be in my life, all the time. However, this is also something I find quite difficult and challenging to do in the day-by-day, moment-by-moment aspects of my life, my work, and my relationships.
I’m often more interested (at least on the surface) in being liked, impressing people, and wanting to look good, than I am in being real. I worry that if I really speak my truth, go for what I want, and let it all hang out – people won’t like me, I will upset or offend them, or I won’t be able to get what I truly want.
Can you relate to this in your own life?
Many of us, myself included, get quite upset, in a self-righteous way, when we see, hear about, or experience other people being dishonest, phony, or simply withholding the truth. However, how often do we do that ourselves? We can be quite hypocritical when it comes to authenticity – expecting it from others all the time, but not doing, saying, and being totally authentic ourselves.
This doesn’t make us “bad” or “wrong,” it simply makes us human. Authenticity is challenging for most everyone I know, talk to, and work with. The more we can get in touch with our own personal difficulty with being authentic, the more able and willing we’ll be to move past whatever stops us from being real. But first, we have to notice our own difficulty or resistance to authenticity, with compassion, and tell the truth about it.
There are many factors that play into this – family upbringing, cultural training, long-held beliefs about what’s “appropriate,” and our own personal fears. When it comes to being authentic, the bottom line for most of us is that we’re scared. We don’t want to deal with what we imagine to be the consequences of authenticity – people’s judgments or reactions, our own fears and doubts, possible failure or rejection, and more – so we just shut up and try to fit in.
Shutting up and trying to fit in, as we all know from experience, doesn’t really work, feel good, or lead us to anything meaningful or fulfilling in life. Doing this leads to resentment, frustration, and a lack of power in our lives, but is often easier for us to do than it is to confront our fear, speak our truth, and be fully authentic.
Getting in touch with what makes authenticity hard for us can give us access to a deeper place of truth within us and is the first step in becoming more real.
Here are a few questions for you to think about and answer with honesty and compassion:
1) What specific messages have you received throughout your life about being authentic and being yourself, that stop you from expressing yourself fully?
2) What are the main obstacles that get in your way of being real?
3) What are some of the biggest fears you have about being fully yourself, speaking your truth, and going for what you want in life?
Allow yourself to sit with these questions, ponder them, and see what comes out of this inquiry. Talk to others about this with empathy and openness. Engaging in this inquiry can and will open up some new ideas, insights, and possibilities for you. Have fun with it and be kind to yourself in the process!
How does this relate to you and your life?
Share your thoughts, ideas, and questions about this article on my blog here. 
Get Copies of My New Book:
As you know, my new book, Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken: Transform Your Life with the Power of Authenticity, officially came out last week. I’m super excited about this new book and about sharing some important ideas, principles, and practices that you can use to live your life with a deeper sense of authenticity, fulfillment, and confidence. To order discounted copies of my new book and receive free bonus gifts from amazing authors like Michael Bernard Beckwith, SARK, Mark Victor Hansen, and many, many others, click here.
Great New Book – The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks
My friend and bestselling author Gay Hendricks has written a fantastic new book, The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Your Life to the Next Level, and I really think you will benefit from reading it. The Big Leap gives you a unique set of tools for achieving your dreams and transforming your fears, backed up by Gay’s 35 years of experience in coaching and counseling people from all walks of life. For more information about this wonderful new book and to learn about the free bonuses you’ll receive when you purchase copies of it today, check out this link:
www.hendricks.com/bigleap
Listen to My Be Yourself Teleseminar from 4/14/09
If you missed my live teleseminar last week (or even if you were on the call) you can listen to or download a recording of it for free. The call was great and I was honored that more than 400 people signed up! The teleseminar is based on the key principles in my new book. By listening to this recording you'll learn simple yet effective ways to exercise the power of authenticity in your relationships, your work, and your life. I walked through a few of the most powerful principles and exercises from the book and give you actionable steps you can take away and implement now. To listen to or download the recording, click here.
Where I’m Speaking:
Below is a list of where and when I’m speaking for the next few months. Many of these events are for my corporate or organizational clients (i.e. not open to the public). The ones in bold, however, are public events….most of which are connected with the launch of the new book. I hope to see you at one of these events!
For all upcoming public events, check out http://www.beyourselfbook.com/events.htm. If you live in any of the cities where I’ll be traveling and want to contact me about setting up a speaking engagement for your group or company, or doing a book related event while I’m in town, feel free to contact me.
4/21/09 – San Diego, CA
4/21/09 – San Diego, CA (Barnes & Noble)
4/27/09 – Mountain View, CA (East West Books)
4/28/09 – South San Francisco, CA
4/30/09 – Salt Lake City, UT
5/3/09 – Los Angeles, CA (Agape)
5/4/09 – Los Angeles, CA (Bodhi Tree Bookstore)
5/6/09 – Torrance, CA (Borders)
5/7/09 – Riverside, CA
5/9/09 – San Mateo, CA
5/14/09 – Pleasant Hill, CA (Borders)
5/15/09 – Santa Rosa, CA
5/18/09 – Richmond, CA
5/20/09 – San Jose, CA
6/3/09 – Mountain View, CA
6/7/09 – Corte Madera, CA (GGCSL)
6/8/09 – San Francisco, CA (Commonwealth Club)
6/9/09 – San Francisco, CA
6/16/09 – San Francisco, CA
6/17/09 – San Francisco, CA
6/25/09 – Palo Alto, CA
Again, for a full list of my upcoming public events, check out: http://www.beyourselfbook.com/events.htm.
“Daddy calls us his magic princess girls! And, we like doing magic spells with each other…it’s fun!”
- Samantha and Annarose Robbins
