A lot of people have asked me during this time of a pandemic, “How do you stay authentic?”
Let me be the first to say that I’m sure it hasn’t been an easy time for you and for me—I definitely have not always been authentic with myself during this pandemic.
As some of you may know, one of my keynotes is Awethentricity, the art of celebrating your awesome and influencing others.
Now what does that mean? Well, right now you can see I’m wearing a blazer and – this is probably one of the first times in the last four months that I actually wore something other than Reebok sports apparel or a tank top and some running shorts.
Not that our outward appearance is really the be-all and the end-all. However, if you know me and if you’ve seen me speak on stage, I love to dress up and that’s part of my identity, whether it’s wearing a bow tie or a nice Goorin feathered fedora, to even just being in my martial arts attire.
I have not had the chance to really dress up. So today, I’m here in this outfit and I’m starting to feel really good because you know, sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. Putting on these clothes actually helps me feel a little bit more authentic and a little bit more confident.
The last few months also have been a challenge in the sense that I’m alone with my thoughts and sometimes as an extrovert, when I am not able to interact with others, it’s both a curse and an opportunity.
One of the curses is I am left with my dark thoughts and I’m left with some of my negative thoughts. The opportunity is to actually be aware of those thoughts.
So through my routine, martial arts training, yoga, kettlebell fitness, I’ve been able to manage those and with the help of my family, my amazing wife, my daughter, I’ve been able to be inspired and actually look at myself in the mirror and do some of the work that I’ve ignored for many years.
So those are just a couple of the things that I wanted to share with everybody that as a speaker, as an occupational therapist, as a professional, I need to look after myself as a person, as a husband, as a son, as a father before or in conjunction with being a professional.
So this message is for anyone who’s struggling out there right now or someone who has thrived throughout this. We honor you, whatever your experience is.
Being authentic is being who you are in the moment and again, that is something I struggle with every day and I encourage you to take this message and if it speaks to you, please continue to use it. If not, bless it goodbye! And continue to be your amazing, awesome self.
So later today, I’m going to be doing my kettlebell workouts and I will also have an opportunity to train martial arts tonight in the evening, and I have the blessed, awesome opportunity to be here and to still have this incredible business and practice with an amazing team.
So I count my gratitude blessings every day and so wish you nothing but the best. Peace, love and blessings to you all.
