The Power of Authenticity in a Digital Age

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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of image group international, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image and reputation.

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Hello, everybody, welcome back to another episode of our podcast. Today's episode is about the power of Atlantis city in the digital age. Before we start our show, I kindly asked you to connect with me on social media, my ex Twitter handle is John underlying Michael, while LinkedIn is John Michael, and you can find me as image Group International on Facebook. So let's get started. In today's fast paced, and an increasingly digital world, the concept of authenticity is taking sort of a new level of significance. And the reason for that is, is because there's so many outlets, social media platforms, et cetera, virtual meetings, and so on that we're constantly bombarded to write it images carefully, you know, crafted messages, and polished personas that are designed obviously to attract our attention and meets the noise of the digital age that lies a powerful truth. Authenticity still reigns supreme. And what do I mean by this? Well, let's start with this Brene Brown, the author said this authenticity is that daily practice of letting go of who we think was supposed to be, and embracing who we are. And this is very important in getting back to the core, the foundations of who you really are before you start creating anything. So in a world where everyone and anyone can create a digital presence at the click of a button, authenticity has become a rare and precious currency. Authenticity is what sets you apart from a sea of sameness captivates your audience's attention and of course, builds trust and credibility in an increasingly sceptical landscape. But what does authenticity mean in the context of the digital age, while simply put, it's about being true to yourself, online and offline? The congruence, a, you know, a congruence with your values, and your unique voice, even in the face of digital distractions and pressures to conform. So why do it because you're when Harvard Business Review research found that 85% of consumers say that authenticity is key when deciding which brands they like and support. Now, you might be wondering, how can I cultivate authenticity in the digital world that often rewards conformity, and, of course, superficiality. And that's an honest question. The answer lies in embracing your vulnerability, transparency to a point and what do I mean by that? Yes, to a point because in a political environment, in a toxic environment, in a negative environment, yes, your transparency can be used against you. So understand, if you're thinking Well, John, you know, be transparent, but they can be used against me, well, this is where smarts comes in. And, of course, a whole system and programme around that, that still tells the will who you are. But of course, you don't have to necessarily reveal your dirty laundry, dirty laundry is not necessarily been transparent. And of course, obviously genuine human interaction. So what it means is in a digital age, you know, with filters and facades reigned supreme, authenticity is what we would say the antidote to superficiality. And I am talking about here, right across the board, including, if you're selling products in fashion, or beauty, etcetera. 

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Authenticity is really what works. So it's about being unapologetically yourself, flaws and all and inspiring others to also come out of the painful shells and I say that painful shells because yes, sometimes you think something is protecting you, but it's actually doing the opposite. You just don't know it at that time. And in my experience, the following quote by Maya Angelou resonates, she said, I've learned that people forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. And of course, what that really means is, do you authentically care for people? Or is that a tactic so you can win? And this is just a question. I'm not making judgments here. All I'm doing is calling it out that if you're going to do it as a tactic, just be aware like old tactics, potentially, that can come back to bite you so authentic? It isn't just about being true to yourself. It's also about being true, of course, to your audience, you know. And of course, from a business perspective, that's essential. So not wielding undated with information overload data, people crave authenticity now more than ever, the Edelman Trust Barometer, the research showed that 63% of consumers choose to buy from companies that consider authentic over their competitors. Now, that sort of resonates with some of the research earlier from Harvard. So great examples of brands that are seen as authentic would be Patagonia, Bunnings, here in Australia, and of course, Singapore Airlines, among many others. So as in business, in the workplace, and of course, in personal relationships, authenticity is king. And of course, queen, because people want to connect with real people, not polished personas. So genuine stories, not scripted narratives work best your personal brand. Remember, it's not a reality TV show. It's a reflection of you, your life. So what does that mean? Well, how can you harness the power of authenticity to build, of course, a thriving personal brand in the digital age? Well, as I noted, previously, it's this you start with embracing your vulnerability, knowing your values, and courageously showing up as your authentic self, both online and offline, creating a congruence, you know, share your triumphs and your struggles, your successes and your failures. But be open also about your journey, your passions, and of course, your values. From the perspective also some things that you know, might at times be in conflict with current society values, it's okay, it's okay to share your truth, because the cost of not doing that, over time, creates suppression, we know what that does to the soul. So that come to the social pressure to just fit in, in my opinion, that's a loss loss game that eventually kills the spirit. And of course, listen to your audience, always engage with them authentically and build genuine relationships that stand the test of time.

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So before we complete our show, I'd like to share a story with you. And this particular client is a woman mid 40s, big corporate position and reaches a point where in her career things go really, really well. She feels that obviously, that corporate position will take it to the next position. And what happens is, surprisingly, she gets retrenched. And of course, what happens in that situation for her and of course, like it has for a lot of other people, all sorts of emotions come up for her, including shame, guilt, and why me, you know, and what that creates, of course, is all sorts of other problems because other than the big payout she received, as part of her corporate compensation, she still felt what I'm going to do right now with my life, do I go for another corporate position and go through similar situations like I have for the last 20 odd years? Or do I go out there and create my own thing. And of course, what she decided was, after some coaching, and specifically some new direction, in reference to where she wants to be in the future, remember, she has a family and responsibilities. So she just doesn't want to stay at home and sort of enjoy, let's say the compensation of the previous job. She wants to create something with purpose for the future. What she does, is through the work that we did, eventually, she sets up a real estate and business consulting company, they are in a period of time, because of course, she brings a lot of business experience to the table, including sales experience. And that's very important if you're going to be running your own business, and so on. But through that lived experience, she virtually launched this organisation created a website, of course, first step, got her foundations, right. And then, of course, created a whole social media strategy that really was designed to attract new people to this business because she had to start from zero bias to light she sees herself you know, 80 months later, as a successful entrepreneur, the business has definitely attracted some real interest out there. She's built some amazing networks because of course, building networks is an essential component of course, to grow in self and your business. And today, she operates from the perspective of having enough work, but she's also put on two particular consultants to help her so overall from coming from, you know, shame, guilt and and the whole thing of feeling disrespected with what happened, you know, and getting retrenched today. She's feeling very confident in running her own business and of course, creating new possibilities. So the point here is authenticity works and part of the authenticity what she had to do from Did your perspective was also shared a story of what happened to the you know, the retrenchment that was part of his story, because that's what really happened. There was no point in trying to hide that she was already great. She was already at great results. So part of that was being transparent with that. And of course, what happened was people really understood that and related with that particular story. So I think this is a good example, where any up and down in life can actually be used and flipped as a real positive if you're aware on how to do that, and of course, be courageous enough to actually share that experience. And that's what she did. So that's the end of today's podcast. I hope that story was valuable. Remember to rate us on Apple podcasts and subscribe for more valuable content. Finally, please remember that authenticity is not virtue signalling. It's your way of being a superpower to brand new possibilities. So until next time, wishing you a big Cheerio.

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.