The Freelance Issue No. 7 // Authenticity
We live in a society where we are constantly told what to do in life, how to behave, how to dress and how to live. Therefore it is often quite hard to be authentic - but being authentic is important, especially if you want to establish yourself as a freelancer, as a creative or as a writer. You have to be yourself, truly yourself, in order to produce your best work - and also to attract the right clients. People will book your services because they want to work with you, only with you, and not with anyone else. It is quite a journey to become the person you truly desire to be and to leave behind what society, your family etc. expect you to be.
What does being authentic mean? I understand it as being true to yourself. Creating the life you want to live instead of living the life society expects you to live. Is being authentic selfish? I don't think so, as long as your concept of life does not harm anyone else, and creates happiness for you, then all is good.
Being authentic while working in the corporate world is quite difficult and I'd say it is not possible since you are always taking over roles wherever you are and most of the time these rolls don't represent your authentic self. So going freelance for sure is very liberating because you can take off your mask that you wear working in the corporate world. Of course I am not saying everyone should just quit their job and become self-employed because the majority of people I know is quite happy working in the corporate world and that is fine. But it is not for everyone, for example I never liked it and it had always been my biggest goal to become self-employed at a certain point.
Authenticity is important for your own happiness because you will never ever truly be happy when you are living up to the expectations of everyone else instead of your own. Life should be about creating as much happiness as possible so you have to start through claiming the responsibility for your own life and choosing a way of life that works for you.
What are your thoughts about authenticity and living a truly authentic life?
