Success

We are leaving a world where success depends on our ability to convince others of our own brilliance. Other people now decide for us. They first determine whether or not we are authentic. Then they trust us. Or not.

In the future, trustworthiness will be the first promise of success. The power of self-confidence is fading fast.

CEOs know this because employees are becoming more skeptical of their leadership. Ambitious professionals know it from their growing weariness about the personal toll it takes to stay competitive. Entrepreneurs know it because customers want products that are tested and tried, rather than new and experimental. Educators know it because students are looking for role models with personal substance, not just position and status. Those who want to lead themselves well know it because they keep running into their own desires for meaning in life.

What a relief! Trustworthiness is finally coming into vogue, as it should. What has been upside-down for too long is flipping back on its feet. This is very good news, and we need to take it seriously. Most importantly, it means that we know exactly what to do.

Be yourself first.

Here is the thing. The gap between our professional and personal lives is shrinking. It is no longer as easy to distinguish between our co-workers, our family members and our friends.

This, I say, requires a different kind of investment on our part. It requires that we focus intentionally on integrating what we do professionally with who we are personally.

Your best bet for success, then? Be yourself first.

I am devoted to promoting the kind of success that springs from being yourself first. If you want to know more, contact me.