When Success Requires a Mask

We live in a world that constantly teaches us to become marketable.

Be more likable.

Be more agreeable.

Be more attractive.

Be more of whatever will get you through the door.

The problem is that many people spend so much time learning how to be accepted that they never stop to ask whether the version of themselves being accepted is real.

Authenticity is often treated as a luxury—something to focus on after success arrives. But I have come to believe the opposite.

Authenticity is the foundation.

Because what is the value of an opportunity, a relationship, a career, or a life that only exists because you learned how to hide yourself?

Who Did You Become to Be Accepted Or To Win?