Authentic

It’s a tricky word. We often fool ourselves into believing that in order to be creative it must be authentic. Something totally new, real, a stroke of genius.

Yet, most ideas don’t follow this pattern. Just walk down the milk isle and you will see whole milk, skim milk, 2% milk, chocolate milk, oak milk, soy milk, almond milk, milk in a jar. Endless variations of the idea of milk.

Every good idea is borrowed and then changed. Rarely, if ever, do we see something that has never been done before.

It’s worth noting, the Greeks have two words for authentic. They have Authentikos which means original and genuine. The definition we are most familiar with. They also have Authentes which simply means, “one acting on one’s own authority.”

Bingo.

All you need to be authentic is to pick yourself. Do creative work. Aren’t you tired of pretending you don’t have greatness in you?