''America The Great ... Pretender'' - How To Have Proactive Authenticity

By Randy Gilbert (c)2003

Doesn't that title shock you? It did me when I first heard it. This problem of national importance came to me while I was meditating and praying and asking, "How can I be of greater service to the world?" Then it struck me, "too many Americans are pretending to be successful and something must be done."

It's true, most Americans appear well off on the outside, but inside they're stressed about paying their credit card bills, are unhappy with their jobs, would quickly loose their homes if their paychecks stopped, and have strained relationships with their kids and often their spouses too. They have become slaves to "middle class poverty."

Here's an example of the problem. I read in a business magazine a while ago that, upwards of 80% of Americans surveyed, felt they were not in a job that gave them fulfillment. Just think of the ramifications.

People who aren't passionate don't put in 100% effort. They aren't creative or productive so companies can't pay them more, so they never make enough money. They work at a job, pretending to be successful, but they are living the reality of poverty. People in poverty are never financially secure and rarely happy.

But you can be different. You can have a fulfilling job and enjoy financial security, because you can be authentically successful. Here are three proactive tips that will help you to have proactive authenticity.

The saying, "fake it until you make it" is meant to encourage people to keep plugging away until success catches up with them. But, it hardly ever does. The problem lies in that it is more often used as an excuse, rather than a motivator.

For instance, people want the success of Tony Robbins, so they fake being like him. However, most of us aren't very much like him. Sooner or later reality limits their success. Sadly, many people have tried it that way, got burned and have concluded being successful is too hard.

But does that mean you can't be wildly successful like Tony Robbins? NO! It means that you must pursue becoming your own success. He is successful because he was extremely passionate about doing what he was meant to do. He became the authentic Tony Robbins. So don't fake it, become the "authentic you."

Truth and honesty are not the same thing, so let's make the distinction. Absolute truth is found only in the Creator. Portions of the truth are reflected in all of nature, including us. Honesty is your ability to accurately express what you know to be true. For instance, if I like blue, I'm being honest to the truth that I know - blue is better. Other people may differ, but it's the honest truth to me.

You are responsible for responding to the truth as it applies to you. Someone else's opinion that you are dumb can be expressed honestly, but it's not the truth. The truth is that you're intelligent and you can learn whatever you need to learn to achieve any goal that you set for myself. You might not be as smart as you should be yet, but you're telling the truth in advance.

Take time to discover the truth about yourself. What is your major purpose? Whatever it is, it's your truth, even if you're not good at it yet. Speak the truth in advance and work on becoming an expert in your field. The universe will reward you beyond your wildest dreams if you are honest about your own truth.

Proactive abundance begins with you choosing to be responsible for which direction you are to go in life. Picture coming up to a fork, one path leads upward to abundance and happiness, the other to poverty and sorrow.

The upward path appears to be more difficult, but it is the proactive success path toward the authentic you. Take it and you will be required to make choices, believe what is not seen, do rather than just say, and persevere when you feel like turning around and going back. But along this path are fruit trees of patience, joy, kindness, love, and other things that will nourish you until you come to the land of abundance.

The other, easier path leads along the valley of mediocrity. Take this one and you might seem comfortable for a while, but soon you will be haunted by doubts, you will have fears that keep you from enjoying life, and you'll suffer the humiliation of doing what you know isn't good for you. Thorny trees of worry, stress, scorn, and unforgiveness will be your only food. And when you come to the end, there's nothing, only a cliff edge
that wants to consume you like an empty promise.

How about it? Are you pretending? Are you a part of the struggling middleclass? You don't have to be. Learn how to be the authentic you, tell the truth in advance, and follow the proactive success path. Be proactive now and you can have authentic success, authentic happiness, and authentic abundance.