Seth Godin made an interesting point on his recent appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show.
Authenticity is overrated. It’s a crutch.
Why?
Because commitments are far more important.
Here’s an example:
A rock band is on tour. Halfway through the tour, the lead singer decides… “you know what, I’m sick of this. I don’t want to do this anymore.” The most authentic thing for him to do would be to say, “Hey guys, I’m not playing the show tonight.” But is that the right thing for him to do? Probably not. A band depends on him. A sold-out crowd has paid for the tickets. He needs to support his family.
Godin believes authenticity is a copout for people to be able to do whatever they want.
Take this from a content creator perspective.
If you commit to talking about books but now you decide to start posting about flying giraffes, you’re breaking the unspoken commitment you had with your audience.
I did this.
In 2018, I started tweeting about e-commerce and dropshipping.
In 2020, I broke that commitment by tweeting about energy, writing, and mindset.
I’m okay with my decision. It was a thoughtful one. But it does call into question my idea of authenticity.
But more on that tomorrow…