The art of being yourself

By Simon Young

When you take all the best advice about how to succeed in today's marketing environment, it boils down to just this: be yourself.

Yes, you need to get your head around new technology like Facebook and Twitter. But once you've done that, then what? Be yourself. Communicate authentically.

(It really helps if "yourself" is sincere, witty, attractive, and interesting - but the paradox is, you often find that as you accept yourself, you discover what you have to offer that's interesting, attractive, etc. But I digress - already!)  

"Being yourself" sounds deceptively simple: just being who you are right now, without trying to be anything else.

But look at Lady Gaga. She has achieved towering heights of fame at a young age, not just because she is nearly naked in her videos (although yes, that probably has a bit to do with it) but because she is performing from what she knows about herself. There's no doubt coming from her, no second-guessing, no imitation of anyone else. She is following her own path. And working damn hard at it.

Last week I had the privilege of MCing the Connect Now conference in Sydney. We discussed social media, virtual currencies, marketing and customer care strategy, sports, and wine. We discussed a hell of a lot. 

But front and centre in just about every presentation was the need for human connection in our organisations. For tools and structures that let people be themselves. 

Coming to that realisation is just the beginning. Then comes the hard work of knowing who you are, and performing that for the world. It's important to know the difference between pretending and performing. Pretending is being something you're not; performing is being who you are, and turning up the volume. Fine tuning yourself. 

This is true when someone starts singing or acting, and it's true when they start engaging through an unfamiliar channel, whether that's Twitter or Facebook, or networking with a different crowd.

If this resonates for you - if you've been discovering how to "perform" yourself - what steps have you found along the way that have helped you? Would love to read your comments below.