The Raw Truth

For the last few weeks I've been reading various blogs where folks are baring it all - speaking the deep truth about who they are, and what they really think. Even if it upsets a few people.

This kind of authenticity and courage is rare, attractive, and compelling.

When someone stands in the truth of who they are, expresses their vision of the world from a place of integrity and value, it lifts those around them. This is powerful leadership. This is inspiration.

And so now - the Truth. For the last couple of years I've followed a few business mentors diligently. I've bought their products, copied their style, done what they've done.

And yet sometimes I felt uncomfortable with some of the strategies.

Like last year at Ali Brown's Online Blueprint Success Workshop. The content she delivered was fabulous. However some of the guest speakers spent 45 minutes of their allotted 1.5 hours pitching a high-end product or service. It really bothered me: I payed a lot of money when the Aussie dollar crashed last year to be there: flights were $1300, the hotel bill was $1000 US (nearly $1500 Aussie at the time), not to mention the meals out and so on. I felt ripped off.

But I buried that feeling thinking, "that's the way it is - that's how these events work and make money."

And I kept working at the marketing systems my gurus proposed, ignoring the niggle deep down that something was just not quite right.

It's no big wonder that things kind of struggled along rather than raced ahead.

The 'not quite right' was something I've only just come to fully realise: their style sucks. I don't like being 'pitched at'. I don't like paying for an event only to land in a high-pressure sales situation. I don't like formulaic teleclasses where I wait in dread of the offer that inevitably gets squeezed in there. I don't like hype and spin.

So why was I subjecting my loyal and generous readers and clients to the same bulls**t?

I was too scared to be authentic.

I was too scared that it wouldn't work.

I had a poverty mentality.

I was trying to follow a guru instead of being one myself.

I was doing what I thought I 'should' do, and I 'should' all over myself.

Well, let me assure you, times they are a changin'.

My commitment to you is that I will only offer you something I know will genuinely benefit you, that I use myself, that I believe in 100%.

I promise I will offer it in a non-pitchy way, trusting that the information I offer about it will be enough for you to make decision.

I promise that I will trust you to know what is best for you.

I promise that I will not try to be anyone else and that I am good enough as I am to share what wisdom I've gained with you.

I promise to respect your in-box and not fill it with promotion, fluff, or bumf. Only quality articles that offer insight that can make a difference to your life and leadership.

I promise to remember that it is a privilege you honour me with by reading my work each week, and to show you appreciation.

I promise to ask of myself what I hope for you: to live an authentic, genuine life, based on core values of honesty, integrity, adventure, faith, and fun.

This feels a bit like marriage vows! And in some ways it is: I am now married to the commitment I make to you in being genuine and earnest in my desire to help you live a great life - at work and outside of it. This is really important to my vision of a peaceful, more joyful world. Thank you with all my heart for joining me in that.

You now have my permission to turn on your 'buls**t radar and let me know when I am missing the mark. Please be kind! I have not yet a had a chance to go and change all 300+ pages of my website - this is scheduled for the week before Christmas as I have some office time then to re-craft the site. Just trust the process is in train, and that come 2010, the real, genuine me will be oozing out in spades from all of my web pages and products.

And now your call to action:

Where are you hiding from speaking the raw truth? Where are you compromising your values because 'that's the way it is'? What is this costing you, your clients your staff? What might you gain if broke free from the 'shoulds'? (Try integrity, rapport, freedom, confidence).

Be brave. You're worth it.

With love and appreciation,

Zoe

P.S. Because they genuinely deserve it, these are the people who've led my way in being authentic. I love who they are being in their work. I love how they make me feel about the possibilities of living my truth:

Jeannette Maw: http://www.goodvibecoach.com/ Beautiful website!

Stacey Barr: http://staceybarr.com/ Humble, with a single-minded purpose of helping business owners make smarter decisions.

Valerie Khoo: Follow her quirky posts on Twitter http://twitter.com/valeriekhoo

Janet Beckers: Genuine passion to helping women be successful in their online business http://wonderfulwebwomen.com/

Marie Forleo: http://marieforleo.com/ She will rock your world!