Be Authentic

By Erwin Parengkuan

Yesterday I met an old friend and discussed this topic casually.My friend is a leader at an online portal in Indonesia he said;"Why, Win, there are more and more fake people here?"Wow, this is a very interesting conversation in my heart.We both meet new people every day, changing.And we agreed in that conversation that we rarely meet individuals who are "as they are." Whether they are still shy, have no self-confidence, are afraid of other people's judgment, or are wrapped up in a high position, they have to pretend to interact and build relationships with the people they meet.

Currently I happen to be writing a book about Personal Branding 2.0.In the past, 11 years ago, when I wrote a book with the same title, there was one important component in it, namely authenticity.But now the public's understanding of personal branding has been misinterpreted, namely branding, which is often done by celebrities, influencers, and even officials in this country.Meanwhile, if we examine it more deeply, the meaning of personal branding is to display what is inside us.

There are so many challenges in work, life and the modern world today, including what we consume daily on social media, which is a form of manifestation of how a person presents himself and assesses himself.But if only the outer skin is shown then it is certain that this does not refer to a person's authenticity.Indeed, it is very human that none of us wants to look ugly, so there is a potential for someone not to be what they are, and over time this habit will change into a person's character/identity.In fact, being a fake person is very tiring.And the truth is, whoever we are, we have uniqueness that must be shown.

Let's discuss how one can become authentic through my explanation.First, be honest with yourself, about what you have, which is related to the strength to be a modality for someone to become PD, after that, be open to seeing your own shortcomings.We also know that no human being in this world is perfect, so accept yourself as you are and explore your potential so that over time our shortcomings will become less.Next, have self-courage and high curiosity to increase your capacity by always carrying out self-exploration which requires persistent effort and is carried out consistently.So wherever we are we will still present ourselves completely by knowing what our strengths are.

Currently what happens with the word imaging is that someone camouflages themselves, either in their daily lives or on social media.One more important thing in my opinion to ensure that we remain authentic is to have awareness about our existence, the roles we play and being able to place ourselves appropriately in different situations in life.

When everything I have explained is carried out seriously, we will undoubtedly be close to ourselves, not only being authentic but really knowing what other potentials within ourselves we need to develop.Actually, there are many additional elements in being authentic, so wait for my new book which will be published this year.We will definitely provide further information.Be authentic, be real!