Be human versus protected. Well, when I go into a coffee shop, when I walk into a restaurant, when I get into a cab, when I walk down the street, let’s say maybe in a fashionable neighbourhood, in a fascinating city, you know what I see? I see a lot of people behaving and pretending like they’re heroes on the social media. I would actually say it’s almost like 95% of people are putting on a social mask. They are not authentic. They are artificial. They’re wearing the shoes of cool people. They’re dressing like the celebrities that they follow. And this is right around the world because that’s the thing about the social media, everyone has a device these days. What I’m suggesting to you is gargantuan competitive advantage number five will allow you to be so different from the mass of humanity. It will allow you to be unforgettable in business. It will allow you to touch hearts in your personal life. And what is it? It’s stripping away the armour. Don’t be fake or artificial. Don’t dress like the cool people or like the majority just because you’re too scared to be who you truly are. Do you know how powerful it is to be someone who talks the way they want to talk, speaks their truth when their voice shakes, dresses the way they want to dress, and behaves in a way that is aligned with the values that are closest to their heart. That is a leader.I think it was Coco Chanel, “Dress in a way that makes you fall in love with yourself.” That fashion. People look at me sometimes. “Robin, why do you dress like this? Why do you wear a hat like that? Why do you wear Crocs when you’re in creative mode?” Because it makes me feel great, because it helps me connect with my inner artist, and it fuels my heart and my creativity. And that leadership. Not living in a way that is designed to fit with the crowd. Make yourself happy, that’s how you make other people happy. You want to lead the rest of your life versus follow? Then be true to you. So take down your social mask and be one of those rare women and men in the world today saying, “This is me at work and at home.” Talking how you want to talk, sharing the ideas that are important to you, doing you. What happens is when you give yourself permission to be true and authentic, you actually allow people around you and give them permission to be themselves.
