To Thine Own Self Be True

I love blogging.  It gives me the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with people.  It also keeps me sharp.  My thinking on career and life success has grown and developed because of this blog.  I hope this is reflected in the quality of my posts. 

There is a side benefit to blogging too.  People send me free books in the hopes that I will review them.  The other day, I received a copy of Masha Malka’s latest book, The One Minute Coach in the mail.  It’s a great book. 

Creating positive personal impact is one of the keys to success that I discuss in my latest book, Straight Talk for Success.  If you want to create positive personal impact you need to do three things: 1) create and nurture your personal brand; 2) dress for success; and 3) know and follow the basic rules of etiquette.

Masha has organized The One Minute Coach into bite sized chunks.  One three paragraph chapter entitled “What Does It Take to be Attractive?” makes a great point about creating positive personal impact… 

• “Being attractive comes from having that magnetic power that pulls people towards you.  A power that inspires them to talk to you and find out more about who are; a power that makes them want to be like you!”

She follows this up with five action steps.  I love the fifth step…

• “Focus on who you are and not just what you look like.  People fall in love with the essence of you – your energy, the sparkle in your eyes, your passion for living, your unconditional love, everything that makes you unique and special…people fall in love with your beautiful soul.”

What is your essence, your beautiful soul?  Do you let it shine through?  Or do you keep it under wraps, maybe thinking that you won’t measure up in others’ eyes if you let your true self show.

When I was in high school and reading Hamlet, we got to the point in the play where Hamlet is setting off to avenge his father.  Polonius gives him some advice on how to flourish in this world.  We were reading the play out loud.  I was reading just before Polonius’ advice.  Mrs. Yothers, stopped me and said, “This is some of the best advice on life that you will ever get.  Read slowly Bud, and the rest of you should listen closely.”

I can’t remember the entire verse anymore, but there was one line that has always stuck with me.  “And above all else, to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the day the night, thou canst be false to no man.”

When my nephew Matt Seaton was going off to college, his grandfather, my father-in-law, Roy Blackman, gave him a piece of advice written on a scrap of paper.  It read “TTOSBT – figure it out and live by it.”

Can you figure it out?  Here’s a hint, read the quote from Polonius.

The common sense point here is simple.  We are all unique human beings.  Each of us has wonderful traits.  But as Masha Malka points out though, we need to have the confidence to let our wonders shine through.  You create positive personal impact when you let your essence shine through.  Try doing so the next time you are in a room full of strangers.  You’ll be surprised at the results.

That’s my take on creating positive personal impact by letting your essence shine through.  What’s yours?  Better yet, what is at your essence?  Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud