Show Up and Be Authentic
Show Up and Be Authentic
The last few months have been a whirlwind. I had a bit of trepidation when scheduling all these FI related get togethers in such short a period of time. Who would have known that I would attend two CampFIs and FinCon all within such a short period of time. The experiences have been both joyful and at times overwhelming. But none of this would have happened if I didn’t take the risk of signing up. Sometimes you just have to leap before you look. You have to show up and be authentic.
This doesn’t always feel good. There are times you will stand in a corner by yourself and stare at the wall waiting for something to happen. But there are also times when it seems like the world is swirling at your feet.
Hold on tight. Let the magic happen.
Show Up
There are so many reasons not to attend these type of events, They are far away. Expensive. You disrupt your work routine. There is no time to work out. Watching your food and alcohol intake is not the easiest either. Excuses, excuses, excuses.
You can talk yourself out of almost anything. But very little happens to those who don’t take risks. You are not going to build community, form strong collaborations, or meet eye to eye with amazing people from the safety of your couch.
You have to show up and be authentic. You have to put up with the delayed flights, insecure meal plans, and lack of sleep. There is no way around it.
Magic happens and relationships form when you are face to face.
Some of my best content and ideas comes from these meetings. Often from an unexpected face or a new acquaintance.
Be Authentic
There are so many things I want to be that I am not. This blog would take off if I could write about run of the mill how to personal finance. My readership would grow if I just promoted better, and wrote material that would be easy to use for guest posts on bigger blogs. There are a million ways in which I could mimic the behavior that I see in all the successful people around me.
But none of that would be me.
It would be a shell of me that probably wouldn’t play well on the blog, and certainly would come off as fake in person. You can’t hide who you are when you come to these meetings and get togethers. Your inner personality will shine through regardless of what type of persona you try to portray.
Thus, you must show up and be authentic. You must throw caution to the wind and hope you are embraced for exactly who you are.
There is no substitution for authenticity. It is the key ingredient that others are looking for not only when seeking out content, but also when building relationships.
Final Thoughts
I have put a lot of thought into who I am and how I want to be perceived in the personal finance community. Meeting in real life at CampFI and FinCon has taught me that I have fairly little control over these things. I am who I am, and there is no use pretending otherwise.
In order to move forward, I have to stand up and embrace my own unique quirkiness. I have to show up and be authentic.
Would you expect any less of me?
Have already begun planning for next years events. Please join me:
I will be speaking at:
I will be attending: