your pulitzer prize
by anne alexander

Remember Cliffs Notes? Back in high school and college, they came in handy for some of us. Maybe we partied a little too much and didn’t quite finish that tome of literature. Maybe we just couldn’t quite understand the book. Maybe we never even cracked the cover! So what is a Cliffs Notes booklet really? I would say that it is nothing but a fake.

It does summarize the central message of the book, it provides analysis of the characters and themes, and you get a pretty good understanding of what the author wanted to convey.

So what’s missing? What’s missing is the art—the heart—that is what great literature is all about. What’s missing is the experience of reading the particular ways that the author puts words together and the emotional impact of that experience.

For example, the Cliffs Notes version of Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea is a mere shell; the actual novel is the real thing. It is authentic. As a business and personal coach, I’m very interested in the concept and practice of being authentic.

Let’s examine four questions: 1) What is being authentic? 2) Is it important? 3) If it is important, how can we be more authentic? And 4) Who can we look to as models of authenticity?

So, what is it to be authentic? For me, being authentic means daring to bring yourself fully to every experience. It means the words and actions come directly from your core, where you are being true to your deepest desires.

Secondly, is it important to be authentic? Why should you care? I believe being authentic is the one sure road to personal and professional success. When you have aligned “who you are” with “what you do”, you ignite your internal turbocharger and take off. Several years ago, a friend of mine named Frida moved to a new city when her partner landed a plum job there. Frida was a superb kindergarten teacher with 15 years of experience, and after a short time, she landed an incredible job at a progressive school that was child-centered and team-oriented. What a coup! Frida began work, but after about two weeks, she was miserable. She realized that she was done with teaching and it was time for something else in her life. So she resigned.

For her, she made an authentic choice. It wasn’t easy, but it ended up being the best one for her, as her life moved forward in powerful ways. Why was it important for her to be authentic? Because otherwise she would have become a very unhappy teacher and damaged not only herself but also her colleagues and her students. And she would not have fulfilled what she feels is her destiny as a parent and an herbal healer.

Third question: How can you be more authentic? You can try speaking your truth when you maybe have held back to be “nice” or avoid a disagreement. It’s also important to know your personal standards; you’ll feel good every time you stick to them. I suggest getting quiet regularly and learning to understand what’s true from within yourself, as differentiated from external messages that have been internalized.

The story of Joanne—a doctor I know who lived in New York City for many years—is good example of how to be authentic. She really loved it—the culture, the excitement, and the diversity. But after about 15 years, she began to feel something was wrong in her life. She realized that she had grown tired of the city. Her way to be more authentic was to move to a new place; in her case, North Carolina. Like Frida, it was not an easy choice, but because she listened to her true self, it turned out to be the right one.

One last question: to whom can we look as models of authenticity? Think of young children. They have no protective masks, no roles; they just naturally are themselves without premeditation or pretense. And we love that, don’t we? Who else is authentic? We learn a great deal about human nature and human potential from great literature. Santiago—the old man in The Old Man and The Sea—was guided by his own ethics; he was his own man. What was most important for him was to live his life honestly, as he saw how best to do that. In 1953, Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel.

So what’s it going to be for your life? A Cliffs Notes version, where there will always be a part of you that knows you’re cheating, that you’re missing the effort and the great reward that comes from doing what has to be done to honor yourself, your values, your gifts and talents? Or the Pulitzer Prize version of your life, where being whoever you truly are will lead you to the true prizes of life?

I challenge you to go for your “Pulitzer Prize.”

Anne Alexander is owner of Authentic Alternatives Business Breakthroughs Coaching. She can be reached at anne@authentic-alternatives.com or 828-225-8750.