I was a rule following “Northeast Coaster”. I strived to be perfect in the way I lived my life and in the work I produced. When I got the chance to create something, I felt like it was difficult to deliver something original that didn’t pull from a benchmark or best practice. And when I veered off to share something new, I was always worried that what I shared wouldn’t be accepted. My phoniness was tiring and it made me uptight and out of touch with others and myself. When I heard Elizabeth Gilbert’s podcast, where she interviewed Brene Brown, and Brene said, “Creativity is the way we share our soul with the world”…”the only unique contribution we will make in this world will be born out of creativity.” This quote transformed my view of creativity, simplifying the definition. Creativity now = being your authentic self. Not being bound by societal, work or personal expectations born from “right living”. Unleashing the creative meant that I had to be willing to be vulnerable, to tell a joke and it bomb, or writing down my story and be told my writing sucked, or share my story and risk people judging me. No rules or right living but just living fully as myself. Pink has a song Glitter in the Air where she says – “close your eyes and trust it, just trust it” magical right! It’s one of my favorite lines from a song. So I’m asking you to close your eyes for a minute and just trust the answers you receive in your heart. Are you who you want to be? Are you sharing yourself with the world? If you aren’t, that’s okay, I wasn’t, but now you can make a change. Now, close your eyes again and ask yourself how can you be more honest, more real and more authentic? What attributes do you have when you are real? I think you know, but if you don’t know, ask the people you are most authentic with to tell you how they view you. Then, make a commitment to yourself to do one thing that enlivens the honest you today. Be creative with how you choose to show your true colors today and everyday! I want to see that picture and others will too. #therealyou.