Being Honest and Authentic Gave Me a New Life

It was a typical Thursday morning and I was wrapping up my morning routine. I had just completed my meditation and journaling practice, and I was feeling pretty great. I had no idea, however, that what I saw next would change my life forever.

As an avid believer in the importance of not checking social media in the mornings, it pains me to admit that on this particular Thursday there was a slip in my personal discipline.

I was firing up my work computer when I pulled out my phone and opened Instagram. Sitting inconspicuously at the top of my feed was a single advertisement. It pictured a spectacular mountain range with an individual standing on the edge of a cliff.

They were gazing solemnly across an enormous valley that was filled with glacial snowmelt. The picture was taken moments before sunset and the only word that could be used to properly describe it would be: breathtaking. There was bold text overlaid on the picture and it read:

Go For Your Win — Discover Your Purpose, Train Essential Skills, and Overcome Resistance

Two thoughts instantly clamored for my attention; They went something like this:

“This could be you but you’re too scared to quit your job and go on adventures”

As I was trying to understand the logic of why my inner critic was comparing mountain ranges to my gainful employment, a second thought popped into my head. Although it’s embarrassing to admit, this one was a bit more practical:

“Wow, they are so close to the edge of that cliff! And it’s like thousands of feet up! You could never do that because you’re scared of heights”

I frowned as I contemplated what was bringing such negative thoughts to the surface. Just moments before I had been feeling confident, happy, and ready to seize the day.

As I continued to look at the ad, I realized that it was for a personal development course that was being offered by one of my favorite podcast hosts, Aubrey Marcus. Being a big fan of his work, I clicked on the ad to learn more. A few hours later, I was happily enrolled in the course.

Every week we were given different assignments in which we had to write about our mission, our life goals, and who we wanted to become. We were strongly encouraged to post our completed assignments to “the tribe” which was an exclusive Facebook group for Go For You Win members.

This course quickly became my ticket to a better life. I was completing it during the height of the Corona Virus quarantine when I was trapped inside working 60+ hours a week for a job that no longer excited me.

I was stressed out, incredibly alone, and ridiculously sedentary. The mere thought of a more invigorating life was enough to get me going and I took the writing assignments very seriously.

I was in such a dark place that I started being incredibly vulnerable in my writing. Not because I was feeling courageous or bold, but simply because the vulnerability was therapeutic. It was cathartic to voice everything I was going through so I began openly sharing my grandest dreams and my deepest fears with nearly 3,000 strangers whom I had recently met on the internet. And that’s when everything started to get exciting.

I began to meet people that were on such similar paths to me that it blew my mind. As a 25-year-old man who was experiencing his mid-life crisis a few decades early, I had always felt like no one could relate to what I was going through. Previously, it seemed like the only people who could relate to what I was feeling were the 55-year-olds who had just panic-purchased the bright red Corvette they had always dreamed about owning.

But now I was not alone. I was suddenly surrounded by thousands of people who were also feeling unsatisfied with their current lives. And the more vulnerable I was in what I shared, the more people reached out saying they felt the same way. I quickly learned a valuable lesson that has completely changed the way interact with the world.

The more vulnerable, authentic, and honest you are about who you are and what you want, the more the universe will conspire to bring you what you desire

The more honest I was about how I was feeling and what I wanted to do with my life, the more opportunities and amazing people began to magically appear. Suddenly, I started connecting with like-minded people and I finally felt like I was finding my tribe. And just when I felt that things couldn’t get any better, an opportunity came along that changed my life.

After posting an assignment that detailed my personal mission and goals for my life, a stranger from the group sent me a Facebook message. In it, she explained that she was taking a coaching certification course where she had met a guy named Tim. And apparently Tim had a mission that was practically identical to mine.

She explained how we both wanted to help others reach their highest potentials while simultaneously becoming the best versions of ourselves. She graciously offered to introduce us and started a group text with both of us in it.

After a few messages back and forth, Tim and I jumped on a Facetime. If you’ve never Facetimed with a complete stranger, let me be the first to admit it can be a bit awkward. This Facetime was no exception, but we quickly connected and began to realize how much we had in common.

Our Facetime led to an in-person meeting (sorry quarantine) which led to another meeting. Tim and I immediately became close because we were radically honest and authentic about our dreams, passions, and aspirations.

Our mutual interest in helping others while building up ourselves led to a beautiful friendship and an incredible business relationship. We have since co-founded a nonprofit that is combining professional coaching and holistic education to maximize human potential and address performance gaps in underserved communities.

The moment I began to be honest and authentic about what I want, how I feel, and who I am, my life was forever changed. New connections with like-minded people and opportunities to live an extraordinary life began appearing everywhere. It seemed that once the Universe knew what I actually wanted, it started trying its hardest to help me succeed. All I had to do was start telling others (and most importantly myself) what was truly important to me.

Since realizing the power of being completely honest and authentic about my life I have:

• Quit my job
• Started a podcast
• Built a website
• Published my writing publicly on said website
• Co-founded a nonprofit

I share this list not in an attempt to brag, but to detail what became possible for me once I began living authentically as my genuine self. While I still have so much more to learn, I am content with knowing that my personal commitment to honesty and authenticity has given me a new life. And I am grateful that it’s one I feel is worth writing about.