Solar e c l i p s e of the h e a r t

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We hear more and more people talking about becoming aware of the importance of values nowadays like e.g. authenticity, integrity, honesty, communication & innovation - including myself.

Especially authenticity is one of the words so often used in the cooperate & political world. But these all are impalpable words which are neither really actionable nor measurable. 

For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be articulated as verbs instead of nouns. 

Just then we get a clear idea and sense of feeling of what to do in any situation

So what do we actually do when someone says “can you please be more authentic in your presentation” or “put a bit more innovation in today’s work please”?

It’s not a question of asking others how to be more our authentic self. That would the equivalent of asking a stranger on the street what’s the address of our house we live in. 

Being authentic means that we already know. We already know why we do what we do.

Everything we say & everything we do we actually believe. Only than we can be viewed as truly authentic

Most often we see people “talk” & “project” authenticity on the outside on a surface level. In some cases, they might even have good intentions, but they fail in delivering it on a consistent basis from the inside, because their cause is elusive. 

To find a strong cause from the heart surely doesn’t happen over night, it’s a process. But once we established our purpose of why we doing what we doing, it’s unshakable - when we hold ourselves accountable over the long term. To walk & live the talk.

With being authentic in how we do things based on why, comes automatically the connection to the value of “integrity” as a natural byproduct. 

But what does this really mean? It means “always doing the right thing”. 

Telling people to have integrity doesn’t guarantee that their decisions will always have the best interest of others in mind. Telling them to always do the right thing in a situation, eventually does.

Having integrity goes even deeper than that. It’s not only how we react and do things towards others. It’s first and for all holding the love & integrity to ourselves & and our most important key values on high standard and live them - no matter what. 

Doing the right thing for ourselves in that particularly moment, showing character. Even if that means standing & fighting for our cause alone for a while until we come across the right people or clients to work with who have the same believes - its a virtue.

And so “Innovation” becomes tangible when we articulate it as “look at the problem from a different angle & find a solution”. This builds relationships through clarity of communication of how something is verbalized and therefore actionable & comprehensible in results.

With relationships comes trust, and with established trust comes loyalty within friendships, brands & companies. 

At the end this creates radiant connections, heartfelt cooperations & meaningful win-win situations instead of covering deceptive, self-seeking advantage.

.I wonder how the world would be if we would living more of these values?