To me, the most significant “obstacle” for the Authentic Life is the lack of fairness in the world.

I will never deny that we don’t all have the same resources, opportunities, influences, examples, and circumstances–many of us don’t really have much say in those that we do have, at least not from where we start. We are born into a set of circumstances that greatly influences our perspective of life, ultimately shaping our reality.

Knowing that of all the possible hands that could have been dealt to me, I am well aware that I was dealt a very fortunate hand. But, being dealt a good hand doesn’t always guarantee you play that hand wisely, and I’d like to think that I have been a good steward of the blessings and opportunities presented to me. Because of this, I sometimes second-guess my Self when sharing the beliefs I have around the Authentic Life.

Imposter syndrome is not something I battle often; when I do, it’s usually in non-imporant areas of life, like trying new types of content, designing PRST clothing, or other exploratory areas I choose to pursue. But when it comes to talking about how we all have the opportunity to pursue our Authentic Lives, that we all have unique gifts and talents to bring to the world, or that we all have the potential and path to live the life we feel called to live, I sometimes feel like an imposter because I haven’t had to overcome what many have and will. I can just hear people saying, “easy for you to say…”

I shared this feeling with a now good friend of mine the first time I met him, and he said something that changed my perspective on how my messaging and encouragement may be received. My friend, who has come from the bottom, continues to have minor struggles along the way, and has systemic obstacles that I do not, told me never to apologize for the life that I have manifested. I shouldn’t discount my story or belief because of the path I’ve been able to take, because there will be people traveling a similar path who will find inspiration and learn from my experiences, AND some people who are not traveling a similar path will find inspiration in the possibility of another path.

Last week, while I was in Baltimore, the uncomfortable feeling of my story not resonating with some of the men in the group I was speaking with returned.

I often focus on optimism, opportunities, and possibilities, and don’t spend much time discussing the difficulty that still shows up in living your Authentic Life. There are plenty of people who want to focus on the negative, and I try to cancel out the negative with my positive energy. But the truth is that I think I sometimes present the Authentic Life as a too-good-to-be-true experience, making it seem like it is a perfect life--especially if the audience is not familiar with my Daily Notes and AlignedLife podcast (because I do address this in those)--and this can shut some people down to hearing the whole message. I was reminded of this when one of the men in the group challenged me (and the rest of the room) that we were ignoring the elephants in the room: race, opportunity, and proximity.

He made excellent points, none of which I disagreed with. However, as I listened and welcomed his arguments, I couldn’t help but think that, despite those elephants, we still need to help people believe they are not destined to follow the same paths they are surrounded by or to live outcomes predetermined by society. The room was full of men who were perfect examples of how belief can help someone rise out of the toughest situations.

“If you can believe it, you can achieve it.”

“You’ll see it when you believe it.”

It all starts with belief, which is what I hope to provide with my focus on optimism, opportunities, and possibilities, but I need to do a better job of reminding people that the path to your Authentic Life might be hard. It’ll require hard work. There will be obstacles. And others might have an easier path. It’s not always easy. But that doesn’t mean you cannot live it.

Living your Authentic Life is possible for everyone, and it starts with belief.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC