Commandment 2: Be Genuine

: Written by Arthur Barbut; Created: 24 January 2022

If you are going to be anything, be genuine. This is an important life principle and absolutely mandatory to be truly successful in business.

Business is all about relationships. To build long-lasting relationships you have to build your social capital. You have to earn people’s trust and respect and the best way to do that is to be genuine.

“Be genuine. Be remarkable. Be worth connecting to.”
–Seth Godin

So what does it exactly mean to be genuine? Dictionary.com describes being genuine as possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality or origin; being authentic, real, true; not false or counterfeit.

To me being genuine simply means to be the best version of yourself. Nobody else in the world can be a better you than you. The other vital thing to remember is that you are continuously evolving and becoming the person that you are meant.

We all have to work to continuously reveal and celebrate the best within ourselves. Very much like Michelangelo revealed David from a slab of marble, so we, have to chip away everything that is not our true essence. Carl Jung said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are”.

Below I have compiled a list of traits, characteristics, and habits that genuine people share. The list is inspired by my personal experiences and articles that I found relevant to the topic. I have included links to the full articles at the end of this blog for those interested in exploring the topic further.

If you are a genuine person you have high self-esteem.
If you are a genuine person you do not try to make other people like you.
If you are a genuine person you speak your mind.
If you are a genuine person you don’t pass judgment.
If you are a genuine person you are generous.
If you are a genuine person you forge your own path.

One really important thing to keep in mind is that you cannot try to be genuine or authentic. If you are trying then by definition you are not. Being genuine is something you are not something to do.

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Commandment 2: Be Genuine