What does it mean ‘to be yourself’?
There is a social media trope that tells us 'be yourself' and 'be authentic' and I know that some of you end up shouting at the screen 'What does that mean?'.
Last week the New York Times ran a feature that illustrates what it could mean in a way that really inspired me. Heather Cox-Richardson is a professor of history at Boston University who started using the platform Substack to send a regular newsletter where she decodes current political events. The newsletter didn't have a sexy name, Mrs Cox-Richardson doesn't have a put-together brand and she's not young. Despite that her calm, accessible expert voice has really 'landed' and she now has a mailing list of 350k and an annual income from the platform of $1m.
It's easy to start a new year thinking that if we are disciplined enough to meet infinity goals we will win success. In my experience that isn't what happens, that's not how really successful, happy people get there. Mrs Cox-Richardson is a brilliant example of this. She is a low-key middle-aged woman just doing what comes naturally.
If you want to be more Heather Cox-Richardson I am here for that.
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