Less is More
In order to connect with our authenticity we might also do well to simplify our lives, not make them more complicated. Remember, a sculptor creates a beautiful statue by chipping away at those parts of the marble stone that are not needed. Maybe we should manage less stuff, not more. Create fewer options - not so many that we fail to exercise any of them. It might do us all well to concentrate less on the things we'd like to acquire and more on who we'd like to become.

Shortly after his wife died, comedian and satirist George Carlin wrote eloquently on the concept of enoughness: "We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to our life, not life to our years."

One of the keys to living a fulfilled life - a life centered on purpose, is realizing when enough is enough. In life as well as business, we once again see that less sometimes is more.

Masking the Real You
Leading toy maker Mattel, tried to put on a "different face" in the early 1980s by entering the highly competitive, low margin, consumer electronics business with hand held games. The company not only lost money but lost its corporate focus by trying to be something it wasn't. When Mattel did an about face and re-focused on selling its highly profitable collection of Barbie dolls, the company once again prospered.

Let's face it: most of us are less than honest when it comes to letting people know who we really are. In fact, some of us wear masks pretending to be somebody we're not. In the Greek and Roman theatre men wore masks to play different roles, including that of a woman. In fact, the word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word "hypocrites" which means actors, one who plays a role, pretends or wears a mask. Of course, one definition of mask is a device that wholly or partially conceals the face. It is interesting to note that even the word "person" is derived from the Greek word meaning mask or role played by an actor. OK, so where am I taking you with all this? Simple: All of us wear masks at one time or another - pretending to be somebody we're not. Shakespeare said, "God has given you one face and you make yourself another."

When I was a very young man I was once told that I sometimes wore a comical mask to hide my true intensity. Some people wear "tough guy" masks to hide their sensitivity. Others wear a "brave mask" to hide the fact that they are frightened to death. Some people wear the mask of a warrior when in reality they lack the courage to fight for themselves and stand up for what they truly believe. When we mask ourselves we are pretending to be someone we're not. When we wear a mask, we're living a lie - a life of pretense. A life in which the mask you wear hides your true face to the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his famous novel Scarlet Letter said, "No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true."

According to author Bill Treasurer, there are benefits in living an authentic life, "The benefit of being our authentic selves is that instead of wasting time pretending to be someone we're not, we have more impassioned energy to get on with the business of living. Living a life of authenticity represents the end to an exhausting game of make believe." What real benefit is there in playing hide and seek? We only waste our energy trying to be somebody we're not.

This "peek-a-boo, I see you" mask thing just doesn't cut it. We need to take off our mask and reveal our authentic self to the outside world. To find our true meaning in life we must do more than put on a good face - we must become who we were meant to be. Using a biblical metaphor, it's not so much "I am who I am" - but rather, "I am the me I'm meant to be." Gene Mage, President of Soaring Oaks Consulting puts it all into perspective: "Tragically, too many people wake up one day, look in the mirror and no longer recognize the person looking back. If you have to give up who you are to get somewhere, perhaps it's not the some place you really want to go." The point is simple: You don't have to give up who you really are to get where you want to go. Being the real you will get you there sooner because the real you is more aligned with your true purpose in life.

PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
An integral part of being the real you is being satisfied with what you have. Harriet Rubin, in an article in Fast Company magazine refers to the U.S.A. as the "United States of Anxiety." "We're among the best paid people in the world, the best feed and among the highest educated. Yet our divorce rates continue to soar, our suicide rates are rising and experts tell us there's no real correlation between having money and being happy." In fact, research consistently indicates that although the United States ranks among the world's wealthiest nations - we are not even among the leaders when it comes to overall happiness of our population. So, it all comes down to this: It's not about accumulating or consuming more stuff - it's enjoying what we have. It's about living fuller lives. It's not about becoming rich - it's about living a life of personal enrichment.

How do you really know when enough is really enough? Consider the story of Alexander the Great, who visited his good friend and mentor Diogenes after a major victory on the battlefield. When asked what his future plans were, Alexander proclaimed that after he conquered Greece he would go on to conquer Asia Minor and then the entire world. Diogenes then queried, "And then what?" Alexander went on to say that after all the conquering was accomplished, he planned to relax and enjoy himself. To which Diogenes responded, "Why not save yourself a lot of trouble by relaxing and enjoying yourself now?"

Obviously, Alexander the Great never really quite got the point. He died two years later at the age of 32 - supposedly from malaria caught on the battlefield.

I always thought that once I made a certain amount of money I would be free to let the authentic me out in the open. But I learned like others before me, the more money you make the more you need to make - it's a never-ending cycle. Even if you become a multimillionaire, you're reminded that "money doesn't buy what it used to." In fact, in 2002 there were nearly five million households in America with a net worth of at least $1 million or more.

Many of us are on a monetary treadmill…and when it comes to money a lot of us don't know when to get off. The more we have, the more we want. And having isn't enough - unless someone else has less. University of Southern California economic historian, Richard Easterlin espouses his "Easterlin Paradox" - according to him, because we judge ourselves in relation to others, any real jump in income makes little difference to how we feel about ourselves. So sometimes, the more we get, the less happy we become.

Dr. Dan Baker talks about the concept of enoughness in his book What Happy People Know. "At Canyon Ranch, I often hear people talk about hunting - for diamonds, planes, houses, paintings and boats - but what I really hear beneath the surface of their conversation are people talking about hunting down the big prize that will finally free them from two basic survivalist fears that have haunted people from the Stone Age: the fears of not having enough and of not being enough."

However, when it comes to defining true or authentic wealth, things may be changing for the better. Authors, Ed Keller and Jon Berry provide a glimpse of hope when they talk about an emerging, powerful new leadership class of target consumers called the "Influentials." The Influentials are comprised of 21 million people whose thoughts, behavior, and lifestyle patterns influence the rest of our country. They are profiled as college educated, married homeowners with solid jobs. They read a lot, exercise and tend to be volunteers. The subculture of this influential group is explored by Keller and Barry, in their book, The Influentials: One American in Ten Tells the Other Nine, How to Vote, Where to Eat and What to Buy. In their book, some of the most important issues facing these Influentials are: "What matters most?" and "Am I being true to myself"? At the bottom of the list were 3 issues: impressing others, status, wealth and power. The Influentials are not totally obsessed with keeping up with The Joneses. "When it comes to acquiring stuff," said Barry, "the key criteria is what is going to be engaging and interesting, rather than accumulating badges and status symbols."

Author, Margaret Young feels that a lot of us live our lives backward. We try to acquire more money to buy more things so that we'll be happy - when in reality, the process works in reverse. According to Young, "We must first be who we really are in order to have what we want." Antoine de St. Exupery said, "Perfection is achieved not when there's nothing else to add but when there's nothing left to take away." Our true essence is only revealed when we strip away the veneer and get down to our basic foundation - our true values.

It's Never Too Late To Be Authentic
Think about it: Have you been putting your own dreams on hold to make someone else's dream a reality? Do you use your pending mortgage payments as a reason not to move out on the things that matter most to you? Do you use the emotional security of your kids as an excuse not to become who you were meant to be? Do you wear a mask and pretend to be someone you're not? Don't put the real you on the back burner. You come alive when you let the real you shine through.

Being authentic is clearly a matter of choice. Author Bill Treasurer hits the nail on the head: "The Bible says 'many are called but few are chosen.' I see it differently. I think that all are called, but few choose." When you choose to be authentic, you are well on your way to becoming the person you were always meant to be.

In act one, scene three of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Lord Polonius uttered his now famous words, "This above all. To thine own self be true." Don't put the real you eternally on hold. Be who you are. Be authentic to your very core and the world will rally around you. When you live an authentic life you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, "Now here's a person worthy of my own respect."

Being truly authentic essentially comes down to this. The more honest you can be with yourself and others as to who you really are, the more likely you are to create a fulfilling and meaningful life - a life that is in synchronicity and harmony with your true purpose or calling. Author Suzanne Zuglio, urges us not to deny our inner truth, "Denying our inner truth is like trying to keep the lid on a pressure cooker that has built up too much steam. Try as you might, you can't contain it." If we want to live authentically - we can not mask who we really are deep down inside our souls.