The #RachelHollis story from March gained some traction this week with a new article in The New York Times article. I had never heard of her before March & I hate "fall from grace" stories, but it made me wonder why it was the #authentic nature of Rachel Hollis that inspired others & why the authentic nature of the same person disappointed/ offended many of the same people. I suspect it is because somewhere along the line, she stopped doing what "#authenticity" demands: needing to learn & grow.
What I know for sure is this: It is possible to be ambitious, driven, focused, authentic, confident, principled AND ALSO be considerate, thoughtful, humble, conscientious, inclusive, gracious. In fact, those are complementary qualities.
My husband says to our kids, "don't brag about your accomplishments, if there is good to be seen, people will see it." It's sound advice because humans are intrinsically put off by braggarts & they are intuitively drawn to humility. Brands that grow, thrive, survive, are the ones that are humble enough to keep taking stock & keep learning from their stumbles.
In other words, a powerful #brand is the embodiment of an #empowered human: one who learns & grows.
