Striving for perfection is easy. It's harder to be real.

"When people show you who they are, believe them the first time."

~Maya Angelo

I found myself swaying in the car to an old song by a soul artist named Cheryl Lynn called "Got to Be Real". I started thinking about being real. It sounds so simple, and yet in the same way Ms. Lynn belted out her declaration, it can be anything but effortless. The definition of 'real' has to have its foundations in defining real from imitation. First, you have to know the real...

Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.

Your authentic self is the real you. It's the complete package, all working together and supporting the real person. To fully feel the love and connection we all yearn for, we have to show people who we are. And then, we have to accept who they are. 

That means giving them the safe place of acceptance so they can show themselves to you.

It is not an easy practice, and it will often take many starts and stops. But when it happens, it's priceless. So today, instead of pushing hard to strive for perfection, push a little harder to become realer. Here are a few good places to begin:

• Own your real story, and share it with a few trusted others. 
• You'll find yourself sometimes hidden underneath the details.
• Set a daily intention to be more authentic.
• Take prayer and meditation time to be real with yourself.
• Trust your gut.
• There will be those who can’t handle the most authentic you. Trust your intuition and follow it anyway.
• Forgive yourself.
• It wasn’t until I was able to forgive myself that I was finally free to move past the mistakes I had made. I was finally able to move forward and become my true authentic self and tell my story.

Live today to be real, and free others to do the same.

Cheers.