Authenticity

It’s kind of turned into a buzz word that has lost meaning.

Like when you hear “Tesla” you don’t think of the inventor Nikola Tesla. You think of whatever tightly held belief you have about the company or Elon which then creates an emotional state in your body.

However, authenticity is a beautiful thing and guess what…

Authenticity doesn’t have to be found.

If you show up in front of the camera stuttering and stammering, that is you being your full truest self in that moment.

If you delete your first 50 takes because you hated every video you took and now you are getting super frustrated with social media, that is the authentic you in that moment.

I totally get why you wouldn't want to showcase that.

Which is why I don’t believe you desire to be authentic at all.

Otherwise you’d just show up as your messy vulnerable self.

No…

What you want is to show up as is the powerful, confident, well spoken version of you.

The one who can get in a flow state on a coaching call and blow your clients fucking minds.

That same coach who knows how to make their client crack a smile even in the depths of a deep conversation.

Reminds me of that clip from Tony Robbins movie where he teases the guy about his red shoes and says, “Don’t smile like that, you’re gonna fuck everything up.”

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My goal online has never really been to be authentic because, again, authentic could look like, “I wanna burn the fucking business down. I’m fucking tired and don’t want to fucking make fucking content today.”

But why would I make that kind of content?

I am here to help people, not seek empathy. A piece of disempowered content like that wouldn't help anyone.

If you’ve been reading my work for a while you’ll know; after I completed my bike ride across America in 2016 I committed to pursue a life of daily happiness.

That means that (I constantly remind myself) it’s the journey not the destination.

It's knowing that I have the resources to access more joy right now, not thinking my joy is contingent on making more money or having more things.

My goal online has always been to show up as the BEST version of me because that's what is going to support you the most.

If I “have to” show up on my Instagram stories daily and post content 3-5 times a week, I would love to be able to access the best version of me as often as possible.

If I can find ways that will allow me to show up happier on social media more frequently, then that means I can show up happier in ALL areas of life more frequently.

I've discovered many ways to do that, but today I want to offer you a very simple one that you could do right now.

Two Environmental Shifts

My social media journey began on the aforementioned bike trip across America.

I showed up every single day on SnapChat sharing pieces of each day.

I didn't give it much more thought than to keep my friends and family (mostly my mom and girlfriend) up to date on the trip.

If you watch those videos you’ll see the most happy, joyful, energized version of Matt.

I was mooing at cows.

Screaming “woo woo” as I fly downhill with no hands.

Singing whatever song was stuck in my head that day.

And eating ice cream with a smile bigger than a 6 year old boy on Christmas opening a brand new bicycle.

Good news. I saved every single day and uploaded it to YouTube. So if you want, you could watch that version of Matt.

Here’s a hilarious one on Day 30 where I show my nut sack just before crossing the Mississippi River.

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I am so grateful this was the start of my content journey because it allowed me to show up as the most authentic joyful version of me every single day.

How?

Rick Rubin says it best in his book The Creative Act, “Create an environment where you’re free to express what you’re afraid to express.”

On that bike trip I was in an environment where I felt so safe. Ironically biking across America in a new strange place every second wasn’t scary because being on that bike was my home. I felt like a little boy who was fully free.

Secondly, any time my heart rate is elevated, whether that’s playing tennis, on a trail run, a CrossFit workout, stretching a double into a triple, or riding my bike across America, I feel unstoppable.

So that is the key to showing up your most authentic joyful self online.

1️⃣ Put yourself in a physical environment where you feel safe, energized, excited, creative or loved.

This could be a favorite spot in your house, near water, on top of a mountain, in a field of grass, cooking in the kitchen or with a group of friends.

2️⃣ Change your internal environment (your emotional state)

I like working out or playing sports. It’s why lots of my content a few years back was always me on a run. (In fact I’ve talked about the concept of this newsletter before… on a run)

Maybe for you it could be dancing in the kitchen, doing breathwork, visualization or meditation, or calling a loved one.

This what Valerie worked on inside of the Growth Community. She is an incredible strength and mobility coach but she was stuck at 13,000 followers for over a year. Her account felt dead.

As a Strength and Mobility coach she was, of course, filming content in the gym.

But guess what… she hated filming in the artificial lights of the gym. However, she LOVES the outdoors. So I encouraged her to get outdoors and start filming her mobility drills outside.

She did that plus added a little twist of storytelling by talking about her own mobility journey and BAM! She blew up to almost 100,000 followers!

All that by simply changing her physical environment which directly transformed her internal environment.

(You can catch her outtakes on her stories where she's probably petting dogs and having the time of her life)

Transform your Relationship to Social Media

I am hosting a free 30 minute training on Friday at 12pm PST to help you energetically transform your relationship to social medial and know exactly how to create content you love.

I will also be live coaching and answering any questions you may have about joining the Growth Community membership which gets you free access to the 6-week live cohort course, StoryGrowth Framework.

To sign up for the free training, tap the button below for a one-click sign up and I’ll send you the zoom link.

See you there!

Matt