Being Authentic in a Copycat World

I was just thinking about how difficult it is to authentic in today's world.  Everyone is always jumping on someone else's bandwagon and calling it their own without being aware of it.  One of the things my mother said to me as I was growing up was that it was very important for me to original and to be my own person.  To develop my own style and to not follow the crowd.  I took her word for it and set out to do that very thing.  I realize that it is not possible to be original in every thing in life but it is important to be your own person and on your own terms.  I refuse to let someone else tell me what type of phone I should have or what clothes I should wear.  It is becoming evident to me that those who are not authentic are followers and are always influenced.  They seem to wait for the next big thing to appear so that they can copy it. Popeye had it right when he said, "I am what I am and I am Popeye the Sailor man."

A result of many people not being authentic is that they have learned to have others think for them in almost every facet of their lives.  Whenever you have someone else think for you they will always minimize who you are and therefore limit your potential.  The popular belief is that freedom comes with being financial able to what you would like to do but I say that freedom is being able to think for yourself.  The ability to think for yourself is liberating because you know that no one can ever limit you and can never hold you back.  Finally, things that are authentic tend to worth more than things that are not.  When you strive to be the real authentic you your worth increases and when your worth increases you can call the shots.