Stop Performing & Start Holding Up

Authenticity Isn’t a Trend. It’s a Liability Test.

The start of a new year always comes loaded.

Fresh intentions. Bold goals. Big this is my year energy.

And honestly? That’s a good thing. January gives us permission to try again — to recalibrate, to aim higher, to finally step into the version of ourselves we’ve been circling but haven’t fully owned yet.

But what if we punched up the impact of that vision board? 



As we kick off a new year, I'm here to ask if you’re brave enough to live your dreams.

And here's the key... be authentic.

Because everything else... is foam.

Looks big. Dissolves fast.

I’ve watched it happen in real time — people, teams, brands with real talent and good intentions slowly reshaping themselves into whatever the room rewards. A softer edge here. A safer sentence there. A little trend-chasing. A little people-pleasing.

Until one day it hits: you’re not building your best self anymore.

You’re maintaining a mask.

And masks are fragile. They crack under pressure. They collapse the moment real life gets loud.

That’s why authenticity matters. Not because it’s a cute value. Because it’s structural.

Authenticity is the difference between having a voice and reading from a script.

And scripts don’t survive friction. They survive applause. Big difference.

Here are some honest considerations when setting up shiny new 2026 goals:



• If your goals are built on other people’s expectations, you’ll never feel finished — the finish line will keep moving.

• If your success depends on staying palatable, you’ll end up diluted.

• If your story is optimized for approval, it won’t hold when things get tense. And things will get tense.

So yes — set the goals. Make the plan. Start the thing.

But don’t just ask, “What am I chasing?”Ask, “Who am I becoming while I chase it?”

-- In business: stop contorting yourself into trends that don’t fit. A brand without a spine is just content.

-- In community: show up because it matters — not because it photographs well. If your impact needs witnesses, it’s not impact. It’s PR.

-- In life: chase growth because you matter— not because you’re trying to prove something to people who won’t be there when you’re tired, broke, or questioning everything.

And no — authenticity isn’t “say whatever you want and call it honesty.”

It’s quieter than that.

It’s consistency.

It’s alignment.

It’s building a life you don’t have to explain away.

Your story doesn’t belong to your feed.

It doesn’t belong to your peers.

It doesn’t belong to the loudest voice in the room.

It belongs to you.

And the new year is a fork in the road:



Will you fill the pages with frothy fiction… or meaningful reality?

Choose wisely. You’re the one who has to live it.