I got to witness some authenticity in action yesterday, as I recorded a podcast interview with someone who works closely with John Assaraf in his organization.

During the interview, he shared how he used mindset hacks to get through a challenging time in his life, when he was going through a divorce and wasn’t sure if he would be able to hang onto the house where he raised his children (he was able to make everything work in the end.)

After the interview, he asked me if I thought it was appropriate to share such a personal (potentially gloomy) story on the podcast.

My answer?

“Absolutely!”

I know that “authenticity” has become a buzzword nowadays, as we hear it so often.

But there’s a reason why.

People love to hear real stories from people. It helps the connection, and they can better relate with you.

Not to knock “the big guys”, but it can be hard for people to feel that same connection with them.

I saw this in action before. I’ve read some of the 1000 books that John Maxwell has written (kidding – but I think it’s up around 75 books by now.) But I related best with him when he talked about an embarrassing story in a Success Magazine column that he wrote.

When he opened up and shared about that stumble (which had to do with him being detained by security at an airport), I felt a better connection than from all of his books!

Are you being authentic when delivering your message?