Seth Godin is Wrong: People Want Authenticity … Sort Of

Seth Godin is wrong.

It’s a great introduction, isn’t it? Because if you know who Seth Godin is, you probably respect his opinions. I do. I still have a limited-edition copy of his “Free Prize Inside” book, which came inside a cereal box and included a special marketing newspaper, all emphasizing the point of the book.

Seth is a granddaddy in the space of “stop yelling to market to people” and instead, find your tribe and make real connections.

In a recent interview, however, he mentioned that authenticity is overrated – that people don’t want authenticity. They don’t want you showcasing how lousy your day has been. They want you showing up with your best self, which might not always be authentic.

But this is where we need to understand who we are.

You could say it in several ways, but we have a personality and we have a deeper, truer self. The free willed “Player Character” (the “you” engaging in this VR world we call life) and the programmed, unthinking NPC. The Self and the “Not Self” of Human Design.

Most of humanity expresses itself most of the time through its programming. This is swayed by the whims of the world, the mass consciousness desires and fears. It is lusty, angry, afraid, and depressed. It is focused on survival and protection of its delicate ego. It markets itself to the world to satisfy its own wants and needs, and will only put on a mask of caring for others in order to meet its own ends.

That is not the authentic self. So whatever it brings to the table is not, by definition, authenticity. It is a lack of inner control – a lack of spirit dominance over the vehicle.

While he uses his own terms, what I love about Seth is that his emphasis is on genuinely caring about others, about forging genuine connections, and about making a better world. What he’s talking about is becoming, more and more, your true self. Expressing your real purpose in being here, which is to express love in a way that is unique to you.

The more you do this, the more authentic you’re becoming. So at least if we’re clear about all this, then Seth is actually calling for as much authenticity as you can muster. What he’s decrying is expressing your lower, selfish self.

I’ve seen plenty of people here on Substack specifically saying they’re done with the frantic pace and selling and ego of social media. And what they want on this platform is to do great work, and connect with others who are doing the same, or seeking the same. To live a life of purpose, and to experience the successes that naturally arise from giving the world the greatest gift we have to offer.

Seth has been promoting this for years: he’s been a forerunner in redreaming what it means to be in business, and to market that business. Redreaming the world so that we find genuine happiness in work that matters. And I feel like we’re starting to see that shift taking place. So many of us are tired of yelling, of being sold to, and of doing things we don’t want to do with our life energy.

The world is tempting. We know we can’t live our purpose if we’re not alive, so the survival instinct is strong. Good: we need strong minds and bodies to carry out our purpose, so we need to give them their due. But they cannot understand the infinite variables of the universe that allows things to happen – making connections that will help us reach new heights, drawing resources and opportunities into our lives.

Only the true self has a sense of the invisible, and will guide us to the kind of success that is right for us and our greatest happiness, if we will only heed its call. We are challenged to follow our bliss, but our inner bliss, not just outer satisfaction. Inner bliss leads, outer satisfaction misleads.

All this said, Seth might have been right in one way. If you’ve ever seen an angry person grow angrier by speaking with them calmly and rationally, if you’ve ever seen someone push away love, if you’ve ever seen someone get upset even from the gentlest presentation of the truth … you know that the Not Self does not like authenticity. It is a danger to the Not Self, for it can only be responded to by the better Self within, which starts to break down the Not Self.

But breaking that shell and becoming something more is really what we’re here to do. It’s what redreaming ourselves is all about, and it’s necessary before we can redream the world in a way that is actually better for all.