The Importance of Authenticity
It's easy to look at the meteoric rise of talents like James Corden (of Carpool Karaoke fame) and attribute it to, well, "talent." And sure, maybe he's got that too. Maybe he's just "naturally gifted." But it's hard to ignore that he is also insanely authentic. Humans have been social creatures for hundreds of thousands of years, arguably millions if you count species like the Australopithecus or even our more ape-like ancestors. Humans are social creatures and because of that being able to perceive who is trustworthy and honest is an incredibly valuable skill.
Talent Will Only Get You So Far
So yes, James Corden is incredibly talented. He's got a great sense of humor and a decent voice to boot. But Los Angeles and New York are filled with people like that and unlike Corden they've got six-packs and perfect teeth too. But the overwhelming majority of them will never make it in show business (i.e. as content creators). That being the case these features alone do not explain his spectacular rise.
Honesty, Transparency, Sincerity
I would argue that rise is due to his authenticity. I define the components of authenticity as: honesty, transparency, and sincerity. These have been my guiding principles since I began contributing to steemit.com, and I believe this to be the key to whatever success I am lucky enough to have had. But don't take my word for it, check Corden out for yourself and make up your own mind.
UPDATE: @lifebyadam made some great points in his comment below on which I agree 100%. He points out the importance of humility as well, and I think that without a health dose of humility, one can never be as authentic as they could be. A certain amount of ego is required in order to motivate yourself to post content because you are hoping for people to pay attention to you; but this makes humility even more important, not less.
Skate to Where the Puck Will Be
@lifebyadam is absolutely right about the trend: people are sick and tired of FAS (Fake A$$ Sh!t). I believe that's one of the reasons people find steemit.com so exciting and compelling: because due to the anonymity and the financial rewards, people can be themselves ... and get paid for doing it. Thanks @lifebyadam for the great comment!
When I'm watching content or just when it comes to people in general, I definitely put far more value on their integrity, honesty, humbleness and attitude. I couldn't care less about how they look and I believe a growing majority of people are starting to look at things in this way too. Especially in social media where fakeness = greatness sadly. More people take notice to the ones who are genuine and share the bad along with the good. Highlight reels will die out.
Such good points @lifebyadam. Humility is another great characteristic to have. I don't think you can be truly authentic if you are not humble as well. In fact, IMA update the post!
You're exactly right! I must apologize that my upvotes are not worth much but I would give a million upvotes for this post if I could because it's so true!
Don't worry, with your insights it won't be long before your upvotes are worth a lot, and the engagement is what matters to me most, not the Steem Power of the person providing it :)
Great points. I love James Cordon (and Jack Black as mentioned in other comments here) and while authenticity is probably the main factor, I believe JOY is another one. Joy is infectious - especially when it comes to James and his Karaoke. He's infecting any of his guests with it, which is why pretty much every single episode is such a "joy to watch". None of them are boring.
I mean all we do is watch two people have fun. And it's so catching, it makes up happy, too.
I believe Joy is our true nature, so it may just be the underlying essence of our authenticity :) Unfortunately few grown ups allow their joy to be visible on the outside.
So hey, there may be a whole different layer here and he may be mirroring to us what we all crave in a world of alternative facts and few reasons to laugh. Most of us have been "alternative faces" for too long and we all just crave authenticity and truth. But I think I'm digressing now ;)
Thoughtful post in any case! And I hadn't seen that episode yet, so thank you :)
GenuinE ""HappinESS"" ... the "YOU_N_i-VERSE'S" ... most POTENT Dr. uG !!! - )))
ISN'T IT FUN-NY ... WE are ALL ... ITCHING to LAUGH ... whether WE recognize it or NOT !!! - )))
... and when, the "MAKES US LAUGH" ... thin-G HappenS ...??? - )))
... it's USuALLy unexpected ?? - ))
... and, IT HURTS ... makes US CRY ... in the FUNNIEST WAY !!! - )))
ha ha ))))))))))))))))
... and the ONLY thin-G ... holding back my ALL day GiggleS .... ??? - (((
... me, and my interpretation of NOW - ))
DANG IT !!!!!!!!!!! - ))
SO EASY ... to foCus ... when it's EASY )))))))))
... can vibrations be hard ?? -))
LOVELOVELOVE )))
greb'Z )
When I joined steemit my blogs were not much attractive but I learned at every point and Now they are much better than before nice post man I hope I will become a whale one day. Working Hard
That's the spirit! Steemit is as meritocratic as it gets. If you add value you receive value. Good luck!
Another example I would give is Jack Black. Like Corden his abs are lets say "well hidden" but he's got some serious character and authenticity. Tenacious D is just him and his friend making music to have fun and the primary focus is to amuse THEMSELVES. In all of his films he pretty much just plays himself too. His fantastic personality and sense of humour shine through and that's what make him a success more than anything
GREAT example! I love Jack Black! And Tenacious D! FROM NOW ON WE WILL TRAVEL IN TUUUUUUUUBES!!!
Definitely! Authenticity goes a long way. The more transparent and honest you are online, the more your output can be appreciated. That is why I love James! He's such a funny, down to earth guy. Plus, I love his carpool karaoke's - this one with Ed Sheeran was great :)
Thanks for sharing! :)
Love the video and the post is right on target as to being yourself. That should be plenty good enough for anybody. I think people are so weary of the "pre-packaged" and "one size fits all " mentality.
Interesting timing, James Corden was just on a podcast this week that I listen to where he went into a lot of detail on how he ended up doing his show, some advice he received about staying humble, etc.. its a pretty good listen.
https://soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/james-corden-on-returning-to-london-carpool-karaoke-elections-and-sports-in-america-ep-223
Sounds really interesting
Definitely! Authenticity goes a long way. The more transparent and honest you are online, the more your output can be appreciated. That is why I love James! He's such a funny, down to earth guy. Plus, I love his carpool karaoke's - this one with Ed Sheeran was great :)
Can't agree more...checkout my post which is also based on similar lines
Totally agree - talent is important, authenticity as well, the existing relations come on top - but in the end it is the Will - the eagerness for success to never give up which makes you successful - hey second post today I upvote by you @andrarchy
I love this post. And truth be told some of us dim our light of authenticity because we are so worried about what others think. Worrying if we are too much, too loud, too this or too that. But truth is everybody cant handle your truth and authenticity and you know what, thats ok. Because there are plenty of folks that can and that is what is important.
I had "thought" I created good content..but not enough people saw it...so I am working on that ...I thought the combination of resteeming , expanding comments and daily content will help.
I gotta agree!
It is so important to be yourself and let people "see" you for what you are.
Ja Ja buenísimo !!!! una mezcla de expresión de emociones !!!!
It's great to take these professionals out of the normal element and show they are "real people" too. They have little skills and quirks like all of us, but only get attention for their musical ability. I think the Steph Curry segment might show this the most. Not everyone is a great singer, but we all love to sing along and you can really get a good appreciation of these stars with the segments James does. I think most of his other segments seem pretty staged, but these Carpool Karaokes always seem to have a few scenes that were clearly made up on the spot. The last part of the Ed Sheeran clip above proves that point. They planned the maltesers scene, but that ad libbed melody at the end add to the "authenticity" you describe in this post.
@andrarchy great post! It reminded me of both Robin Sharma and Seth Godin. They both are all in for authenticity and their style is similar to the style in your post. I can sense that you are a reader. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Have you every watched Gavin and Stacey?
very nice post great work
Whats up andrew! Figured I would check up on you. I didn't see any new post lately, just re-steems. I saw you on the live stream with @allasyummyfood
LOVE THIS!!.., I am still learning as a minnow... Thanks for the recent upvote @andrarchy! Following you now! :)
Hello @andrarchy ! I'll share/resteem all your posts if you can follow me and resteem too my future posts ,you have a great blog ,thank you and hope we'll help
each other
I've just followed you :)
I wish you have the best posts !
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Thank you ,see you later STEEMIANS !