The power of being genuine – story of my life.

Genuine. According to Merriam-Webster the word is defined as this:

1a: actually having the reputed or apparent qualities or character

  • genuine vintage toys

b: actually produced by or proceeding from the alleged source or author

  • the signature is genuine

c: sincerely and honestly felt or experienced

  • a deep and genuine love

d: actual, true 

  • a genuine improvement

2: free from hypocrisy or pretense: sincere 

  • His apology seemed genuine.

In today’s society far too many of us have gotten away from a true understanding of the word, much less putting it into action within our daily lives. The loose usage of important labels such as friend, kind, nice, etc. are becoming all too frequent.

I often speak to the power of Dr. John Maxwell’s “value added” approach in daily life. This is something I strive to do daily and seek those who add value in return. “Live your life with intentionality – make it significant,” are words from Dr. Maxwell to live by.
John Maxwell – Add Value to People

 The past few years especially more and more I have aimed to live not only by these “value added” principles but also by the sentence that I tweeted in a #SaturdaySpark⚡️ several months ago. Usually these are inspirational sayings, lines or quotes – but this was one that spoke to me as much, if not more than any — because it is something I am to live by daily:

The longer I live the more I realize that some people are good listeners, (uninterrupted – not hearing – listening) genuinely care and are tried and true friends. These will be there through the good times and the not so good times. Thick and thin. Sometimes its a learning process. Life is hard. The aches and pains of growing up as a person, professionally and personally can be taxing.
I know who these people are in my life. My tribe. My people. They build me up, encourage and offer constructive feedback on going and this is reciprocal. They have my back I love them. I know them and they know me. I love them. They love me. Do you connect with this? How genuine are you? It took me until my mid-30s to get to this point and I’m still evolving but I’m getting there – always striving for greatness. Sometimes takes weeding out. Quality > quantity.
Some people are good at talking the talk, but fail miserably when it comes to walking the walk. These people are not genuine. They need weeded out – no room for them on this train. Nonnegotiable.
One life to live, make the most of it. As the great Mike Ness wrote and performed so many years ago with Social Distortion:
“Life goes by so fastYou only want to do what you think is right.Close your eyes and then it’s past;Story of my life.”
socialdistortionband

2 thoughts on “The power of being genuine – story of my life.”

  1. Gia Hoke says:
    Reply

    Brendan,
    Love, love, love…….We speak the same language. My friend! I’m a huge fan of John Maxwell myself. As I’ve matured in life I’ve cone to understand the value of having a few genuine people in my life versus many who may not render the value that I’m worthy of getting. When my children were young my prayer to God was that He would only place people in their lives who needed to be there. People who would add value, worth, good and substance. I later began to pray the same prayer over my life as well. My tribe is small, but it is mighty. Those who are in my life have been such a blessing to me that only God could have placed them there, which is why I consider myself to be blessed beyond measure. I’m so fortunate to be connected by such powerful and inspiring people such as you and others even through Twitter. Who would have thought that social media would have been such a powerful conduit in and of itself. Thank you for being such a positive and inspiring and more importantly a genuine sole.

    Liked by 1 person

    • BrendanFetters says:
      Reply

      Thank you reading and your vey kind, meaningful words, Gia! So, so true about everything you said. My tribe is very small but powerful. Quality > quantity as I so often say. It’s vital to cut through the superficiality that so often lingers in society along with social circles both in life and digitally and focus on the authenticity in people – those that add value. I appreciate you, my friend and the positivity that you bring into the lives of so many ongoing, myself included. #YouMatter 🙂

      Like

Leave a comment