Authenticity and Hustling with Intention w : Adam Smiley
There is nothing new under the sun. We’ve probably all heard this saying before and have used it as an excuse to not try and be original. This makes our jobs so much easier because we no longer have to try to be the first one to do something, the first one to create something new, but really, being original is not so much about being first, but more so about making something that stands out, something that portrays us the way we are, because, and this might sound a little cliché, we are all unique, and being original, oftentimes just means that we managed to translate that uniqueness into something new.
It can be a simple spin on an already existing thing and that can make us original because we’ve added our own unique little touch to it that no one else had ever done before. And I liked the idea.
So when I and Adam “smiley” had the chance to talk on Instagram live a while ago, I asked him if he felt the same way and what he thought being original meant since he is a writer.
Adam sees originality or authenticity in a slightly different way. He said that authenticity is more about how you show up, it’s less about what you create, but more about how you interact with the world and how you present yourself, and what your beliefs are, and if you can show that in your work then you’ve definitely crossed out enough boxes to be considered authentic. He also believes that being authentic is more about sharing your beliefs with the world and sharing your truth while you try and stay true to it.
This goes into choosing a path too! How you choose a path and how you make your decisions can also be one of the ways that you can show who you are. Because let’s be honest, I’ve said before that we’re all a product of our environment; our communities, our beliefs, our upbringing, these are the things that not only shape us into the person that we become but also dictates the decisions that we make and why we make them. I’m saying all this because, during that very same interview with Adam, a viewer actually asked a question about how to choose a path to focus on when you have so many things that you’re passionate about, that you’re interested in, but if you don’t pick one to focus on then you’ll never even be good enough to fully pursue it.
This is what Adam said that really resonated with me. He said that you shouldn’t cross things out because you feel like you have to, and one of the things that you can do is to put all of those things on a list and try to find the one that excites you the most. He also said that it’s very important that you do those things for a while so that you know the ins and outs and know how things will feel after a while after the initial excitement has worn off. This trial and error approach to finding a path to focus on is not only one of the fairest methods that you can take but also one that will undoubtedly help you progress much further in the path you chose because you know for a fact that it excites you and that you’re more than just passionate about it. Give all of the things you listed a fair chance instead of sitting there and doing nothing is almost always going to be more productive is basically what he’s saying. This ties into one of the things that I’ve personally learned from Adam, that life is a journey. We need to progress one step at a time while truly enjoying the work in the process of it all.
Another question we took during the interview was from another one of our viewers who said that they’re always in a position where they keep seeing their friends receiving or accomplish the things that they want, and they feel like when their turn will come and they end up questioning themselves every day. Adam responded to this by saying that it’s more about self-confidence. The more you gain experience, the more confidence you’ll have, it’s like a muscle! It’s a lot like working out in the gym and you need to keep practicing and getting self-confidence. Adam also mentioned the flow state. Once you get into the flow state, you just stop questioning yourself and you just do it. The flow state is so powerful that when you’re in it, you’ll do it without knowing why and you’ll stop questioning yourself because all of your focus and all of your mind power is absorbed in the thing that you’re doing.
This reminds me of another question that I’ve heard a while ago, so I asked Adam what he thought about it. The question was how important do you think doing or moving with intention is? Adam said that it’s a lot different from doing something just for the sake of doing something. He had talked about hustling with intention which you can find here, and he said that if you’re hustling, if you’re working, or if you’re doing anything at all, make sure that there’s always an intention behind the actions that you take. Make sure that you know what you’re doing it for and not just doing it because the world around us makes it feel like we have to hustle to get into the norm. You need to put intention behind your actions because otherwise, is it even worth doing?
