Out of the Crowd

DISTINGUISHED BY AN AUTHENTIC IDENTITY “Authenticity is about being true to who you are.” - Michael Jordan There is nothing so powerful and a key enabler for one to stand out of the crowd like having an authentic identity. Our identities are shaped by a number of factors, including the environment. I know of a person today who is regarded as one of the greatest business leaders in East Africa because he seized an opportunity and bought shares in a company that was winding up because he was the accountant of that company at the time. Being part of that environment exposed him to the opportunity and today, he is a billionaire because he was within the circle of that environment. At the geopolitical level, nations strive to stand out through the unique identity of their citizens, and spend millions of dollars annually to ratify, validate, document, formalize and even celebrate those identities through issuance of passports, national identification cards and marking of national days. American author Richard Grant observed that, “The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” Identity is so important that it is ingrained in the very fabric of our existence and within our DNA that we all seek to be identified, so much that not being identified leaves us hanging in the balance, without any foundation with a possibility of falling into oblivion. Identity is as important as life itself and the purpose that life holds for us is that if one is not by the basic form being named, then they are nonexistent. In all societies in the world, when a child is born, the parents – and sometimes the communities - select a name for the child carefully because it is that name that would constitute the first form of the child’s identity as a person. Some communities celebrate and throw parties for child-naming, recognizing the importance of providing an identity for the newborn. The significance of identity manifests in how some people with particular identities get to enjoy certain rights, privileges and distinguishable lifestyle. Having a name is one thing, but having a good one is everything. Proverbs 22:1 says that, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” This essentially means that we should put more premium on a good reputation instead of riches. You should thus treasure your identity more. And an authentic identity is a precious value-add, where your treasure is priceless and exceeds the restrictions of artificial cost estimations. This is because the true worth is determined by the owner (of the reputation), who has the leeway to go beyond limitations, to never settle for less, to stand up and be counted, to step out of the crowd, to become the point of reference, and to unleash their tenacious agility and consistency, and thus become the yardstick for greatness. For someone to stand out of the crowd, one has to display their true default uniqueness and authentic identity. The American writer and behavioural scientist Steve Maraboli advised that: “Live authentically. Why would you continue to compromise something that's beautiful to create something that is fake?” Identities that are not authentic force people to conform to the crowd. They become so deeply occupied and absorbed by the crowd that they are almost impossible to recognize. What the world needs is the real, people and things that are genuine, not fakes or counterfeits. Having a unique and authentic identity is a prerequisite for standing out. It is the default setting for all people who are outstanding. One of the universal and fundamental needs of a human is to belong to something. In pursuit of an identity, people go to the lengths of being identified with particular groups of people. This may involve a decision to join gangs, clubs, societies, affiliations and associations, the intention of which is to belong and be identified with something or a particular group of people. In my school days, there was this particular group of boys who were notorious for sagging their uniform shorts and this became their signature brand. They got a wide following and soon the school administration took note and banned the sagging of shorts. Boys were sold on the fad of sagging shorts because they considered it to be cool. The school administration even had to appoint specific teachers to root out all the boys who were ‘balancing’ their shorts. That’s how they referred to the style at the time. The innate desire to belong drives us to subscribe to something that affirms our ‘being part of something.’ This aspiration drives us to seek to fit in. The moment one fits in, they then subscribe to the average commonly acceptable way of doing things in that particular place and most times, this leads to getting stuck in the paradox of being the average that a particular crowd has to offer. But you need to subscribe to something higher. The purpose of this book is to give you a life-changing insight into standing out of the crowd. There are three important questions that you need to ask to understand your authentic identity: i. Who am I? ii. Why am I here? iii. Where am I headed?