Beyond The Cult of Personality

There is an unspoken divide going on amongst coaches, healers, therapists and all kinds of personal development teachers. 

It’s a divide between the known and the unknown. 
Between the popular and the brilliant. 
Between the charismatic and the quietly phenomenal. 

It’s a divide created by clients who don’t trust their own choices. And it’s a divide created by those who seek popularity by any means possible, even at the expense of their clients. This divide has created an industry where it’s hard to know who to trust and who can actually deliver what you’re seeking.

When popularity becomes more important than being true to who you are, promises become empty and chaotic. 

The cult of personality has been created in the dying breaths of a competitive old-fashioned dog-eat-dog world that doesn’t value integrity or originality. 

It’s a popularity crafted in telling half-truths and manipulating words and images in feel-good, shallow ways. 

"It’s a popularity that means the voices of some of the most brilliant leaders in the world are being drowned out in the noise."

When you look more deeply you’ll begin to notice the difference between popular and brilliant. In a decade that has seen the explosion of social media, popular has become a euphemism for being great at marketing. Brilliance is mostly far less obvious. 

WHO ARE YOU CHOOSING?

Look at the last five services you purchased. Did you choose them because they were popular and well-known? Or did you choose them for their brilliance and ability to bring ease and awareness to your exact situation?  Did they live up to your expectations? Did they live up to their promises? 

Why am I having this conversation? 

Because I’m tired of watching people pay outrageous prices for over-hyped rubbish. I’m tired of watching unscrupulous ‘leaders’ steal clients and intellectual property from creative leaders in dishonest and destructive ways. I’m tired of hearing about people backstabbing the leaders that they learned from.

If you are a leader - be one that offers integrity along with your genius. 

If you are seeking leadership, seek authentic co-creative leadership and deep brilliance rather than popularity by getting on whatever you think the latest bandwagon is.

“If it’s popular it must be good” is one of the most pervasive lies of our society.

• You won’t find brilliant leadership by choosing on price (some of the best people I know charge the tiniest prices!). 
• You won’t find it via reputation (as that’s often confused with popularity!). 
• You won’t find it by being convinced in the face of your doubts. 
• You won’t find it in those who inanely repeat well-known sayings as if they are living them. 
• You won’t find it in those who make you doubt your knowing, your choices or your sense of self. 
• You won’t find it in the noise of the world - finding real co-creative leaders is an invitation to look deeper.

You find true leadership in the quiet spaces. In the people who have something different to say - who have had the courage to go deeper, embody their work fully, and who say it in their own voice, rather than parroting others who are parroting others… 

You find it in those who get on with living their truth rather than just speaking it. You’ll find it in the people who are continually changing (not just talking about it!). 

You will find it in those who are pure-hearted and great-hearted. You will find it in those who have your best interests at heart, even if it doesn’t mean money going into their bank account. You will find it in those who are genuinely kind, rather than just pretending to be nice. You’ll find it in those who seek for everyone to have a greater life, not just the chosen few.

Here’s a few of my favourite questions you can ask to become aware of what is true for you. Go with what feels light and expansive. Don’t choose anyone that makes you second guess yourself because there is a clunky energy that you can’t seem to put your finger on exactly. Take the pressure off - you have the space you need to get clear…

• Are they an artist? Or are they a con artist?
• Are they a leader? Or are they a follower pretending to be a leader?
• Are they being conscious? Or are they being unconscious or anti-conscious?
• Are they acting with your best interests at heart? Or are they only out for themselves?
• Are they brilliant? Or are they pretending they know more than they do?

WHY AREN’T REAL LEADERS MORE POPULAR?

You may wonder why the real leaders often aren’t popular. I can’t answer for everyone, but this is what I am observing…

Real leaders are more interested in doing great work than doing great marketing. They desire their work to speak for itself. (Watch for the marketers outcry here…and then, just for a moment, imagine the pleasure of a world without marketing!)

Real leaders doubt their work because they see so much rubbish being held up as the answer. Their original approaches and brilliant insights often go unheralded until a popular person borrows the idea. (If you’ve ever had that happen you know how frustrating it is!)

Real leaders are more committed to their integrity than their bank balance or Facebook likes or having their hair just right. They’ll show up how they are and tell it like it is, knowing it won’t be enough for those living in a world of pretence. And knowing that if they keep at it, the people who honour and respect their originality and genius will find them. 

HOW DO WE MOVE BEYOND THE CULT OF PERSONALITY?

How do we move beyond the cult of personality? As co-creative leaders we actively support and collaborate with others who are living as conscious leaders. As clients, we use our money to create the change the world is asking for by working with the best people, rather than the loudest people. 

We choose our supporters and service providers wisely. We allow our money to encourage those who beat to a different drum. We follow our truth rather than the empty words of the most persuasive around us. We fine-tune our bullshit radar so that it becomes impossible for people to lie to us. 

And we always ask “If I work with this person, will it create a greater future than the other choices I have?” If it feels good, go for it. If there is even a quiver of a clunk, ask more questions.

There are some things that have been on my list of skills expansion for years. Not because I don’t know anyone who can teach those topics. Because when I ask if they are the person for me, it’s more like ‘RUN!!!! The other way!’  

There’s no logic to this. There is a whole lot of awareness. Sometimes it is years later when I get the piece of information that makes me know why I had that response. Sometimes it’s instant. 

When you are making choices that go beyond the cult of personality, it won’t be logical. You may not be popular with the people who have been manipulating you into paying them more money for years. 

"Popularity isn’t relevant. Integrity is."

Reclaiming trust in your choices is the only way forward in the energies we are in. Once you trust you, the world is your oyster.

ARE YOU STUCK IN THE CULT OF PERSONALITY?

As for those stuck in the traps of popularity - it’s time to get real. The energies of consciousness on this planet will not continue to support bullshit. Whether it is one week, one year or a decade, your time is up so you may as well begin the journey into integrity now. The irony of your choice is that you do have something to bring to the world that is uniquely yours. When you seek that, rather than a fast-track to riches, you get to discover the true magic of you. 

P.S. There are a few marvellous beings in this world who are both popular and brilliant co-creative leaders. They are currently the anomalies. 

If you’d love more of these magical people in the world, support the co-creative leaders you personally know, who are not yet as famous as you know they could be. That’s real power in your action. Your choice always creates.