Prince & Bowie | What Authentic Actually Is
The soundtrack of my youth is now over. First Bowie. Then Prince.
I still remember sitting next to my red boombox. I was perhaps 13. Maybe 14. Fed up with the anodyne pop my friends listened to. Wanted some kick-ass drums. Some funky beats. Anything that was different.
On some random whim, I'd purchased a Prince album. Stuck in the cassette player. And was instantly blown away. A life changed in a moment.
But being a Prince or Bowie fan is not easy. They didn't let you sit still for a second. The moment you thought you'd worked them out, the music changed. The persona changed. The rhythm, the style, the look and the feel.
So you had to catch up. Change yourself. Poke your listening habits with a new stick. Always shifting. Sometimes comfortably. Sometimes uncomfortably. But always shifting.
And now that's gone. Forever. Their legacy is encased in stone. No new joys. No new ways to look at and hear the world. No Changes. No More Heroes. No more Diamonds. Or Pearls. Just memories.
But they have left us with a second legacy. A guiding map of how to live authentically. Which we should embrace lest it be forgotten.
- Don't let external opinions and ideas limit you
- Change yourself and let others catch up
- Question everything
- Invent new ways to do things
- Don't be content with narrow labels and specialisations
- Play with your identity
- Wear many masks
- Never let anybody else try to define you. It makes you small.
- Never let others understand you. It makes you conventional.
- Be ready to destroy your persona when it limits you.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY: Create and recreate yourself. Always.
Prince and Bowie showed us how to live creative, highly authentic lives. Merging private personality and public persona. Let that be a legacy to equal their musical one.
Sales, marketing communicatie, interne communicatie, managementassistente, officemanager, imago- en stijlconsulente
8 å¹´Well said! So we never forget them. For me especially Prince.
Married to Larry Wayne Church - Vocal Coach and Lead Vocalist at Vibes Duo and Vibes Band
8 å¹´Basically, be who you truly are. Thank you for this article.
????Dr. Lisa | Social Architect developing gifted women into leaders using a science + spirit mix. The Curvy Hustle? Sacred Success Path supports healthy leadership, relationships and woman informed enterprise.
8 å¹´This is exactly how I roll as a person and then as a therapist and then as a women's wellness company owner and now as a consultant, I teach the same idea of power by authenticity. I think these artists showed us to value the art of living, the art of creating a version of your personal brand of awesome in everything you are involved in. No matter how packaged for the sale, Every song was still their story with their feel so they could morph into any form, but still you saw them. I often try to teach clients "Do not be imprisioned by a title in the mind, Stay creative" but it must be while you Stay aligned to your core ethics . Do that and success across life comes easier. Thx for your share.
Uniting SA // Senior Executive Aged Care
8 å¹´Always a thought provoking & insightful read Dr. Richard Claydon . There are some things we can't do/be, but we can all be authentic - especially leaders.
Helping event professionals create outstanding attendee experiences through expert agenda design, speaker curation, emceeing and LEGO?. Event design from C$7k, Emceeing from C$2k, LEGO?SERIOUS PLAY? from C$1.5k
8 å¹´Could someone explain how taking on different personas is evidence of authenticity?