{"id":450,"date":"2015-01-23T03:14:52","date_gmt":"2015-01-23T03:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/?p=450"},"modified":"2015-01-23T03:14:52","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T03:14:52","slug":"authenticity-to-be-rather-than-to-seem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/?p=450","title":{"rendered":"Authenticity: To Be Rather Than To Seem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Esse Quam Videri — To Be Rather Than To Seem
\n— State Motto of North Carolina<\/em><\/p>\n

As the father of sons born in the ’90’s\u00a0here’s what I see: \u00a0If there’s one word that seems to epitomize the values of the Millennial cohort it is authenticity. \u00a0In contrast to the Generation X and Baby Boom cohorts, Millennials have been marketed to since they were babies. \u00a0As much a reaction to sales pitches as to their parents’ emphasis on productivity, MIllennials’ show their commitment to\u00a0authenticity in the following ways:<\/p>\n

\"Les<\/a>

Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby!<\/p><\/div>\n

No\u00a0labels<\/strong> – Millennials as a rule don’t wear alligators, polo ponies or logos on their clothes. \u00a0Many prefer to shop in vintage clothing, consignment and thrift shops. \u00a0Some of this may be an economic necessity resulting from the job opportunities available to them (thanks, Mr. President!), but it is also a way of signifying their\u00a0rejection of hype\u00a0and embrace of\u00a0individual expression.<\/p>\n

Beards, boots and bow ties<\/strong> – The fashion preferences of Millennial men in this part of the world tend to emphasize utility with a touch of old-school formality. \u00a0There doesn’t appear to be one must-have boot brand, or one preferred type of facial hair (except for the women!), or even universal acceptance of bow ties or suspenders, but many young adults are embracing a clothing aesthetic that seems more functional and austere while remaining informal. \u00a0No shoulder pads or power suits for them.<\/p>\n

Analog, yet digital<\/strong> — The vinyl LP had its most significant comeback thanks to the Millennials who drove demand. \u00a0In spite of the scratches, records really do sound better. \u00a0And when it’s time to make music, Millennials cover the entire spectrum from loops and beats created entirely on computers, to tube amplifiers and analog effects.<\/p>\n

Local<\/strong> – Craft brews, farm-to-table produce, clean eating and avoiding chain stores and restaurants are all part of the world of Millennials. \u00a0If a fast food or quick service restaurant is in the rotation, it’s more in the line of a working man’s establishment — a Waffle House or a regional chain — than the global giants.<\/p>\n

Do it yourself<\/strong> — From fixed gear bicycles to the maker movement, Millennials have a refreshing willingness to create their own products, and they take justifiable pride in what they can make. \u00a0Nobody has taken greater advantage of the internet in all its forms — a decidedly mixed blessing.<\/p>\n

Independent<\/strong> — From their music, to art, to their Spotify playlists, Millennials embrace authenticity by supporting boutique operations. \u00a0Become too successful — too well-known by too many (or worse, by their parents) — and your fan base will move on.<\/p>\n

Open-source\/Barter<\/strong> — Millennials are the group that embodies\u00a0the saying, “Knowledge wants to be free.” \u00a0In practice, this has had seismic impacts on record companies and movie distribution, as Millennials have\u00a0bypassed a lot of the turnstiles that normally stood between consumers and products. \u00a0This is also the group that was willing to entrust its academic well-being to Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

Can’t Buy Me Love —\u00a0<\/strong>There are always exceptions, but it appears that Millennials are less\u00a0interested in acquiring wealth and status than\u00a0the Boomers and Generation X’ers that preceded them.<\/p>\n

Is it good?<\/strong>
\nAs a follower of the One who called Himself the Truth, I’d say there is a tenacious optimism in Millennials’ desire for authenticity. \u00a0Even so,\u00a0you can wear the clothes, love the music, support the causes and reject materialism while being less than genuine. \u00a0How authentic is the accumulation of “friends” on social media, for instance, without a small group of real-life\u00a0friends? \u00a0Similarly, I commend campaigns such as No-Shave November and the Ice Bucket Challenge, but to be truly authentic, we must go beyond merely raising awareness to actually getting involved.<\/p>\n

To live a maximized life, merge your\u00a0commitment to authenticity with an ethic of genuine accomplishment. \u00a0It doesn’t have to be motivated by a desire for profit, but profit isn’t wrong. \u00a0Sometimes you need money. \u00a0After all, even the Goodwill store has a cash register.<\/p>\n

TOMS Shoes and You
\n<\/strong>I have long admired the model that Blake Mycoskie<\/a> pioneered at TOMS<\/a> Shoes. \u00a0The company sells shoes and sunglasses and uses a portion of the proceeds to improve the lives of people in need around the world. \u00a0It started with shoes, and has grown to include improving sight and clean water. \u00a0This is a magnificent way to mobilize the marketplace to create tangible benefits.<\/p>\n

So how about you?<\/strong> \u00a0How can you yoke your idealism to real achievement to make this world better? \u00a0Add your comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Esse Quam Videri — To Be Rather Than To Seem — State Motto of North Carolina As the father of sons born in the ’90’s\u00a0here’s what I see: \u00a0If there’s one word that seems to epitomize the values of the Millennial cohort it is authenticity. \u00a0In contrast to the Generation X and Baby Boom cohorts, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11,73,2],"tags":[108,107],"class_list":["post-450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excellence","category-motivation","category-work-ethic","tag-authenticity","tag-millennials"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=450"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":597,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450\/revisions\/597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}