Fighting AI With Authentic Humanity

​Seth Godin says, "It might be teenagers, competitors or that stranger down the street, but generous creative leadership always creates skeptics."

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT for its definition of "generous creative leadership".

The response was:

The willingness to offer your ideas, voice, perspective, art, or humanity to the world in a way that seeks to add value, create connection, or move people toward something meaningful — even while knowing you may be misunderstood, criticized, or rejected.

After reading that, I concluded that I've come a long way in being generous with my creative leadership. There was a day, especially with my writing, that I was unwilling to share the truest parts of me for fear of the response to me.

I used to fear people wouldn't understand me, or that my words would create too much tension, or that if my words made people angry then I'm suddenly the villain on the other end of that anger.

But I've come to understand this about my writing: vulnerable writing is not construction, it's invitation. My writing is about opening doors, not controlling how every person will walk through them.

I hope EVERYONE can come to understand that about their creativity. Because creative people often spend years editing themselves to avoid the skeptic. Until many stop saying anything true enough to matter.

I think that's important because I've noticed - especially in my own life - when you get good at editing how you show up in your creative life, it's not long before you start showing up to relationships with your edited version. You begin building connections with people built on avoiding skepticism at all costs.

I live with great freedom today. I show up as me. In my writing and in my relationships. And trust me, I have learned with some pretty strong emphasis that I am NOT for everybody.

I say that with a smile, because I have surely lived through the hell of trying to be FOR everybody.

In many ways, skeptics, pushback, even some occasional ugliness - it is reassurance to me that I am on the right track. It is testimony, I think, that today I am far more committed to sharing my heart than hiding it.

So today, my friends, bravely share your humanity with the world in a way that seeks to add value, even while knowing you may be misunderstood, criticized, or rejected.

Because today, more than ever, the world needs humanity that is not artificial.