Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken

Praise for Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken

"Mike's book is a wonderful expression of authenticity in action—clear, honest, instructive, and a passionate call to be your true Divine Self."
—Cheryl Richardson, New York Times best-selling author, Take Time for Your Life

"Mike Robbins provides a clear guide for intelligently and compassionately coming face-to-face with yourself and loving the person you meet. His five principles of authenticity teach us how to embrace and celebrate all aspects of who we are and what it means to be a spiritual being having a human incarnation."
—Michael Bernard Beckwith, author, Spiritual Liberation

"Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken is an empowering and refreshing book about how to be successful, real, and fulfilled in life. I highly recommend it."
—Gay Hendricks, New York Times best-selling author, Five Wishes

"Mike Robbins has written a powerful, down-to-earth, and insightful book on one of the most important aspects of happiness and fulfillment in life—authenticity. Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken will give you tools and techniques to enhance your life and relationships in a profound way."
—Marci Shimoff, New York Times best-selling author, Happy for No Reason

"Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken reminds us that God created each one of us for a unique purpose.?We live in a world where the lines between fake and real have blurred. This powerful book teaches you how to access and express the realness you crave in your work, your relationships, and yourself."
—Jon Gordon, author, The Energy Bus

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part One Why It Can Be Hard to Be Authentic 21

1 Don’t Step Out of Line 23

2 I Can’t Say or Do That 51

Part Two The Five Principles of Authenticity 83

3 Principle 1: Know Yourself 85

4 Principle 2: Transform Your Fear 115

5 Principle 3: Express Yourself 141

6 Principle 4: Be Bold 173

7 Principle 5: Celebrate Who You Are 199

Part Three Authenticity in Action 221

8 Living Your Authentic Life 223

Resources 233

About the Author 237

Robbins, the highly visible lantern-jawed motivational speaker/coach/author/guru (author of Focus on the Good Stuff), returns with a primer on authenticity: what it means, what it can do, and how to achieve it. A master of his craft, Robbins' guide is thorough, direct and carefully organized, with an understanding and enthusiastic voice. Beginning with the reasons we lose our authentic selves, Robbins enumerates the pressures to conform in family, school, religion, politics and the media, as well as the damaging messages we absorb, like "be a good boy," "calm down" and "shut up." Robbins explains how these pressures lead to self-criticism and fear, then how to overcome them through greater awareness and compassion for one's faults. With questions, exercises, action points and sound practices, Robbins provides a map to transforming fear, gaining self-knowledge and celebrating your authentic self, with a measured pace and a minimum of distraction (no sidebars, charts or breakout boxes). Readers looking for a positive, no-nonsense guide to self-actualization should find Robbins an ideal guide (Starred Review, Publishers Weekly) Mike Robbins is a sought-after motivational speaker and leader of personal development workshops and coaching programs for individuals, groups, and organizations throughout North America. He is the author of the bestselling book Focus on the Good Stuff and has been featured on ABC News, the Oprah and Friends radio network, Forbes, and many others. For more information about Mike and his work, visit www.mike-robbins.com.

Authenticity is the buzzword of the moment. "Be true to yourself." "Be your real self." "Be the person you were meant to be." The message is loud and clear. Or is it? There is pressure from all around (our parents, teachers, spouses, co-workers, friends, and the media) telling us it's more important to be liked and to fit in than it is to be who we truly are. We are also constantly bombarded with messages telling us that we aren't good enough and need to be fixed.

Written by Mike Robbins—best-selling author and motivational speaker—Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken shows how you can overcome your fear about being who you really are and accept yourself without a mask, pretentions, bluff, or fakery. This encouraging book will help you confront some of your own personal challenges with honesty and genuineness. It contains powerful ideas, principles, and practices that when integrated into your life on a regular basis can help you access a deeper place of truth within you. Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken will empower you to

• Confront and transform your fear

• Express yourself fully and confidently

• Deal with conflicts directly and resolve them effectively

• Take risks and go for what you truly want in life

• Keep things in perspective and have more fun

• Trust, forgive, and celebrate yourself

• Have more freedom, peace, and confidence in your relationships, your work, and your life

Being your authentic self is not for the faint of heart, but once you're willing to truly engage and do the work to become real, your life will be more exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling!

Praise for Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken

"Mike's book is a wonderful expression of authenticity in action—clear, honest, instructive, and a passionate call to be your true Divine Self."
—Cheryl Richardson, New York Times best-selling author, Take Time for Your Life

"Mike Robbins provides a clear guide for intelligently and compassionately coming face-to-face with yourself and loving the person you meet. His five principles of authenticity teach us how to embrace and celebrate all aspects of who we are and what it means to be a spiritual being having a human incarnation."
—Michael Bernard Beckwith, author, Spiritual Liberation

"Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken is an empowering and refreshing book about?how to be successful, real,?and fulfilled in life.?I highly recommend?it."
—Gay Hendricks, New York Times best-selling author, Five Wishes

"Mike Robbins has written a powerful, down-to-earth, and insightful book on one of the most important aspects of happiness and fulfillment in life—authenticity. Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken will give you tools and techniques to enhance your life and relationships in a profound way."
—Marci Shimoff, New York Times best-selling author, Happy for No Reason

"Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken reminds us that God created each one of us for a unique purpose. We live in a world where the lines between fake and real have blurred. This powerful book teaches you how to access and express the realness you crave in your work, your relationships, and yourself."
—Jon Gordon, author, The Energy Bus