Thread by @subomiplumptre

THIS THING CALLED AUTHENTICITY | @Beyonce is intelligent. You rarely achieve her level of success without being immensely so. That's why her perfectly scripted public persona puzzles me. 🧵

Almost like she has no mind of her own and lives on a perpetual stage. Like she can't risk being caught off guard. Even when rumours of @sc's alleged infidelity swirled, and a heated elevator video was leaked, her sister @solangeknowles did the fighting, not her.

Contrast @Beyonce with @justinbieber, a mega superstar in his own right. Whenever I think of him, I see a man who has finally come to terms with himself. He accepts it's okay to love Jesus, sex, booze, family, fame and fortune all at the same time.

He is sorting himself out and his audience is free to deal with it as they wish. He now dresses like a bum and owes no one an explanation. But, his fight for authenticity came at great personal cost. His battles have been obsessively documented. You can read about them online.

Why do we have to go through crisis to find ourselves? In my case, I reached a point where I was dissatisfied with being a "corporate executive". I was deeply unhappy and losing touch with my creative side in the midst of an administrative avalanche.

I was tired of being the angry black choleric who shouted at people. (I shared my story here: subomiplumptre.com/unhappiness.) And so, I found a better way.

To reclaim your authenticity, you need to develop a very thick skin. If you're accomplished, you almost view your achievements as being outside you. You never fully appropriate them, so you can keep your head.

You rarely view your possessions in terms of ownership. Rather you embrace stewardship. You mostly un-look online commentary & praise. Instead, you focus on feedback from constructive critics.

You surround yourself with equals and those who are better than you. Sycophants irritate you. You only extend trust to people who have earned it, and not just because you are lonely.

Finally, you take back your life from your fans. You enthrone freedom over money. You would rather give up some income for privacy and creative control. You can finally afford to. You choose to enjoy your wealth and not remain cocooned in a self-imposed prison.

Friend, fight for your authenticity. Because you will never be truly happy until you do. Express the very depths of your uniqueness. Shine like the star God created you to be.