The people meant for you can’t find you behind a curated version of yourself.

I see it all the time, especially with so much of our lives moving online these days. People carry around two versions of themselves.

The one they show the world. 

And a truer version, they protect. 

We put on masks out of fear. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of being too much, or not enough. Fear that if people saw the real thing, they’d walk away.

Somewhere along the way, we decided that the edited version of ourselves was safer to lead with rather than our truer, authentic self.

So when people say to me, “I want to attract my ideal clients…How do I find my tribe?” I always go back to one simple answer.

You stop performing. That’s it. 

When you’re hiding yourself behind a mask, “faking it”, scripting every word, showing up as the version of you that feels “safe”, you do find people. 

But they connect with that performed version. 

And at some point, the gap between who you’re pretending to be and who you actually are becomes impossible to maintain. You end up attracting an audience you can’t be real with. It’s not only exhausting. It’s lonely. 

Your people. The ones who will actually stick around, refer you to a friend, read your emails, celebrate your joy, empathize with your failures…know the real, unfiltered version of you. That’s as true for your brand as it is for your life.

The other day, I was recording a reel about where I am in my business right now without a script, just talking. For better or worse, you can tell. 

In the actual video, there’s a moment where I’m trying to share something impactful a friend said to me, and I completely blanked on her exact words mid-sentence. And I just left it in.

That stumble was important to me. It’s human. I wasn’t trying to share a polished script to promote something. I was just trying to connect.

Hear me when I say, you were not made to stay hidden. 

The version of you that feels too raw or too unpolished is likely the one that will reach people, your people, in the most impactful way.

If you’ve been struggling to connect with your ideal audience online, this is your gentle reminder to take the mask off.

Your people are waiting on the other side.