Book review: Will the Real You Please Stand Up?

Wow, this book spoke to me on so many levels that I could have written it myself. But who am I kidding? I don’t have such extensive experience and knowledge like Kim possesses.
The message of “Will The Real You Please Stand Up?” was definitely something close to my heart. I feel that authenticity means everything in the online world.
You could have dismissed her message saying that it’s naive, utopian, and that the guys with big bucks always win in the end.
However, I can’t say this. I started my first-ever online business in May 2013. I had zero knowledge, zero authority, zero skills, and no connections. But I was authentic. And I still am. My business continues to grows. I earned about $4.5k in 2014. Until the 28th of April 2015, I earned $5.9k. It works.
If a guy who hadn’t seen a webinar till November 2012 could do that, anybody can. It’s just enough to be yourself.

Confirmed by Experience

So everything that Kim teaches, I found true by my own experience. I’m far from viral success (although I managed to get my tweet retweetted by a rock star with 2 million followers―that day, my traffic increased more than 100 times).

I am a solopreneur, so I just don’t have time for fancy techniques on social media.

Your brand is you. — Jeff Goins, You Are A Writer

Time. Do you know how much time authenticity saves? I don’t have to wonder what I have said in the past and if it’s congruent with my brand. I AM my brand. When I’m authentic, it takes no effort to spread my message.
I work hard to one day be free from the 9 to 5 grind. Maybe then, I will be able to go bigger with my marketing. But if authenticity works so well when I have no time and resources to commit to my marketing, I’m excited to think what will happen when I will finally give it proper attention.

No Headache

If anything, I think Kim didn’t emphasize enough how much a headache authenticity spares you. It works even when you are not a nice guy/gal. I know an internet marketer who is simply a jerk, but he doesn’t hide it. It’s clearly visible in the contempt he emanates when talking about people who are “not ready” to listen to his bright advice. However, people still flock to him. There are people who like to think independently and there are those who like to be told what to think and how to spend their money.
Of course I also know people who genuinely care about their audience and it seems that more (and better) people flock to them. But the basic message of “Will The Real You Please Stand Up?” is not to be nice, but to be yourself.

I liked the book a lot. And do you know what the best part is? Those who will dismiss this message and keep trying to move their businesses forward using smoke and mirrors will be left behind in a short, few years. As Kim repeated many times, people are not idiots. Years of massive media attack on our perspective have made us wary and sharp in discovering duplicity.

I grabbed “Will the Real You Please Stand Up?” for a buck thanks to Buck Books service for readers. I recommend it for every frugal reader.