THE PERSON BEHIND THE PERSONA

Hey, hey, hey ,

When was the last time that I told you THANK YOU for being in my world? OMG, did you just the N word?

Oh NOOOOOO!

So let me tell you right now. THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF MY WORLD. THANK YOU for opening my emails, , and thank you for responding to them.

This morning a client put the name of one of my friends on her status, commenting that he was 'real'. and I thought, when was the last time you heard someone speak and thought, "Now that person is absolutely, undeniably real"?

In a world of carefully curated LinkedIn posts, Instagram highlights, and scripted presentations, authentic voices have become as rare as handwritten letters. We've become so skilled at presenting polished versions of ourselves that we've forgotten what our actual voice sounds like.

The Authenticity Crisis

We live in an age of performance. Every interaction feels like it needs to be optimized, every story needs to be on-brand, every vulnerability needs to be strategic. We've turned self-expression into self-marketing.

Have you seen the kids these days? They are always taking pictures then editing and photoshopping and I don't know what else. Trying to look perfect or cool or hit so many like on IG or tiktok. I can't keep up.

The result?

We're all slowly suffocating behind our own masks.

You know the feeling. That moment when you're about to share something real, something that matters, and suddenly that familiar voice whispers: "But what will they think? Is this professional enough? Does this fit my image?"

So you edit. You polish. You sanitize. And what comes out bears little resemblance to the truth that was trying to emerge.

I actually did the same with my first two websites :(

I didn't like them at all. They weren't me. But they were what the 'experts' who I had paid a tidy sum, said they should be.

But, here's what I've discovered over the years....

The Magnetic Pull of Authenticity

The most compelling people are never the most perfect people. They're the most honest ones.

Think about the speakers, writers, leaders or ordinary people who've had the deepest impact on you. I bet they weren't the ones with the most impressive credentials or the most polished delivery. They were the ones who had the courage to show up as themselves—messy, imperfect, real.

When someone drops their mask and speaks from their genuine experience, something magical happens:

• The room gets quieter
• People lean in
• Walls come down
• Connection happens

Authenticity is magnetic because it's so rare.

Your Voice vs. Your Persona

Your authentic voice isn't your professional voice. It's not your social media voice. It's not even your "public speaking" voice.

Your authentic voice is the one that emerges when you:

• Stop trying to impress and start trying to connect
• Share what actually happened, not what should have happened
• Admit what you don't know alongside what you do
• Let your values guide your words, not your image

It's the voice that says, "This is who I really am, and this is what I've really learned, and if that doesn't fit what you expected, that's okay."

I'm running Soul Story Retreat next month and so many people have told me that they've 'lost' their authentic voice or lost themselves.

The Courage to Be Heard

Finding your authentic voice is about having the courage to be known.

Because here's the scary truth: When you speak authentically, you risk being rejected for who you actually are and that vulnerability feels dangerous.

But consider the alternative: being accepted for someone you're not, living behind a mask that gets heavier every day, watching your real thoughts and experiences remain unheard and unwitnessed.

Which rejection would you rather risk?

Beyond the Performance

, your authentic voice has been waiting patiently beneath all the should-dos and have-tos. It's been there through every corporate presentation where you felt like you were reading someone else's script. It's been there through every social post where you wrote and rewrote until all the life was edited out.

It's time to let that voice breathe.

When you speak from your authentic voice:

• Your stories become unforgettable because they're unfiltered
• Your message resonates because it's real
• Your impact deepens because people trust what's genuine
• Your confidence grows because you're not maintaining a performance

The Space to Uncover

If you wish and have the time, come join us. Discover and strengthen your authentic voice at the Soul Story F2F Retreat in Portland, July 18-20.

This retreat is NOT about your corporate voice. It is about being brave enough to face your fears; to analyze your limiting beliefs; to come home to yourself.

It's about looking at who you are inside ... and who you really want to be. It is about taking the risk to be vulnerable... especially to be vulnerable to and with yourself.

The weekend will be hard, it will be easy. You will laugh at your own foibles when we show you all the other possiblities that existed for why that happened.

You will write the story that is on your heart. You will write the soundtrack for your life going forward. You will release your fears. You will step into your own power.

You may be like Kris from one of our previous Soul Story Retreats, who cried so much I wondered what I'd done wrong. Did I accidently hurt or trigger her? Then she shared,

"I created my story and it brought so many tears and hopes I didn’t know I was suppressing. Thank you again for this healing, cleansing and possibilities unfolded."

Maybe you, like Sharlene, will be sending me videos months later of you and your children dancing to your Soul Song.

Or, maybe you will be like Sidney and call me with the good news that you finally took the step to put yourself first and follow your dream of going back to school even though you're 'old'. And better yet, call me a few months later to say that you got all A's on your final exam!!!!

So , if your soul is whispering, screaming or banging down your door to let that story out

Reach out.

Book some time to talk with me here. https://sandrahamilton.co/book-zoho/ It's absolutely free.

Authentically yours,

Dr Sandra Hamilton

Cultivating Quiet Confidence & Lasting Power

Holding You Safe While You Heal

P.S.

Here is my story https://sandrahamilton.co