Make the World React to You

By Justin Foster

Do you ever feel like a misfit in the world of leadership? Like you’re surrounded by conversations that feel hollow—clichés, platitudes, and endless surface-level talk? Meetings that drain the life out of you because they demand so much masking, so much pretending to fit a mold you don’t even believe in?

Maybe you’ve wondered if others feel the same—walking through their work lives like zombies, following scripts, saying what’s expected, and hiding their real selves. And maybe you’ve felt trapped in the same cycle, projecting the version of yourself you think they want to see.

But what if you didn’t?

What if you stopped pretending? What if you stopped performing? What if you showed up as your True Self—no masks, no polish, no apologies? What would happen if you let the world experience the real you?

Here’s the truth: it would change everything. Not just for you, but for the people you lead and the world you’re trying to impact. Because the business world doesn’t need your hologram. It needs you.

What Is Your True Self?

Your True Self is the deepest, most authentic expression of who you are. It’s the essence of your being—the part of you that exists beyond roles, achievements, and external validation. It’s not something you can construct or perfect because it isn’t created; it’s uncovered. It has always been there, waiting for you to remember it.

Psychologically, your True Self is the unconditioned you. It’s who you are when you strip away the layers of programming—the beliefs, fears, and habits imposed by family, culture, and society. It’s the voice underneath the noise of the ego, the steady whisper of your intuition, your innate wisdom. It’s the part of you that doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone because it already knows its worth.

Spiritually, your True Self is the eternal, unchanging core of your being. It’s the part of you that connects to something greater—a divine spark, a universal energy, or the infinite potential of creation. It’s the source of your integrity, compassion, and creativity. It’s the wellspring of your courage and purpose, rooted in truth and radiating with clarity.

Your True Self is free from fear, though your mind may try to cloak it in doubt. It is whole, even when life has fractured you. It is infinite, even when the world feels small. The True Self isn’t about becoming anything; it’s about being—fully, unapologetically, and unshakably.

The world often teaches you to hide your True Self. It rewards you for fitting in, performing, and conforming to expectations. But living as your True Self requires unlearning these lessons. It demands that you transcend the ego’s need for approval and embrace the uncomfortable but liberating process of being real.

In the business world—and life—the True Self is a revolutionary force. It doesn’t follow scripts or play by the rules of the system. It disrupts, it challenges, and it inspires. When you lead from your True Self, you aren’t just making decisions—you’re creating meaning. You’re not just managing people—you’re connecting with them on a soul level.

“Show the world who you truly are and let them figure it out.” – Shannon L. Alder

What’s a Hologram?

A hologram is the version of yourself you project to the world when you’re trying to meet its expectations. It’s the carefully curated persona built to fit into a system that values perception over authenticity. The hologram is who you think you need to be—not who you really are.

You can spot a hologram by its polish. It’s the leader who always has the “right” answer, speaks in perfect soundbites, and never reveals anything that might seem too messy or too human. It’s the professional mask you put on to avoid being judged or misunderstood. It’s safe, predictable, and designed to keep you in the good graces of the people around you.

But here’s the truth about holograms: they’re exhausting to maintain. Living as a hologram means constantly editing yourself—smoothing over your edges, suppressing your doubts, and staying silent when something inside you is screaming to speak up. It’s performing instead of connecting, hiding instead of leading.

Holograms thrive in the system because the system is built on control. The business world likes its leaders polished and predictable, and holograms deliver exactly that. They don’t challenge the status quo. They don’t disrupt. They don’t demand more. They exist to make the system comfortable.

But holograms can’t inspire people. They don’t earn trust because everyone—consciously or not—knows they aren’t real. A hologram might impress someone for a moment, but it can never create the deep connection and transformation that only the True Self can deliver.

The problem is that many leaders don’t even realize they’re living as holograms. The system has been conditioning them for years, rewarding compliance and punishing authenticity. Over time, the hologram becomes second nature, and the True Self gets buried under layers of performance and protection.

The good news is that a hologram isn’t permanent. It’s just a construct, a false identity you’ve learned to rely on. And the moment you decide to stop hiding, the hologram begins to dissolve, revealing the power and presence of your True Self.

How to Tell If You’re Leading as a Hologram

The system is so good at convincing us to adopt the hologram that it can feel like second nature. Here are a few signs:

1. You’re Obsessed with Perception
   You spend more time managing how you’re seen than focusing on the actual impact you’re making. You carefully script what you say, edit your vulnerability, and avoid taking risks that might make others uncomfortable.

2. You Avoid Saying What Needs to Be Said
   When a tough conversation arises, you water it down. You choose words that won’t offend instead of being honest and direct. The fear of backlash keeps you silent or vague.

3. Your Actions Feel Misaligned with Your Values
   You say you stand for certain values, but when push comes to shove, you find yourself making decisions that contradict them. It’s not intentional—it’s the pull of the system keeping you in check.

4. You Feel Exhausted by Leadership
   Living as a hologram is draining. You feel like you’re constantly “on,” performing a role instead of being yourself. It’s not energizing—it’s exhausting.

5. You’re Focused on Fitting In, Not Standing Out
   You try to mold yourself to the expectations of your organization, industry, or audience. You prioritize being “acceptable” over being real.

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Why Your Ego Will Fight You

If you’re a leader who wants to live as your True Self, expect resistance—not just from others, but from within. Your ego will be your loudest opponent. It’s the part of your mind that craves approval and dreads rejection. The ego thrives on control and predictability, and the True Self terrifies it.

Your ego will try to keep you safe by convincing you to stay small. It will whisper that being authentic is too risky, that stepping out as your True Self will lead to failure, rejection, or ridicule. It will amplify your fears, conjuring every worst-case scenario: “What if they don’t like me? What if I lose everything? What if I’m not enough?”

The ego is a master manipulator. It will frame conformity as wisdom and disguise fear as caution. It will hold you back, insisting that you wait until you have it all figured out, until you’ve perfected yourself, until it’s “safe” to show up as the real you.

It will also weaponize your shame. The ego loves to remind you of your mistakes, your flaws, and your shortcomings. It will use them as proof that you’re not worthy of leading authentically. It will say, “Who do you think you are to show up like this? You’re not ready. You’re not good enough.”

Living as your True Self requires you to see the ego for what it is: a voice designed to keep you comfortable and compliant. But comfort and compliance are incompatible with growth, authenticity, and leadership. The ego will never cheer for your True Self because it sees freedom as chaos.

The work of leading as your True Self is to recognize the ego’s voice and choose to act anyway. It’s messy. It’s uncomfortable. But every step you take away from the ego’s grip and toward authenticity silences its hold on you. Over time, the True Self grows louder than the fear. And when that happens, you don’t just lead—you inspire.

True Authenticity is Energy

When your personal/leader brand operates from your True Self, it’s consecuente. That Spanish word speaks to alignment—when your beliefs, words, and actions are in perfect harmony. It’s not something you fabricate; it’s what emerges when you strip away the layers of who you think you’re supposed to be and let your essence take over.

When you lead from this space, people experience you in a way that cuts deeper:

• They trust you instinctively. People feel it when everything about you lines up—what you say, what you do, and who you are. It’s not just credibility; it’s magnetic. It’s the trust that says, This person is exactly who they claim to be.

• They feel a pull to something real. Authenticity is a tuning fork—it resonates. When you’re unapologetically yourself, you don’t just inspire people; you create a wave that wakes them up. You remind them what’s real in a world obsessed with the fake.

• They see your raw humanity. Perfection is boring. What moves people is seeing someone willing to show up as they are. When you drop the mask, you permit others to drop theirs too. It’s not just relatable; it’s revolutionary.

Here’s the magic: when you lead as your True Self, it’s not just about you anymore. It’s about everyone who’s watching, everyone who’s felt trapped by the need to conform or perform. You become the permission slip they didn’t even know they needed.

That’s what makes it a movement. When you live as your True Self, you’re liberating others to do the same. You’re not just living differently—you’re changing the frequency of the whole room. And once that shift starts, there’s no going back.