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In July 2008, I did Robert's course ‘RealTime Speaking' which was a transformative weekend for me. It helped me embrace the word ‘creative' and my love of books and writing. It empowered me to start The Creative Penn as a business, and kickstarted my speaking career which goes international in October when I speak in Bali. So it is fantastic to have Robert on the show. He has so much to teach all of us about authenticity and being real.
For the past 25 years, Robert Rabbin has created an international reputation as a groundbreaking speaker, author, leadership advisor, and self-awareness teacher. Robert is currently the creator and managing director of RealTime Speaking, a profound and daring style of authentic public speaking and communicating based on integrity, self-awareness, and authentic connection.
Robert is also the author of 7 books and has recently launched the Authenticity Accelerator, a program in which he presents his 5 principles for authentic living, which is the culmination of 40 years of personal growth, meditation, and self-inquiry.
In this podcast, you will learn:
- How Robert has spent his life searching for authenticity, through 11 years meditating in India to speaking, coaching and writing books. He started RealTime Speaking to help people speak authentically.
- The irony of a template when it comes to authenticity. Don't follow anyone else rules as this defeats the purpose of living the genuine life you want to lead.
- Authenticity is about speaking the truth openly and fearlessly (truth with a small ‘t'). Robert has some principles of authentic living: Be present. Pay attention. Listen deeply. Speak truthfully. Act creatively. There is no content in those principles. It doesn't tell you what to do but gives you a framework for your original self-expression.
- Creating your authentic life in an adventure through who you are and how you develop. There should be no fixed self image as we all change and develop over time.
- How to conquer your fear of being authentic and what people might think of you. The fear stems from the thought that something bad might happen when we tell the truth. But actually, all good things come from telling the truth and being real about your life.
- Interpret people's opinions as opinion only, not criticism or judgement. You have the freedom to express yourself and be creative, regardless of what others say. Turn your hierarchy sideways and make it horizontal – so others are not better than you, but just different. [Personal: I equate this lesson to my own situation where I thought I had to be like Umberto Eco, but actually I want to write popular fiction. I struggled with the thought that literary fiction is somehow better but switching the hierarchy really helps!]
- Where is the boundary between being authentic and spilling your whole life online? Disclosure is the difference. Be aware of what you are sharing. Don't be inconsequential with your sharing!
- About being playful and having fun. Telling your truth is different to being right. Taking your version of the world less seriously helps with incorporating other people's opinions. You don't have to defend yourself. You can still be focused, serious and professional, but also be playful.
- Shakti as a force in the world, an energy that gives you the power to create and express. Speaking requires this energy and so does creativity, but it is more about channeling that energy that just depleting your own energy. Being open to the energy and focused present awareness is the key.
- Acting creatively is critical, not just focusing on your inner life. Engage with life and get your truth out there!
You can connect with Robert or purchase his books and programs at his website RobertRabbin.com and RealtimeSpeaking.com or Authenticity Accelerator. He is also on Twitter @RobertRabbin
Krishna says
HI Joanna,
This was a wonderful interview, thanks for bringing it out into the world. Robert’s approach to discovering our self is fresh and inspiring. Looking forward to following him (on twitter 🙂 and hopefully meeting in person sometime in the future.
Till then, having a bit of fun and enjoying what this moment is bringing :-). BTB, great to meet you at the Melbourne problogger session…
best,
Krishna
Joanna Penn says
Hi Krishna, I’m glad you enjoyed the interview and also great to meet you (albeit briefly!) at Problogger event. It was quite an overwhelming day!
Thanks, Joanna
Cheryl Schenk says
Hi Joanna,
I absolutely loved this podcast. It has only been the last couple of years that I have started to face my fears and to discover who I am and what I would still like to accomplish in my life. My goal now is to move forward as a writer, quit comparing myself to everyone else, and to enjoy myself as I take on new challenges. I too need to work on not being SO serious, and vertically sounds like a great way to look at the world. Thanks again for another great program.
Joanna Penn says
Glad you enjoyed Cheryl. Robert helped me so much with my fears, I’m glad he could share his wisdom with more people!
Annabel Candy, Get In the Hot Spot says
Love reading your story about how you got started in speaking and congrats on taking it international in October. That’s fabulous. It is ironic that we have to ‘learn’ to be authentic. I think it’s all about confidence and having a blog has really helped me with that. Sharing my writing and getting feedback in the form of blog comments is something I recommend to all writers. In fact I’ma bit passionate about blogging and believe all creatives should have a blog. I even wrote a guest post about it on LifeHack.org (don’t want to spam you with a link but it’s called 10 Ways Blogging Can Improve Your Life if you’re interested:)
I love that you’re embraced your name, come up with the simple genius of The Creative Penn branding and personalised it with your smiling face. It’s effective and compelling. It was great to meet you in Melbourne too and see that you’re the real deal – as warm, helpful and friendly in real life as you are online.
Fingers crossed that our paths will cross again soon:)
Joanna Penn says
Of course you can share links here Annabel! Here it is for everyone else!
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/10-ways-blogging-can-improve-your-life.html
Great to meet you too – and it was good to see so many being authentic in person!