As I was going through my daily reads this morning, I read a post by Seth Godin on Web 4.0. He painted a picture where our actions could be anticipated by machines after they have been trained by our habits. All prefaced by us becoming more transparent. Pretty scary stuff, until I read the second to last paragraph:

This stuff creeps some people out. The thing is, privacy is an illusion. You think you have privacy, but the video surveillance firms and your credit card company disagree. If we’re already on camera, we might as well get some benefits from it. If we choose.

And it’s true, the information that I’m fighting so hard to protect is already out there. So what am I really so afraid of? Last year, I made the decision to step into my purpose and begin speaking publicly and writing to publish. The direction came to me over 3 years ago and I shyed away from it. At the core, my reason was that I was afraid of coming under scrutiny. I was hesitant to put my picture on the site for the same reason.

Many of us in the web world started here because it seems anonymous. Even though you might have a very personal site, like a blog, you still somehow feel buffered from someone really finding you.

The thing is, if you’re on the web to really build something, or spread an idea, you have to come out of obscurity. The same is true in real life. You have to start putting yourself out there. You have to become transparent. You have to push past the fear of being exposed.

Being transparent isn’t such a bad deal. In fact, it’s very freeing. It will, however, require you to live with integrity. Integrity, not perfection. Integrity means that you are honest with yourself and with others. It means that you recognize that you have flaws and strengths, it does not mean that you cover your flaws with your strengths. You allow them to show through with everything else.

One of my favorite people on the web is the approachability guy, Scott Ginsberg. This guy walks around in a nametag all day long. Everyone who meets him knows who he is immediately. One Google and his whole history comes up.

Going a bit deeper, this living in obscurity is not just a hindrance for folks like me. The same thing that would keep me from being a public speaker, might be keeping you from becoming a 3rd grade teacher or a river guide. You would have to expose yourself: your True Self, and your personality. Your skills, talents, motivations, and intent would come under scrutiny. Or would it? And what if it does?

Are you holding back from complete transparency because you are afraid of what is within you?

In Spirit,
Nneka