(Björk, one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of 2015.”)

Björk was recently honored by Time magazine as one of The 100 Most Influential People of 2015. In her interview she mentions, “If you are really true to yourself and really follow your intuition in the most rigorous way, there is a moment that becomes universal, that reaches everybody.” I find this to be such a profound statement. It also happens to be a re-occurring theme in my life at the moment. Just a few weeks ago, both myself and a good friend of mine discussed the importance of staying true to ourselves. I shared with him one of my favorite quotes, “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” Does this sound familiar? It is argued as to whether it originally stems from Bernard Baruch, Mark Young, or Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. Let’s leave that for the experts to debate.

I told my friend that when we are true to ourselves and do the things that matter, we attract the people that we matter the most to. On the contrary, when we do things to merely gain the attention of others, we tend to gain the attention of those who see us for someone who we truly are not. When we begin to gain attention from things and people who may not be in alignment with our best interests, we fall victim to the attention that we receive as opposed to what we receive it for. When we do things that matter, not only are we at our best, we are also able to give our best to the world around us. Laurieann Gibson who is best known for her work with Diddy, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga may have said it best, “Be humble and let your gift slice through everything else in the atmosphere.”

I believe that it’s time for us to start giving our best. Within following our intuition and doing what matters exists a certain level of courage and fortitude. It takes a lot to step up and speak out. Whether it’s mentally, physically, or both. It’s time that we become as breathtakingly true to ourselves as we can possibly be. We owe this much to both ourselves and the greater world at large. Be great, be proud, do what’s different, do what matters!