How to Become More Authentic Than 99% of Creators

For those who feel a disconnect between their business and their soul

You haven’t heard from me for a while.

Two weeks ago, I was about to hit publish on another article when the idea for this one came to my mind. I knew I had to write it, but it wasn't ready.

I was busy working on myself, and the article had to wait.

Authenticity is about honoring your process over the pressure of a schedule. It means aligning what you do with who you are. And that brings us right to the heart of this article.

In the creator economy, there are two games being played.

One is a lottery of guru blueprints and pre-packaged identities. It promises a shortcut to freedom but often delivers a longer road to burnout.

The other game is a messy, nonlinear, and deeply personal journey. Its only rule is radical self-alignment.

My last article was a reality check on the first game. I argued that for 97% of writers, Substack is a lottery, not a business model. But I only gave you half the answer to why I'm here despite the rigged odds.

Here is the other half. It’s for every creator who feels a disconnect between the business they’re building and the person they want to be.

It's the story of discovering that my successful business and my authentic self were on two different paths, and the deeply uncomfortable work it took to bring them back together.

The Beautiful Dream Come True

My journey into the creator economy didn’t start with a hated 9-to-5. It started after I had already won.

Three years ago, I sold my e-commerce business and turned my side-hustle branding studio into my full-time work. It felt like the best life I could have. My days were my own. I never worked more than six hours, and I was in a state of flow, doing creative projects I loved. And I used my freedom to work from anywhere to travel more.

The money was good and my life was comfortable. That’s the dream the "passion economy" is trying to sell. I was living the life people write glowing threads about.

In the quiet moments of fulfillment a crisis arose.

Not a crisis about pain or unhappiness. It was the feeling of unfulfilled potential. I was making brands look good. I was helping businesses become more successful.

It was good work, creative work, even fulfilling work. But was it the impact I was meant to make? Was I really fulfilling my potential?

The answer was a clear (and uncomfortable) no.

My business and my authentic self were drifting apart. This is the trap that lies on the other side of success. Think of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. You think the goal is to rise up towards self-actualization: fulfilling your potential, mastering your skills, living a life of freedom.

But only later did Maslow add another level beyond that: self-transcendence.

Self-actualization can be a solo journey. It can become its own comfortable, hedonistic cage. Self-transcendence is rarely talked about, because it’s hard to grasp if you didn’t experience it. It is a process of expanding personal boundaries and shifting focus from self-interest to a broader connection with others, nature, a greater purpose, or the divine.

I realized I had built a great life and business, but my soul was asking for a bigger story. That was the void I felt and it kickstarted a messy search for work that truly mattered.

Being Lost is Part of the Process

My search started with brainstorming. Fueled by endless (specialty) coffee and dopamine, every new idea seemed brilliant. This was my own experience of what I call “Exploration Phase” (or Niche Wide).

First, I tried to play the logical game: scaling my studio. I drew up plans to go international. Working against my own advice I told myself to position horizontally. No clear target audience, just helping them to build a purpose-driven brand and business.

I went to meetups trying to pitch new clients. I felt like an imposter. My background was e-commerce and my portfolio reflected that. Scaling would mean a bigger team, more management and distracting me from the work I love to do.

This was neither scaling, nor “re-positioning.” It was a new cage in the making.

So I pivoted to the next “great idea.” I became obsessed with the intersection of exponential technologies and purpose. At meetups, the idea sparked. People were interested, they gathered around, they asked for my contact info. This was a clear sign of validation.

But a quiet truth emerged: the idea was aligned with my passion and intellectual cause, but not my lived story. It felt like starting from zero, without my most valuable asset. I had no lived experience, no hard-won wisdom to share.

A passion is not the same as a calling, and I realized I couldn't build a sustainable body of work on intellectual curiosity alone

I was trying to teach a transformation I never experienced myself.

This led me back to my area of expertise. I decided to create an online course for e-commerce sellers on how to build a brand rooted in strategy and purpose. It was the logical next step in the creator playbook. Productize your knowledge.

The creative part was a joy. I spent weeks designing the sales page, lost in a state of flow.

Then it was time to optimize the copy. I knew the audience wanted tactics and fast money. I knew the "7-Figure" claims worked.

So, I wrote them.

An inner battle began. My true self screamed that this was not my path. I tried to rationalize it:

"I'll sell them what they want (money), and deliver what they need (purpose)."

I told myself I would just do this now and slowly shift later. But truth was I was becoming one of the gurus I despised.

That's when something dawned on me: If your work feels like a battle, you are serving the wrong people.

The right path doesn't require you to convince anyone. It's an invitation. And I had been trying to invite an audience that craved quick fixes to a deep, transformative journey.

I was going in circles because I was busy and productive, doing the wrong thing. I was playing it safe, avoiding the one question that truly mattered.

The Wakeup Call

The breakthrough didn't come from a business insight. It came from a confrontation with mortality.

I had a moment where I was forced to look at the finite nature of my own life, a story I've shared elsewhere. And in that raw, clarifying space, a new kind of urgency was born. The vague feeling that "something was missing" transformed into the answer I needed:

Do the work you were meant to do. Now.

Suddenly, the game changed. My search was no longer for a "better" business model, but for a more authentic way of being. The exploration was over. There was the path right in front of me. I just needed the courage to start walking.

And almost immediately, the universe sent a test.

A new client came along. He wanted high-end product photography as many clients do. I was hesitant but he assured me he was interested in the deep brand strategy work I loved. I took the project. My team and I poured our hearts into it, creating a beautiful, strategic and visual concept. We were proud of it and overdelivered.

His reaction: “The colors don’t seem to fit.”

He couldn’t articulate what he wanted. I was a philosopher trying to sell art to a day-trader. After two Zoom calls trying to understand his vague feedback, he delivered me the line I needed to hear:

"To be honest, I don’t care about the colors, as long as it increases my revenue."

This hit me hard, because it stripped down the illusion I was still holding on to. In that moment I finally got the lesson. Following your authentic part demands courage to make hard decisions. My authentic path required me to be willing to let go of anyone who didn't want to go deep.

I realized that no amount of money was worth the psychic cost of trying to force my purpose into a container that couldn't hold it. That unrewarding project brought me immense clarity. I was ready to make some radical changes.

How I Ended Up on Substack

During my exploration phase another project was born: Serapex. Back then it was lacking the clarity that I now gained. It was focused on my story but not my real calling.

First I tried to build my brand on Instagram, reviving an old Instagram account. I remember opening the app to post and thinking: "What the fuck are you doing here?"

A mentor told me that IG is now all about Reels. The thought of dancing for the algorithm, of creating 30-second videos about deep psychological concepts, felt absurd. I knew I wouldn't have the energy to sustain such an inauthentic practice.

Next, I focused on X. The vibe seemed better, more intellectual. But my feed quickly pissed me off. It felt like a global convention of imposters. Eighteen-year-olds selling life advice, "gurus" with bios bragging about the millions they "supposedly" made for clients. Everyone trying to sell a transformation they never experienced. It was a sea of superficial platitudes and trolls.

How could I build an authentic brand on platforms I didn't even want to use?

It was at that point I found Substack. Text-based. Focused on depth. A direct line to readers tired of the noise. It felt like the perfect match.

I decided to fully embrace Substack. No other platforms. No bullshit. Just a commitment to exploring my own story. And it felt amazing.

Real authenticity is less about what you do and more about what you refuse to do.

And it’s from this perspective that I want to offer a piece of contrarian advice. So many creators here talk about quitting the 9-to-5 hamster wheel. For most beginners, that’s horrible advice.

As I laid out in my last article, this game is a shark tank. The odds are stacked against you. Very few people are ready for that pressure. If you are one of them, pat yourself on the back. But if you’re just starting out, please don’t quit your job. Start on the side. Go slow. Build something sustainable. That’s how you stay in the game without being forced to make compromises that erode your soul. You protect your authenticity by not being desperate.

The Real Bottleneck Is Not Your Strategy

If there is one thing I learned in all these years in bussiness it is this: the real work was internal.

This is the lesson that took me a decade and thousands of dollars to learn. The basics of making money online are not that complicated.

The bottleneck is your psychology.

Your business is a direct reflection of your inner world. If you are plagued by self-doubt, your content will lack conviction. If you are terrified of judgment, your voice will be generic. If you are outsourcing your self-worth to likes and subscriber counts, you will burn out chasing metrics that will never fill you up.

The Guru Game thrives because it sells you external solutions. Funnels, tactics, growth hacks. But you cannot build a sovereign business on a foundation of self-doubt. You cannot create a life of freedom if you are a prisoner to your own limiting beliefs.

This is why my approach is different.

I'm not here to give you another blueprint promising millions. I'm here to guide you on the journey were everything starts: to become the person you were meant to be. Expressing yourself, living in alignment, and feeling the connection to a purpose larger than yourself is the most profound feeling a human can experience.

Your business is simply the vehicle for that life-long journey.

How to Start Your Own Journey

People ask me how they can start this process. My answer (almost) always points into the same direction: archetypes.

For years in my branding studio, I used archetypes as a strategic tool to help clients stand out. They are powerful for that. But my own journey has taught me that this is just the surface. Brand archetypes are an echo of a much deeper truth rooted in the work of Carl Jung.

Archetypes are not just a great tool for branding tool. They are a language for the soul.

The first step in building a business from the inside out is to understand these innate patterns that are already shaping your work, your fears, and your deepest desires. I had to go on a long, messy journey to connect these dots for myself. I want to give you a more direct starting point.

That's why I created The Archetype Navigator.

It uses the familiar 12-archetype model as an accessible and powerful first step into this deeper conversation. In 5 minutes, it will help you:

• Identify your dominant archetype: Uncover the pattern that defines your most natural and powerful way of creating value.

• Understand your "Shadow": See the unconscious patterns that lead to your self-sabotage and burnout.

• Gain immediate clarity: Move from feeling lost to having a powerful language for your strengths and a clear direction for your work.

It's free and it might be the most useful and affirming five minutes you spend on your work this week.

Your authentic path is already within you. Archetypes help you to read the map.