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Of course, “acting” is not being. To be “natural” is to behave as though unburdened: an artificial state for any human.
Further, we assume “natural” to be associated with authenticity or sincerity, but acting natural merely parodies your culture by alluding to a false “normal” ideal.
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A commonality of Amazon, Google, and Facebook is that they began not as defensive structures but as open structures.
The challenge is to remain at the top: fending off all comers consumes too many resources and promotes closed-system paranoia. Instead, create an open platform providing potential for everyone (even if serving them also harms them). Users will cling to the meager benefits, become advocates, and protect your platform for you.
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You can give somebody, your children for instance, the gift of having somebody to spite, allowing yourself to be the target of animosity.
If we say "you can become whatever you want," we abdicate reality for dreams. This locates future failure inside of the person: if they fail, it is shamefully on them for not wanting or trying enough.
Can we reverse this? Can we offer the gift of realism from which overcoming is legitimately achievable, though producing short-term spite? And in doing so generate practical self-confidence?
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"Attention is rewarded by a knowledge of reality."
To be led away from yourself towards some alien thing is to encounter something independent of your consciousness. You cannot take it over, deny it, or swallow up.
(Quote and paraphrase of Iris Murdoch.)
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If you don’t know what reality is, how can you fix the world?
Gandhi says "Change yourself before changing the world," but you can change into a more deluded person if you do not see the world clearly first.
