Defining Your Authentic Self (according to Leo Gura):

Your authentic self is not who you were in the past or who you are presently; it is who you'll inevitably grow into if you encourage, motivate, and push yourself everyday.

Don't put yourself in a box and tell yourself that you are this noun/this thing; who you are is actually a process that is always evolving. Have faith that changes are happening within you all the time.

Your self-image is a bunch of beliefs you have about yourself; these beliefs have largely been installed through your upbringing-- a lot of people get very attached to these beliefs & feel that this inherited self-image is who they really are.

Your self-image has largely been shaped by influences outside your control; a lot of these factors are random flukes like noise in the system. A lot of people take this noise and say "this is me. This is who I am." and take pride in identifying this way. Resist the urge to be so attached to this method of identifying; don't cling to it & use it to limit yourself.

Don't use your past successes and past failures to define yourself; in reality, you are a limitless thing. Your potential life is so amazing, so vast... you can take your life in literally any direction you want; you can't even begin to imagine all the possibilities and yet they're all out there.

Your identity is literally a concept, and a concept is a figment of your imagination. Who you think you are is an elaborate fiction created by your brain, by your ego. What you'll eventually learn is that there is no Authentic Self, because there is no Self, period- what there IS is just life being lived; you are just pure awareness. None of your self-perceptions, negative or positive, are real; they're all just stories in your mind. Realizing this means you no longer need to feel stuck in life; you no longer need to cling to stuff & you no longer need to cling to your Self, so you get this sense of relief.

Your Authentic Self means that you are:

• Confident
• Assertive
• Disciplined
• Internally grounded in your values
• Emotionally stable
• Living with purpose and always working toward fulfilling that purpose
• Deeply passionate about everything you're doing
• Having zero limiting beliefs of any kind
• Believing (pragmatically) that you can do anything
• Having a high self-esteem
• Knowing that you deserve success and happiness
• Wanting to explore and partake in all of life without judging it
• Being fully self-expressive
• Not holding back at all for anyone
• Not being hemmed in by anyone's opinions of you
• Having zero fears; being able to tackle any obstacle or project without your fears holding you back
• Being 100% positive with no negative thoughts of any kind
• Seeing the world as a beautiful and amazing place & wanting to make it even better
• Being social & outgoing even if you're shy/introverted right now
• Being generous with yourself & others
• Being generous with the work you're doing
• Doing work that is promoting the good of other people & is making you feel fulfilled by seeing the positive impact it has
• Being selfless
• Not caring about petty problems in life
• Being idealistic and values-driven
• Being driven by higher consciousness; fulfilling your goals & dreams & working really hard
• Low consciousness = watching lots of TV, consuming junk food, living an unhealthy lifestyle
• Being healthy, lean, energetic, full of vitality and strength
• Being comfortable with your sexuality & gender identity (ie. okay with being very masculine/very feminine or anything in between)
• Being accepting of the opposite sex & able to securely partake in their energy
• Being genuinely open-minded; willing to at least consider any idea & consider that you can be wrong
• Having a sense of nobility in how you go about life
• Taking the high road in everything you do & all your interactions with people
• Approaching all aspects of your life in a noble manner
• Having noble thoughts rather than petty ones

Keys to Becoming Your Authentic Self (according to Leo Gura):

• Not limiting yourself by "that's not me" phrases and mindsets
• Perpetually pushing yourself to grow; avoid plateauing and stagnating
• High-level pleasures such as self-actualization
• Pushing yourself & conquering obstacles
• Living with passion
• Helping other people however you can
• Doing what lights you up
• Sharing your greatest gifts
• Know that being is a process, not a static thing
• You are not one single noun; you are constantly changing at every moment