If you are authentic, people will forgive your mistakes. It’s a simple truth I’ve seen play out time and again in business. Authenticity builds a bank of trust, and that trust is the currency that gets you through the rough patches.
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Meaning
At its core, this is about the immense power of trust. When you’re real, you build a relationship that can withstand your inevitable screw-ups.
Explanation
Look, here’s the thing I’ve learned. People don’t expect perfection. They really don’t. What they expect is honesty and a genuine intent. When you operate from a place of authenticity, you’re essentially making deposits into a trust fund with your audience, your customers, your team.
So when you make a mistake—and you will—you’re making a withdrawal from a fund that’s actually got something in it. They’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. They’ll think, “Hey, they messed up, but their heart’s in the right place.”
But if you’re fake? You’re operating with a zero-balance account from day one. Every single error is an overdraft. And there are no loans for phonies. That’s when people hold a grudge, when they never, ever let it go. It’s not really about the mistake itself; it’s about the character they believe it reveals.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Relationship (329) |
| Topics | authenticity (101), mistakes (7), trust (147) |
| Literary Style | clear (348), memorable (234) |
| Emotion / Mood | honest (52) |
| Overall Quote Score | 79 (243) |
Origin & Factcheck
This gem comes straight from marketing guru Seth Godin in his 2005 book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. It’s a US publication, and it’s often misattributed to other self-help or business figures, but the source is definitively Godin.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Seth Godin (100) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World (57) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Seth Godin writes and teaches about marketing, leadership, and creative work. After earning an MBA from Stanford, he founded Yoyodyne, sold it to Yahoo!, and later launched ventures like Squidoo and the altMBA. He has authored bestsellers such as Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, Tribes, Linchpin, and This Is Marketing. He posts daily at seths.blog and speaks globally about making work that matters. If you’re starting with the Seth Godin book list, expect insights on trust, storytelling, and shipping creative projects that change culture.
| Official Website | Facebook | X
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | If you are authentic, people will forgive your mistakes. If you are fake, they will never forget them |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2005; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591841009; Last edition: Portfolio Penguin 2012; Number of pages: 240. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 16: Authenticity, page 159, 2012 edition |