The secret sauce of finding, freeing and following your passion is being true to your authentic self. You have to be an original YOU to achieve success on your terms. German duo Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, aka Milli Vanilli, had a debut hit album with Girl You Know It’s True which earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and their career soared during the ’80s and ’90s.

However, longevity was not in the music industry stars for the duo. It was revealed that Morvan and Pilatus did not actually sing any of the vocals heard on the record. The real singers behind the Milli Vanilli hits were female backup singers Jodie Rocco and Linda Rocco along with male leads Brad Howell, Charles Shaw and John Davis.  The Milli Vanilli success train succumbed to its own disingenuine design.

When you try to be someone you’re not, eventually the synthetic, albeit perhaps societally compliant, side of you ends up wearing the emperor’s clothes. French philosopher, author and journalist Albert Camus offers this advice:

“But above all, in order to be, never try to seem.”

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