{"id":50120,"date":"2015-09-03T14:48:49","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T19:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=50120"},"modified":"2026-10-27T11:41:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T16:41:22","slug":"podcast-135-keep-it-fake-on-inventing-an-authentic-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/self-improvement\/podcast-135-keep-it-fake-on-inventing-an-authentic-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #135: Keep It Fake \u2014 On Inventing an Authentic Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

The need to “discover your authentic self” has become an article of faith in the United States. There are thousands of blogs, books, and seminars that supposedly teach people how to discover who they really<\/em> are. But what if our obsession with uncovering an authentic self is getting in the way of living a truly flourishing life? What if instead of trying to discover an authentic life, we should be focused on inventing<\/em> one instead? Well, that’s the argument Eric Wilson makes in his book Keep it Fake: Inventing an Authentic Life<\/a>. <\/em>Today on the podcast, Eric and I discuss questions of the self that have boggled philosophers for ages and how thinking about ourselves as the authors of our story<\/a> can help us lead a truly excellent life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The need to “discover your authentic self” has become an article of faith in the United States. There are thousands of blogs, books, and seminars that supposedly teach people how to discover who they really are. But what if our obsession with uncovering an authentic self is getting in the way of living a truly flourishing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":195896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,156,42388],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-podcast","category-self-improvement"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/135-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/135-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/135-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/135-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/135-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\nPodcast: How to Invent an Authentic Life | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta 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