The other day I found this article titled “10 Behaviors of Genuine People.” When I scanned it, I knew I needed to read it more deeply, then share here my thoughts on what it had to say.

My brand is all about being authentic, about unveiling your true self and sharing it, through your work, with the world. Authentic people are genuine. But are they perfect? The list of attributes discussed in the article are thus:

1. They don’t seek attention.
2. They’re not concerned with being liked.
3. They can tell when others are full of it.
4. They are comfortable in their own skin.
5. They do what they say and say what they mean.
6. They don’t need a lot of stuff.
7. They’re not thin-skinned.
8. They’re not overly modest or boastful.
9. They’re consistent.
10. They practice what they preach.

How many of those do you have? How many do you fall short of? I’m thinking that if you’re human, then you’re going to fall short on many, if not all, of these things once in awhile. So here’s my take on that list.

1. Attention-seeking.
We all need attention, but it is the neediness that detracts from your genuine authenticity. I believe that authentic people understand their strengths, stand in their power and trust that those who need to pay attention inevitably will. They don’t push for it.

2. Indifferent to being liked
Genuine, authentic people Own their Awesome in their relationships with others. They don’t feel the need to change who they are in order to be liked. They are who they are. You like them or you don’t — its all good. This one, I believe, comes with maturity. That said, I also know, when you like someone it is hard to find out they don’t like you.

3. BS-Meter
Personally, I know I can be somewhat naive and gullible at times, and that my brain chemistry is behind that. I have ADD, which means my brain is wired differently than the average person and therefore I am often challenged around picking up social cues. That doesn’t mean I’m not genuine. If genuine means “actual, real, sincere, honest” then I believe that you can be genuinely, actually, sincerely and honestly bad at picking up people’s BS.

4. Comfortable in their own skin
This one I agree with. When you are uncomfortable in who you are, you are apt to throw up walls, masks and veils to hide who you really are. I’ve seen this in many people and it always makes me sad. Of course, am I always comfortable in my own skin? No! I’m human and sometimes I wish things about me were different. But I do my best to own my flaws and work toward fixing or de-emphasizing them.

5. True to their word
Integrity is very important to me. I work very hard to have my actions match my words. Yes, sometimes acts of God or humans or even hormones will make me falter on that path. But, I always let people know as soon as I do that I can’t do something I said I’d do. Do I still fail once in awhile? Yes, but on the whole, I’m pretty dependable and I believe that genuine people are, as well.

6. No stuff for stuff’s sake
I agree that genuine people don’t need stuff to compensate for whatever they feel they lack. Having a nice car doesn’t make you a better person. My take on this one is that if you are genuine, you may want stuff and you may have stuff, but you don’t need stuff.

7. Appropriately skinned
Have you ever met someone who took offense at the drop of a hat? That is disingenuous behavior. Genuine people are able to take “criticism” with a grain of salt and aren’t likely to over-react to the slings and arrows that others pay through. They have a healthy sense of self-humor.

8. Neither too modest nor boastful
Genuine people Own their Awesome, which means they know their strengths and accept their shortcomings, therefore they have no need to boast and they are strong enough not to fall to false modesty.

9. Consistency
This one is similar to integrity. You can count on a genuine person. They are predictable in the ways you need a person to be predictable: in their actions, words and promises.

10. Walking their walk
When you ask a genuine person for advice, you’re not likely to hear them tell you to do something they wouldn’t do … unless they think it is in your highest good and a fit to your personality. But they’ll be upfront about it.

The author of that article concludes that finding genuine people and being genuine ourselves is becoming increasingly hard. And I sincerely hope he’s wrong. Being genuine takes courage, but in the long run it is the best way to go. Anything else means you’re lying and have to keep track of the lie. And who really has time for that?

Now its your turn!
What do you think of my comments on the article from Entrepreneur.com? Do you agree? Do you have another point of view? What do you think makes a person genuine and authentic? Have a tips on how ot increase your authenticity and genuineness? Please share your wisdom in a comment below.