# Remain Authentic in an Artificial Age

An episode of [The Daily Mastery Podcast by Robin Sharma](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1521068608), 23 Oct 2026, 7:38.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1182776/episodes/19978545-remain-authentic-in-an-artificial-age.mp3

I recently re-read Meditations by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius \[a book I often carry with me\] and I recorded this episode about a paragraph that truly spoke to me, for you to consider—as you optimize your game and escalate your life. I'm truly super excited over the upcoming release of my new book The Robot and the Gardener: Being Fully Human in an Artificial Age (Penguin Random House). It's a parable and it's different (by far!) from any book I've ever written. You can join the list here if you'd like to be among the first to receive any updates. FOLLOW ROBIN SHARMA: Instagram Facebook YouTube

## Transcript

This morning I was reading one of my favorite books of all time, Meditations by
Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius, as you know, was the benevolent emperor of Rome.
He was one of the finest leaders that great empire ever had. He cared about people. He
was heroic. He was a true leader. He was strong. And he was a visionary. And this book,
his meditations, is on the bedside table of many of the world's great leaders. And it's been
a source of inspiration as well as wisdom for me for so many years. If you haven't read it,
get into it. So I was reading earlier from a chapter, and it was paragraph 35 in that
chapter, and there was a line that struck me that I wanted to share with you today in this
podcast episode. And he wrote losses. Nothing else but change. And change is nature's
delight. Loss is nothing else but change, and change as nature is the life. And my point is,
change is the way the universe works. Change is the law of nature changes the essence of
a human life. And if you've lost something, it's really nothing more than change. And
another way to look at it is if you grew as a result of a loss, then it's not a loss. It's a win. I
want you to think about that. Often our egoic perception is, oh, I lost that. But if you grew
as a result of the quote unquote loss, then it served you and it really was a win. I think
ultimately, when you strip away all the accessories from life. Life is nothing more than a
journey towards growth in hot pursuit of your wisest self. It's really not about
accumulating things. Fame and fortune are fleeting, and all the things that we often chase, like social status and material goods. We can't take us with us at the end. And I think really, the whole purpose of the human journey is to grow and get to know, with greater intimacy. Your most heroic, wise, strong, masterful, loving self. With that, a few things to think about today. Number one, avoid the echo chamber. What a lot of us do is we follow the crowd versus staying true to our own leadership and our own vision. And
that's like being in an echo chamber. You think the thoughts of other people, you follow
these influencers, you talk like them. You wear the clothes they're wearing, you eat at the
restaurants they're eating at. And yet a lot of people, good people, are eating at
restaurants. They don't don't really like the food because they've never really thought for
themselves. They're just doing whatever one else is doing. So avoid the echo chamber.
All great leaders, all great history makers, all great human beings were originals, and
that's why they were considered different or strange or weird, because they had the
bravery and the wisdom to follow their own vision, to live by their own values and to do
them selves versus participating in the status quo. Number two, related to that, if you
want to follow, stay in your own lane and run your own race. Then the second thing I
encourage you to really think about is become your own best cheerleader and your own
finest champion. I remember listening to an interview and they were talking about Kanye,
and I think it was, I think it was either Bono or Bruce Springsteen went into Kanye
West's home and in his living room there was this massive poster of Kanye and the. The
guest basically said, Kanye's like, why do you have this amazing poster and this
humongous photo of yourself in your own living room? And he said, well, if I'm not
cheering for me, who is going to cheer for me? And that's a really, really, really important
point. When no one believes in you, that's when you most need to believe in you. I'm
going to say that again, because it's so important. When no one believes in you, is when
you most need to believe in you. Every visionary was originally ridiculed before they
were revered. The very nature of being a visionary. As you come up with an idea or a
product or service or a project that at the beginning is totally disruptive. So they call you
crazy. You've got to believe in yourself. You've got to believe in your dreams. You've got
to believe in your goals. You've got to believe in your heroic picture of your finest life.
Even if the world calls you crazy or your family misunderstands you, which they
probably will become your own best cheerleader. Third point I want to offer to you is
play along. If you're building a business, play long. Don't worry about how you're doing
just in this quarter. Think about how you'll be remembered 50 years from now. What will
your company stand for when you're building relationships with your customers? Don't
be shortsighted. Build a relationship. It's really, really important. The business of
business is relationships, said Herb Keller Heard, the founder of Southwest Airlines.
Take care of the relationship and the money will take care of itself. Play a very long
game. There are a lot of people. I've been in business for 32 years. I've seen a lot of
people come and go. The people who play a very long game, they they follow honorable
values. They build a great company. They only push master work into the world versus
superficial quick fix products. Those are the ones who last. And the final idea in this
podcast episode don't do it if you're not having fun. You know, a lot of people do certain
things, or they accept assignments in business, or they accept social invitations because
they just feel under the pressure to say yes. All people who've handcrafted, world class
lives are brilliant at the plate. No, don't do something unless it's going to bring you joy.
Life is too short to live for other people's needs and wishes. If you're dishonoring yourself
in the process.

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