Authenticity is important in marketing. You need to let people know who you are as a person. You need to be human.

That’s all true in most instances.

It’s not true, however, if your life is a mess.

If you have so lost control of your life that you’re flitting from disaster to disaster, then keep it to yourself. It’s not going to help you build your practice.

For instance, if your spouse just left you, you’re declaring bankruptcy, and you’ve got a drug problem, then keep it to yourself. You don’t need to advertise those facts.

If you just got off the psychiatric wing, embezzled from your trust account, and tried to kill your brother, then keep it quiet. Don’t talk about it with everyone you meet.

I’m all for exchanging information with people you get to know. Trust is about self-disclosure, and it’s critical to building relationships. Self-disclosure normally involves starting slow and both parties equally disclosing. Self-disclosure does not involve revealing the most screwed-up aspects of your life at the first meeting.

Keep your mouth shut if your life is a disaster. People don’t trust people who can’t manage their own lives. You need to come across as competent personally and professionally.

Why am I mentioning this issue today? You can only imagine. Needless to say, I won’t be making referrals to the inspiration for this message.