Truly authentic people lead with their soul. Along with fearless passion and courage, they possess relentless mental discipline.
The word "authenticity" comes from the Greek root authentikos, meaning "original, genuine, principal." Genuine leaders are not just the usual suspects we conjure up — the business chieftains, historic figures, and mega technology innovators. They are all around us, I believe.
Each one of us is born to make an authentic contribution.
Authenticity does not come from title, social stature, or the size of one's paycheck but rather from how we live.  It is about how we go about pursue our dreams in our own unique way.
Below are some of the disciplines and practices derived from my own experience and learning that may help you in your own journey:
FOSTERING INNER ENERGY
To be authentic one must be "awake," meaning you have the ability to understand who you are, what you want to be, and how you want to fit in the world. From Aristotle to Buddha, Rumi to Steve Jobs, Kahlil Gibran to Paulo Coelho, many revered thinkers and talents have said that the path to an authentic journey is to know thyself, guided by an inner voice.
But creating our thoughts, making the journey, ignoring the skeptics, and dusting ourselves off every time we fall requires disciplining our inner energy and drive. Often that energy comes from within.
Here are a few suggestions to foster inner energy:
1. Intend your destiny. Destiny results from "intention" — our spiritual will; something that drives us to do what seems impossible. It nurtures us with hope in our darkest moments, enables us to dream of better days, and resides in a place where we are destined to find our fulfillment. We need to intend to "go somewhere" and make a difference.
2. Be in the moment. In college, on my janitorial graveyard shift, I had a supervisor who used to remind me every night to "be kind to the floor, buff her carefully — and then see how well she shines." At those particular moments, nothing else mattered — only the shine on the buffed floor. It taught me to lose myself completely in an utterly mundane task. Being in the moment allows us to escape from adversity and conserve our inner energy.
3. Develop rituals. Mastering an authentic craft comes from uncompromising daily practice. Developing the discipline to practice the same thing over and over again requires ritualistic hard work. Observe a musician, athlete, or better yet a Japanese Zen monk who recreates his sand garden every morning. Rituals teach us to be disciplined, deliberate, and meditative. Create rituals for daily life that provide a path to practice mastery with positive energy.