Be proud if what you bring on the table is truthfulness, being yourself, authentic personality and one hundred percent no influence from others. It is because being yourself and deciding for yourself is the most difficult thing to do.
95% percent of people around the world cannot stand for what they believe in because they do not really believe their beliefs. They easily became affected by what other people say, they follow gurus, instructors, senseis that they thought will make their skill or personality better. Their actions were based on reactions, they can't do what their heart tells them to do so. They need some information or outside influences that will fuel their beliefs.
They do not know that being yourself is already an art, it is already a teaching but a teaching that the teacher is also the student. You are your own teacher and you are also the student.
If you want to become an artist you just become one. You just paint, draw, sing, write or do what an artist do. You don't follow the crowd, you don't restrict yourself to the most basic techniques because some of the techniques were not pleasant to you so you don't do it. You create your own technique, you follow your own pattern and you never care if people behind you are saying that you are wrong. For you, you feel that everything you do is right for as long as you love doing it. You never do something that is against your feelings.
That is what being genuine is all about, you are very true to your feelings and emotions. You have your own style even if your style is not loved by others. You just believe that you are true, you do your passion everyday and you are not afraid if the society cannot accept you. You feel proud even if people thinks that there is nothing to be proud of about your work. There is a sense of pride in all the efforts that you are putting in. You have no time to think about if what you are doing is right or not because you love it and you will do it everyday no matter what.
