I know you’ve heard me say and write about the importance of likability. As an entrepreneur, it is a key component to building business, referrals and a strong professional reputation.

But be careful, it is easy to get consumed by the idea of being liked. I remember hyper focusing on the one participant in a program that didn’t seem to be loving it or me. I should have been focusing on the 99% that were engaged.

Remember, you can’t make anyone like you. You can enable people to see what is likable about you. But should you change the way that you are in order to be liked by every single person? No! It was a hard thing for me to accept, and even though I don’t like it… I am okay with the fact that not everyone will like me.

In 11 Laws of Likability I talk about the “law of authenticity.” The honest sincerity of character itself is something that will boost your likability. It is, in fact, one of the greatest factors for developing likability. Which means you can relax, be yourself, and drop the attempt to please everyone.

Forbes outlined all the laws of likability as a part of an interview I did about the importance of likability in entrepreneurship. You can see the article How to Score on the Entrepreneur Likability Scale.

Be authentic. To be anyone but yourself is undesirable. People can see through an inauthentic personality, and it is impossible to connect with someone who is not being themselves. Keep it simple: be authentic, be real.