Six words can reroute a whole life: to be rather than to seem. We take that ancient nudge from Cicero and shine it on modern habits—curated feeds, polished personas, and the pressure to look “buttoned up.” Instead of chasing optics, we make the case for coherence, truth, and the kind of substance that outlasts trends and algorithms.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to Let It Be Easy with Susie Moore.
There is a quote that I love somuch.
It's just six words, but to meit is deep.
It is powerful.
It is aspirational.
Sometimes aren't the mostblindingly wonderful, powerful
(00:23):
things in the world completelysimple?
This is a quote from Cicero frommany, what, a couple of thousand
years ago?
My gosh, don't quote me, I'm notsure exactly, but this is a very
ancient quote that's beenrepeated many times throughout
history, and it's simply thissix words to be rather than to
(00:46):
seem.
To be rather than to seem.
What does that mean to you?
Would you rather be something orwould you rather seem it?
When you look around in theworld, when you look around
people in real life on socialmedia, are they actually being
something, embodying something,or are they seeming to be or
(01:10):
embody something?
This is what so much of life isabout, isn't it?
So much image management, somuch effort, time, care we put
into you know how we seem versushow we actually are.
Are you trying to seem happy?
Are you trying to seem wealthy?
(01:32):
Are you trying trying to seembuttoned up?
This is an expression that Ihear over and over again from
high-achieving women all overthe world all the time.
We want to appear buttoned up.
What does that even mean?
Does it mean that you look goodand you got your life together
and it's calm and not stressfulbehind the scenes?
And hey, you uh you also got agreat haircut over there, and
um, is that a new watch?
(01:53):
Like, what?
To be rather than to seem.
If there's anything that I'velearned, especially this year,
it's that I don't care aboutperformance.
I care about substance.
(02:13):
I don't care about performanceon my behalf or on anybody
else's behalf.
In fact, my uh my antenna, isthat the right word?
My antenna for even spotting ithas become so clear.
To me, it's really, reallyapparent what's real to be
versus what is seeming or whatis being presented.
I'm telling you, if you'respending a lot of your time and
(02:35):
energy managing how you look,you are draining your life
force.
If you're curating and putting alot of focus on how you're
perceived, it's pulling timeaway from you actually living.
And no matter how good it looks,no matter how much praise you
receive, you'll never feel thatreal relief and presence of real
(02:56):
internal coherence.
Substance matters, realitymatters, truth matters,
performance, who cares?
It's smoke, it's nothing, it'sthin air.
It might win attentionmomentarily, but there's no
trust in it.
There's no trust in it, there'sno depth in it.
(03:16):
Those of us who are reallysuccessful, who achieve the
lives that we want, who get toexperience what it is that we
most deeply care about, we aresimply the most rooted in what
matters.
So if we even pose this as aquestion from Cicero, to be
rather than to seem, would yourather be or would you rather
(03:40):
seem?
And think about it, it can be inbig ways, it can be small ways.
How does this apply to your lifetoday?
Until tomorrow, my friends.
So much love and ease.
Hey friend, I've got somethingreally cool for you.
I want to give you free accessto my signature course called
(04:02):
Slay Your Year, which typicallysells for$997.
You can check it out, all thedetails at SlayYourYar.com.
All you have to do to get accessis leave me a review, leave a
review of this podcast on ApplePodcasts, take a snapshot of it,
and send it to info atsusymour.com.
(04:23):
That's info at susie more.com,and we'll get you set up with
access.
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