Being Yourself.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about being yourself.

The choice of the word "makeup" used in today's fortune is accurate, but may be misleading for the casual observer. When I first considered the word "makeup," I thought of the hours I spent sitting backstage being "done up" for whatever character I was playing at the time. As the makeup artist worked her wonders, I was suddenly transformed from regular Myles into Jonathan Hale, for example, a man of more than twice my age, from Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." When I looked in the mirror, I had become someone new. I changed my posture, I altered my gait, and every night, I walked on stage pretending to be the very well-respected, Harvard-educated Reverend Hale.

The makeup helped me pretend, but after my final bow, and after the curtains remained closed, what had been Hale was washed from my face, and Myles would once again emerge from behind the facade. That may be all well and good, but I believe today's fortune offers an opposite meaning for the word "makeup."

Today's fortune is talking about something that is born from within. Your "makeup," in this case, is foundational to who you are. You may choose to ignore, cover, or downplay your natural abilities, but you are probably only tricking yourself. Most everyone around you can see what you're capable of, and they are waiting for you to let it shine in the second act. It may be easier to pretend you're someone else, but we're all waiting for your Jonathan Hale facade to be washed away and for you to reveal who you are truly meant to be. As today's fortune says, "Executive ability is prominent in your makeup." Bravo! Will you let it show?