Red pills, blue pills & nipple tassels.

By day, she’s a budding copywriter. By noon, she’s a princess at Medieval Times. And by night, she’s a go-go-dancer.

She’s Eveleena Fults. She’s building a brand identity & website to anchor her freelance writing services. And a few days ago, she wrote to me with a question — furrowed in a fear.

“I don’t know if I need to separate my ‘professional’ writing from all the fun writing peppered with boobies & tassels & unicorns & princess duties. If I post things related to my alter-egos, I might lose out on gigs from conservative clients & agencies. EEP! What’s a girl to do?”

On the surface, Eveleena’s question is very simple: Should I reveal my true identity — tassels & all — or a buttoned-up simulacrum?

But dip just a bit deeper, and we find a quiet call of distress: If I show the world who I really am, will I be rejected?

Her fear is entirely reasonable — it’s a matter of vocational survival. In entrepreneurial terms, rejection means more than a bruised ego — it’s a bone-dry bank account, destitution & failure. Your worst-case scenario, in full effect. Major euphoria killer.

But heeeeere’s the piece that hiked up my eyebrows: Eveleena is worried about being rejected by “conservative clients & agencies.”

And so, I posed a question of my own:

Eveleena — Mistress of the Night, Lord of the Tassels, Pro-Princess Extraordinaire & Glitter Fiend Without Parallel — are you SURE you want to work with ‘conservative’ clients, in the first place?

Take the blue pill (and ditch the tassels) . . . and spend your days in a carbon-copy corporate vortex, on conference calls with marketing reps & banking companies, dissecting & rewording the fine print on the latest Visa super-platinum-ultra-deluxe credit card offer.

Or, take the red pill (and keep the tassels) . . . and spend your days jamming with creative entrepreneurs & quirky start-ups, weaving stories & ethical-powerhouse sales language & brilliant social media blurbs that make your toes wriggle with glee.

And the red pill has some delicious side effects, to boot. Namely: a richer, more rewarding life. RABID fans who adore your vulnerability, lack of pretense & true-grit hilarity. A torrent of genuine, whole-hearted testimonials. And stronger, more durable revenue streams — because you won’t burn out in a pile of hot rubber & tears, six weeks into the game. Because you’ll be actively in LOVE with your work.

The moral of the story:
When faced with the choice to show the world your full, complicated, triple-talented, unmistakable self — or a hollow, sanitized, white-washed echo of yourself — the answer should spring forth, fast & furious.

Tell the truth. Tell the truth. Tell the truth.

And the people who salivate over your flavor of the truth will meet you right where you are . . . just as you are.

Oh, and lest we fucking forget:

Freaks have more FUN.