• Orange flavour or an orange?
  • Fake fur or real fur?
  • A pretend Christmas tree or one with needles?
  • Freshly ground coffee or instant? ...
  • Fake McCoy or the Real McCoy?
  • Sean Connery or any other Bond?
  • Athletico Madrid or Real Madrid?
  • Mr Whippy or Ben and Jerry?
  • Fresh salmon or tinned?
  • Olives eaten on hols in Italy or from Morrisons?
  • Home made jam or Aldi special?
  • A postcard or the actual holiday?
  • Fake tan or sun-kissed skin?
  • A hard-back book or a Kindle?
  • Genuine customer care or a have-a-nice-day smile?
  • Armani suit or tailored by George?
  • That ‘Harry met Sally’ moment or the real thing?
  • Abba or Bjorn Again?
  • Coca Cola from a bottle or Panda Cola from a straw?
  • The Serengeti or West Midlands Safari Park?
  • Blackpool Tower or Eiffel Tower
  • A trip to see Santa in Lapland or at Debenhams? (obviously, if you’re a child reading this, they’re both real!)

    • The list isn’t as clear cut as I thought it’d be. I started it thinking that the real thing is always better than the cheaper and/or fake alternative. And now I’m confused.com. Fake fur you see? It has to be better than real? Doesn’t it? And, cheapskate that I am, I quite like George at Asda. And I saw an Abba tribute band last summer and they were fab. And that Panda Cola sure makes me hyper!

    But my general point remains clear. By and large, the ‘real’ version is better than the fake. The genuine is more preferable to the pretend. The original more desirable than the cheap imitation. For sure, I’d rather have an original Picasso above my fireplace!

    You see folks, there are lots of things you can fake in life. In fact, I think you can almost fake life itself, living some pale imitation of the person you could be. 'The Art of Being Brilliant' is for those who are not content with being second rate. For some it's a gentle reminder to be their best self. For others it's a deafening wake-up call.

    Hello! Wakey wakey. Rise and shine! Time to be the awesome version of you!

    After all, who would you rather be, Superman or Clark Kent?

    Until next time

    A x
    There's a big difference bewteen a fake, so-called, Pan American smile and a geniune, heartfelt, Duchenne smile.
    See if you can spot which one this is...