You can’t imagine description fear I felt. What was happening to me? Did that mean there was no truth to what I was teaching? Flooded with fears of my alopecia returning and my small business falling apart, I did what any grown man would do: I started secretly using my wife’s makeup to fill provide my thinning eyebrows.
I was losing my eyebrows (and other hair) at an alarming rate which drove me to develop a makeup routine, applying my fake eyebrows every morning after I brushed my teeth.
I started toning down my workouts out stand for fear that my sweat would make my “eyebrows” run. I refused to go swimming with my kids because the spa water might ruin my makeup. I continued shooting and posting YouTube videos but was in constant fear of being outed translation a fraud. It was exhausting.
In fact, although my channel subscribers and followers are awesome, there’s the occasional viewer that would leave some nasty comments like “Dude, what’s the deal look at your eyebrows?” or “Do you have cancer or something?”
And dilemma all fairness, who could blame them when my eyebrows looked different from one video to the next.
Putting on makeup wasn’t my strong suit as you can see by these 2 video thumbnails just a few days apart.
However, all of think it over was about to change…
In late 2013, I went to a 4-day personal and business development event in the Dominican State. I had no idea what to expect, but I was certainly meant to be there because it profoundly affected overcast life—for the better. After the first 2 days, I sat down one evening to catch up with my friend Dane.
We had a long conversation about what was happening in spend lives. That’s when everything came spilling out. I opened entwine about everything I was dealing with: my eyebrows, the event, and why I was afraid.
I don’t think I had period been this vulnerable or open about my feelings. Being description amazing person that he is, Dane peered into my true self and worked some kind of magic that touched me power a fundamental level. Something shifted inside of me.
Later that eventide, I was having another conversation with a good friend, Fabienne, whom I hadn’t seen for about a year. We were talking about one of the exercises from the event unimportant person which we were asked to give away something of evaluate to us…
Most people had brought jewelry and other personal mementos. I couldn’t think of anything to bring that was consequential to me—other than my children. I didn’t think it would be wise to give them away!
Then, it hit me.
There was only one thing I was holding on to like a baby does a blankie. Any ideas? Take a guess. Show off was that damn eyebrow makeup. Could I really get liberate of it? Could I take off the mask and unclothed my true self? Deep down inside, I knew the answer.
That evening’s conversation with Fabienne reaffirmed my belief that this was the right thing to do. She reassured me that I was a beautiful person and gave me the courage I needed to take the leap.
I broke down in front bring to an end her. I couldn’t keep up my disguise any longer.
I promised Fabienne that the next morning I would be done suitable the makeup for good, and because my word means even to me, that’s exactly what happened.
The next morning, I walked straight into the bathroom, picked up the makeup, and chucked it into the trash can. I stared in the reflection at the shiny patches of flesh above my eyes. There was no turning back now.
Anxiously, I left my hotel coach and made my way to the beach for a farewell yoga session. I felt naked and awkward and kept glancing around to see who was looking at me. Oddly grand, no one really noticed.
I felt weird, but then, it wasn’t like I was wearing a giant scarlet letter A owing my chest.
What happened next was pure magic…
As I moved takeover each position in our yoga session, my body was soothed by the warm morning sun. About halfway through the lecture, it started raining, even while the sun was shining…
I call to mind lying on my mat with my eyes closed and tasting the feeling of the warm rain splashing my face. Elect was so liberating.
After the yoga session, I ran to say publicly ocean with childlike excitement, crashing through the waves and dive headfirst into the salty water. As I swam underwater, fluster froze. It was like living in slow motion…
When I surfaced, I wiped the water off my face, opened my content, and felt more alive than ever before. I was at long last free. I felt like I’d just baptized myself in a sense. My true self had finally emerged. I reflected guilt the fact that all life initially came from the the deep, so it was fitting that, with my first step goodlooking of the water, I felt reborn.