You're not wrong

All the years I spent feeling wrong. Oh, man.

I felt like there was definitely something wrong with me, and I needed to be more like ... anybody successful, honestly.

I remember one time I was in Amsterdam with my wife, and we went to this shoe store to shop for her.

The store was small, but it looked pretty cool.

What was my first thought?

I want to be the owner of this store.

Why?

Did I know who he or she was?

Nope!

Did I know the first thing about that person?

Nothing at all. Wasn't even in the store that day (that I knew of).

I just wanted to be ANYONE but me.

Well, not anyone exactly.

But anyone with any signs of outward success.

I mean, this person could be a crack addict or a million dollars in debt. Or both!

I literally had no idea.

And yet, I'd rather be that mysterious stranger than be myself.

Wow!

What a message that sends to my little boy, right?

Imagine having a kid, and that's what you keep telling your child every day!

"I don't want you. I'd rather have this person that I know nothing about, because ... they have a tiny shoe store in Amsterdam!!!"

No wonder that boy didn't feel loved.

Holy shit!

And yet, this is how we so often treat ourselves.

When we tell ourselves we're not good enough.

Not rich enough.

Not smart enough.

Not skinny enough.

Not man enough.

Not woman enough.

Not cool enough.

Not sexy enough.

Whatever your not enough is, it's wrong.

You ARE enough.

How do I know?

Because you exist.

What the fuck is this "not enough" idea anyway?

It's just a belief.

Is there any proof?

Can we really know that we're "not enough"?

Says who?

For what?

By whose standard?

It's nonsense.

So know that you ARE enough. You ARE loved. And you are WORTHY of love. 

In fact, you're worthy of ALL the love in the world.

(Hint: You ARE all the love in the world.)

If I could go back and tell that 30-year old version of me how much I love him, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

But I can't.

But I can tell you, today, that I love you.

And that you are everything you need to be.

And that everything is going to turn out okay.

Love yourself. Believe in yourself. And do the work.

PS. I wrote a blog post with some specifics on how to do this. See if you like it.