The Barber Trials

In efforts to take charge of my presentation, I took time away from barbers with the ambition to become a little more skilled with a pair of clippers. A year and 30 haircuts later, I never thought that getting back in a barber's chair would be such an eye-opening experience. The search for a dependable professional left me with enough mental notes to compile into a concrete body of reliable wisdom.

Surface Level Components Matter

Substance is so important, but it does not work alone. It doesn't matter if it's a business with outstanding service or a woman with extraordinary talent, its accomplishments will be limited if its "ability" is all it has. Where something is and how something looks is undoubtedly important to consider. Placement and presentation can be hindering or helping factors that give your "substance" the stage it needs to shine. You always need to consider the means for gaining attention and facilitating access.

Everything Takes Building

If you truly plan to achieve appreciable fortune, you must seek strong foundations and not masterpieces. The finest treasures in life take time, energy, and effort to develop into something solid and beautiful. Whether it be a family, a business, a team, a brand, a close friendship, or even a legacy, you will have to invest if you hope to have one of your own. One must have an eye for potential and a will to persist, instead of expecting the prize to come complete.

Perhaps, Union Speaks to Success

Human beings comprise many things, and that leaves plenty of room for disharmony. To cooperate, collaborate, or even coexist can be quite a challenging mountain to conquer when the surprises of different personalities converge. To truly understand this notion is to recognize the value of any combination of people that is effective, especially when long-standing and genuine. In a world where trust and confidence are so scant, firmly established relationships are practically trophies. (However, such trophies cannot be measured as fortune if they are insincere or oppressive.)

Emotions

It's taken time for me to accept that emotions are a powerful driving force and should not be discounted at any point. Even when circumstances do not make room for personal feelings, they may still affect the decisions and performances of those with whom you deal. Emotions are an unshakeable part of every human being, and not every person is strong enough to detach from them as is appropriate. By acknowledging such a silent factor, one can be mindful and shrewd. To ignore them is to be blind and disadvantaged, for they're never absent in any situation where people are present.

(The above writing is a page from my personal journal; A group of ideas I finalized and titled "The Barber Trials" in October 2021.)

At the top of this story, I highlighted the importance of minding "how something looks", for countless encounters have shown me that one's appearance damn well matters. Although it only makes for a paragraph on paper, that lesson is derived from a measurable number of periods in my life. When I decided to share this particular text with Vocal, I just knew there had to be something else in my journal that attests my battles with the superficial public. Lo and behold, I was correct. On August 6, 2021, I'd gotten a haircut from a barber for the first time in over a year, and on August 10th, 4 days later, I wrote:

"In regard to how you appear to others, a flawed presentation only protects you from those who are lustful and shallow (which seems to be so much of the world). If one has true substance, he is always advantaged and always valuable. The true treasure is beneath the surface and will stand the test of time. When it comes to common people, it seems like what they are and a lot of what they have is merely surface level. It's just about the look of it all. For that, it crumbles and fades. What has really been built? To have substance is to have fortune that is even more compelling when decorated and safely protected when not. In remembrance of this, I will polish my presentation at my own will, but acknowledge where my real fortunes lie. I won't endeavor towards a perfect image for a public that could never walk in my shoes."