tales of beards and personal growth

Jay Clouse
Jul 22, 2017 · 1 min read

For the last several years, I’ve grown and sported a beard. When I was younger, I didn’t even think that I could grow a full beard. But, at some point, I gave it a shot and not only proved that I could do it, but I realized that I liked it.

But I still wouldn’t claim to have a great beard. In fact, I see guys all the time who clearly have a much stronger “base” than I do and could grow one hell of a beard.

Time and time again, I ask these guys why they don’t just grow it out. And, almost universally, they respond with the same answer.

“Well, I’ve tried, but I hate how itchy it gets.”

It’s true. A beard can be uncomfortable in the early stages of growth. If you’ve never experienced it before, you may not know that the itching subsides at a certain point. And then, if you shave and start to grow the beard again, you are much more familiar and comfortable with the “itchy” period.

If you pull back from that initial discomfort, you never experience true growth. It’s uncomfortable, it can be unknown, and it honestly doesn’t look very good early on. But it’s also a necessary part of growth.

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Jay Clouse

Written by

serving creators. I write at https://jayclouse.com | founder of http://unrealcollective.com | author for @linkedin + @lynda | former COO @Tixers (acq. 2015)

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