Back in 2016, I was a full-blown hippy living in London.
I wore the most colourful clothing, attended drum circles, and read the Tao Te Ching on the subway (still one of my favourite books to this day).
… I often grieve the boy I used to be
On the outside, I looked happy and sparkly but inside, I felt like a complete loser.
Still, that didn’t stop me from doing something I loved on the subway: what I called “good vibe graffiti.”
I carried a pack of Post-it notes and a pen, writing positive affirmations for strangers and sticking them in the busiest places I could find.
One particular day, three words came up from somewhere deep inside me:
You.
Are.
Enough.
I grabbed my pen, scribbled them down, and stuck them everywhere.
Security would take these down… wild
The reactions were unexpected.
One man looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you. I’ve never been told that in my life.”
A cute woman came over and kissed me on the cheek.
But mostly, people just went about their day. London is like that.
For days afterwards, I couldn’t get those words out of my head:
You. Are. Enough.
It wasn’t until years later…after a couple of breakups, tens of thousands spent on coaching and therapy (and a boatload of tears) that I truly realised:
I wasn’t just leaving those notes for others.
I was leaving them for myself.
Deep down, I felt like a loser because I was carrying a lifetime of toxic shame, whispering that no matter what I did… I would never be enough.
And the thing is, that voice isn’t telling the truth.
The irony is, after all the personal development work, all the healing, all the searching…
It all led me back to the same simple truth:
I am, and always have been, enough.
And brother, from the most hippyish depths of my soul, I want you to know:
Right now.
Without making 6/7 figures.
Without the rippling six pack
Without a yacht, Bugatti or a Rolex.
(… or a harem of Swedish supermodels.)
You. Are. Enough.
Right now.
Just as you are.
Imagine with me for a minute how your life would change if you truly believed that.
What relationships would you attract naturally?
Without needing to prove yourself, what would you stop tolerating?
What would you feel inspired to create?
And how would you feel about yourself?
So I invite you to repeat these three words:
“I am enough.”
Your level of resistance to that statement is the clearest indicator of how much shame you’re still carrying.
That’s it for today, mate.
With love…
Stay courageous,
Oliver “hippy” Cowlishaw