You ever hear those “origin” stories? You know the ones. Starts with a bloke sleeping on a piss-stained mattress in a squat, abandoned by everyone he’s ever loved, riddled with incurable skin diseases that mysteriously clear up the moment he finds a £7.99 gratitude journal.
Cue soft piano music and misty-eyed TED Talk voice.
“I was sleeping on my sister’s floor… penniless… heartbroken… estranged from my family… I had a rare skin condition no one could pronounce… in and out of hospital… all I had was a dream and a yoga mat.”
And then BAM—divine lightning bolt. Someone breathes Palo Santo smoke into their nostrils, they find their WHY, the chakras align like a cosmic IKEA flat-pack, and suddenly they’re posting sunrise selfies from Bali captioned “You are the author of your own story #GrindMode #AbundanceMindset.”
Right.
Here’s what actually happened.
I didn’t have an epiphany on a Himalayan mountaintop. I had a cracked IPhone, a bad haircut (or no har, lets be honest), and a shitload of spreadsheets. No spiritual awakening. No burning bush whispering, “Become an aesthetics master, Harry.”
The REAL “turning point”? I stopped whining and got to work.
No spirit animal. No motivational montage. Just me, slamming instant Chai Latte, Googling “how to inject Botox without crying,” and learning how to NOT cock up filler placement on someone’s face.
Because let’s be honest…
The reality is boring as well
I didn’t wake up one day “in alignment with my divine feminine” or have a breakthrough after microdosing ayahuasca in the Costa Rican jungle with a bloke called Sage Thundercloud. I just did the work. Again. And again. And again.
I made mistakes.
I got roasted by patients.
I undercharged.
I over-promised.
I overfilled someone’s cheek once and she looked like she was storing a croissant in there.
But I showed up the next day. That’s it. No secret. Just consistency.
You want the real motto? Here it is:
“Don't be upset by the result you didn't get for the work you didn't do.”
Not quite as sexy as “live your purpose and the money will follow”, but hey—at least it’s not bollocks.
See, hard work’s become the ugly duckling of success stories. Everyone wants to be inspired. They want trauma turned into TEDx-worthy transformation. Preferably involving a barefoot retreat and a candlelit cacao ceremony.
Because that’s what sells.
Pain + spiritual awakening = brand opportunity.
You know what doesn’t sell?
“Yeah, mate, I just put my head down and grafted for 23 years.”
That doesn’t get likes.
That doesn’t get sponsored by Aura Quartz Meditation Academy.
But that’s the truth.
I worked. When it was boring.
I learned. When no one clapped.
I got better. Quietly.
Not because I believed the universe was conspiring in my favour.
But because if I didn’t, I’d be stuck doing shite I hated forever.
So when people say to me:
“Harry, what was the moment you knew you were destined for greatness?”
I don’t know—maybe when I realised Tesco meal deals are £4.25, and it will cost £3 million to change my Advanced Train ticket, and I needed more income?
Not everything needs to be a f*cking spiritual journey. Sometimes you just need to put your phone down, stop scrolling quotes from some guy called @ZennMaverickSoul69, and do the damn work.
Truth bomb:
You’re not stuck. You’re not broken. You’re not waiting for some mystical “alignment.” You’re just avoiding the discomfort of discipline.
Get over that, and you’re golden.
Final Word
So yeah, sorry to disappoint. No tragic hero origin arc here. No phoenix-from-the-ashes narrative. Just a bloke who worked his arse off and didn’t outsource his success to moon phases and manifestation apps.
Still want greatness?
Cool.
Grab a pen. Make a plan.
Show up.
Because THAT’S the actual magic.
