@&^!(#&!.
I was 16 years old and depressed. I had these blackout curtains and most of the time would locked myself in my room with all my lights off but one desk lamp … just enough to see my outline.
It seemed so long ago, I’m going to be 30 years old at the end of this year, but I still remember it so vividly.
It was hopeless.
I was lonely.
I felt undesirable, frustrated, unwanted … ugly.
UGLY. Really ugly.
I would use the restroom and leave the lights off. It was better than reminding myself of the hideous acne pustules and red blemishes I had covering my forehead, jawline, nose … hell, everywhere.
I hated acne.
FUCK ACNE. I was so angry.
I remember this one night (among many nights) when I was standing in the dark, in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to imagine myself with clear skin with the little moonlight that shined through the window …
I remember realizing … I can’t even get angry because I feared breaking out with more pimples.
I asked myself:
“What was my anger going to do? If anything, it probably was just going to aggravate my acne and make it worse.”
I wasn’t even allowed to be ANGRY!
This might sound familiar to you?
This might be you RIGHT NOW.
But I didn’t know this one thing …
I didn’t know that a few days later from that night, I would decide to do whatever it took to figure this challenge out in my life.
And I did. I gave it my all. I became a mad scientist, documenting everything, studying everything, reading everything, trying EVERYTHING.
Years later, I didn’t know that I would have helped hundreds of people from all over the world cure their acne as well as my own. I didn’t know that I would have become a role model, a teacher, and a mentor to people who struggled the same way I struggled.
It makes so much sense now.
I couldn’t see it then, but I ask myself this, “What else in your life would have pushed you to develop and create ALL these things in your life today?”
“Ray, what if you didn’t have acne? What if you had perfect skin? What would your life be like today?”
Ask yourself that question.
Seriously, take some time to think about that question for a moment.
You probably would love how you look, but I don’t think you know what acne is going to teach you.
It taught me diet, discipline, humility, empathy, purpose, responsibility and a secret lesson (if you get to the end of this article).
Lesson 1: Diet & Health
I don’t think I would have ever paid attention to what I put in my body until I learned about acne. And look around you, most people who have clear skin and no acne problem haven’t either. They don’t know TRUE nutrition.
They think they just have to work out, have muscles, and they’re healthy. And most people don’t even do that.
I learned that having a healthy diet is one of the most important things we have control over, that it’s much more complicated than just “eating salad” everyday. But when you get it right, you give your body the right combination of nutrients to automatically have clear skin … as well as everything else such as stronger hair, brighter eyes, more energy, I could go on forever.
Lesson 2: Discipline
When I cheated on my diet, when I cheated with shortcuts, it would show up on my face. Acne was the stern and consistent teacher of my pimple and zit filled face that constantly reminded me, “No, no, no Ray. You know you shouldn’t do that / eat that, but FINE since you did. You’re going to pay for it.”
This discipline over what I ate and my body, expanded into other parts of my life: work, relationships, self control, fitness.
Few things in life could have followed me around and taught me this lesson. I mean, I could have hired a coach to constantly remind me. But this coach wasn’t going to going to be with me ALL the time, always nagging me, teaching me, and following through on its punishments with me.
Acne did. Acne kicked my ass every time I messed up. And I thank you for that.
Lesson 3: Empathy
Not saying I was a self brat before, but I wasn’t exactly Mother Teresa either. I think we could all use a little bit more compassion and the helping of others in this world.
At a time in my 20s, when most people were thinking of themselves and how to develop their own lives and careers, I could really … actually FEEL for someone that I met with acne.
It wasn’t because I was born especially loving or understanding of people. Actually, I ended up graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. And in many ways, I was the stereotypical engineer that had a hard time feeling and an especially hard time with understanding women (but more on that butterfly transformation story later ;).
And yet, every time I met a fellow acne sufferer, my heart went out to them. And I felt this need to help them, to talk to them, to ease their suffering.
I could relate, I could see myself in them. I could feel how they feel.
Oddly enough, when I think back, it was because of acne that I felt this way. Acne! Not cancer, not some debilitating disease, but something that most people think is not really a big deal … pimples.
Lesson 4: Purpose
Okay, so I have this knew … “treasure” we’ll call it: the ability to cure other people’s acne. Let me ask you this:
What would you do if you had this “treasure?”
Would you keep it for yourself and tell no one else about it?
Would you just forget about it and move on?
Would you give it away for free?
Or would you try and start something that could potentially change the lives of millions of acne sufferers?
Here’s what I did. At first, I just moved on with my life and forgot about it. But after seeing so many acne sufferers and wanting to help them, I decided that I would start giving it away … for free.
But then something strange happened … I got tired. Okay, not that strange.
And here’s the part, where I find it strange, when some people send me hate mail about what I’m doing (and believe it or not, I used to get a little bit of hate mail once in a while – but I guess if you’re not getting at least a little bit hated on, you’re probably on the not on the right path – think about it ;).
I’m not a superhuman, I can’t run on recycled trash and broken glass. I need food, I need shelter, I need money to pay for my internet, I need money to pay for my computer, I need to learn about business because even though I have this “treasure” that I want to share with the world there are hundreds of people out there trying to scam acne sufferers so why would people want to believe me even though I have the real answer to their problem? So now I need to learn about business, website design, graphic design, video editing, I need knowledge about nutrition, I need credibility, so I got a degree. The list goes on …
So I decided … “Okay, I could give keep giving away this stuff for free and eventually burn out from having to juggle multiple jobs, go broke, resent my life and have this secret die with me …”
OR
“I could make this my life’s mission, make this into a successful business so I can help myself and help people. This way I can keep going and people can keep curing their acne. Win-win.”
MESSAGE TO YOU ANGRY FREELOADERS: So sorry guys who are trying to get a freebie and get angry at me for not giving you this stuff for free. That’s not the way it works, when you buy my products, you’re CONTRIBUTING to helping others. A lot of your money combined with my money and my time goes back into this business, this website, these products so I can create better acne clearing products FOR YOU. So shut up and stop complaining about everything in life =).
Whew … that felt good. Moving on.
In many ways, this was better than a job I just did to pay the bills, a job that I did to fulfill MY OWN needs, or a job that I did for me and my family. This was bigger than me, this could be BIG.
I could help change … the WORLD.
Eh hem … okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away. Not trying for world domination here, but it’d be nice to help some people out =)
And with that, I had purpose.
Lesson 5: Responsibility
Okay, so I’m still working on this one. I believe it was a wise Greek adage that went, “With great power, comes great responsibility.”
Or … it might’ve been Spiderman.
Either way, with this new found knowledge I had of how to cure acne and stop breakouts, I soon learned that you can’t just start something and then walk away.
So I created this business, this website, I have these videos and people believe in me. They follow me and they want to learn from me.
Sometimes, I want to just forget all about it and move on with my life, go be a normal person, work at my 9-5 job (yes, I have another place I work at just like everyone else), come home and not work anymore. But then I check my email inbox and I have all these emails from people and … I feel.
God dammit, I feel for them.
For whatever reason, I just can’t … NOT help people. I have this gift, “treasure,” knowledge or whatever you want to call it and I’m not going to just stand by and watch my fellow acne sufferers … well … suffer.
It sucks to have acne.
It sucks to find a new pimple every morning when you wake up and go to the restroom.
It sucks to have to get ready for school and nothing looks right because you hate the way your face looks.
And I know this.
I FEEL this.
I actually can’t stop feeling this when I hear your stories, see your faces, and meet you guys … and girls =).
Lesson 6: Power
Last, as corny as this is going to sound, acne taught me that I had the power to change.
Not some dermatologist, not some doctor or commercial about ProActiv Acne Treatment. I had the power right here (pointing to my head … or for you sappy types out there, pointing to my heart).
As hopeless as things looked as I mentioned in the beginning of this article, it was possible to sit my ass down, put my mind to the @#&!$ problem, and figure shit out.
And so could you. With or without me.
Now of course, it would be much, much easier with me. But it’s definitely possible that you figure all this out without me (because keep in mind I spent 10 years and $10,000 to figure this out).
Therefore, when you’re ready, pull the @#!$@& trigger already and let’s get started on clearing your stubborn acne together.
NEXT STEP:
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10 Steps to Cure Acne10 Things Every Acne Sufferer Must Know for Clear Skin. A must have basic foundation for any beginner. Regular Price: Your Price: $19.97
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Or, if you want to do it yourself, I’d be glad to point you to Google 😉
