Photo by Felipe Giacometti on Unsplash

The Most Authentic Things I’ve Learned at 42

Trevor Huffman
6 min readMay 4, 2022

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The truth is revealed by removing things that stand in its light, an art not unlike sculpture, in which the artist creates, not by building, but by hacking away.

Start the Hacking

As a former pro athlete, writer, and startup founder, I find the thoughts and internal agreements we have or make with ourselves aren’t always accurate. My feelings aren’t always facts. My goals aren’t always authentic. I want to be in shape even though I don’t feel like working out. I want a healthy mind even if I do not want to practice meditation, gratitude, or self-love today.

This dull concept of joy, mastery, and self-actualization lies in the self-awareness of this hacking away at oneself.

This work always happens — listening, observing, being a partner, or building a good startup team culture.

By hacking away, as Alan said, you’ll strip away the ego’s dirty old clothes, get a makeover, and let your authenticity shine. The light shines when we continually do the work and the work living in the self-awareness of knowing what you’re to become. A writer. A photographer. A skydiver. A singer. A startup wizard.

Beneath the hacking is lucid moments when your wheels and wings release from the Earth, and you fly forward — frictionless, powerful, and free.

Photo by Kristian Egelund on Unsplash

Be Okay with Nothing

Being a hermit, meditating, writing, working, or being productively meaningful, hell, it all starts with being present. It starts with knowing all change happens… NOW.

You need nothing to be authentic other than stripping away the conditioning, trauma, and outdated beliefs that hold you back. The self-awareness of my thoughts, feelings, beliefs, fears, failures, society wanting something, and how they aren’t absolute truths stick to me like a wet…

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Trevor Huffman

Hi, I'm Trev- an NBA cup o' tea and former 13-year overseas pro athlete writing on fitness, personal growth, and wisdom. https://bit.ly/trevor-huffman-subscribe