Bradley Taylor c/o The Donut Trap
TRUTHOFSELF.
a series highlighting the emotions and personal practices of a hustler striving towards unwavering self-belief.
What is one thing in your life, positive or negative that has changed your perspective on self-belief?
The death of my little sister when we were teenagers has affected my life in the biggest way. Years later now, this has allowed me to open up more to new experiences. It’s shown me that life is short and there’s just really no room to not fully believe in yourself. As we get a chance to play this game we call life I think we owe it to ourselves to not deny ourselves experiences that can harbor growth even if it’s uncomfortable. Why fall in line – we always deserve to give ourselves a shot at what we deserve.
Have you felt accepted or like the black sheep throughout your life?
I have felt more like the rainbow sheep where I don’t really fit into either bucket. I’m super open minded to a lot of different things and experiences. I’m always proactive when it comes to things that I want. Sometimes that may come off a little suspicious to people. In a way I think people kind of look towards me as that person who does take risks and kind of live vicariously through me to some degree. Typically when people are open to how I act or dress or present myself, I click with them. When they don’t, it’s typically because they have their own work to do still on their self esteem. I don’t take anything personally – it’s usually more about the haters own views toward themselves versus anything to do with me.
In relation to the last question, what makes you, YOU?
My risk taking makes me who I am. I’m really not afraid of anything and ultimately look at everything with an optimistic view point. I think no matter what decision I make I’ll learn from it regardless, so might as well take the leap in so many facets of life. I’m also super adaptable. I can usually kick it with just about anyone and people seem to be drawn to my free energy.
Photograph by @thedonuttrap
“Life is short, go after what you want.”
How would you define success?
I’d define success as setting a goal and investing in it. Doesn’t matter if it’s spiritual, monetary, physical, etc. Looking at a year from now if I see progress toward my goal that’s success to me. I’ve heard people say that me and my partner don’t stay stagnant. Every year we set goals and do something new. Again, life is short and I can’t sit around and not go after things that I want.
How often do you reflect on life? Are these thoughts enlightening?
Every day. If you’re not reflecting on life, then there’s no concept of what growing is and what this life has to offer. That can snowball into a lot of things – losing site to the purpose of living, drive and motivation etc. I’ve had a lot of loss in my life of friends and family. I don’t take it lightly and realize that finding your meaning to life is what keeps you going.
Where do you feel most confident? At home? In professional environments? Nightlife?
Night life for sure in this moment of life. At night I’ve relinquished my duties as a parent and as a business owner. It allows me to just be who I am and connect with my partner and those around us with no responsibilities for the night. I can act more freely and roll with things without the structure that’s sometimes needed with a business and raising children. It allows me to be curious with very few boundaries holding me back. I’m really confident in my day to day as well with my business and family, but there’s less at stake at night when I can really be free.
What does work/life balance mean to you?
Work life balance is super important. I always make pockets of time through my day/week/life that I can truly enjoy with my partner and family without any distractions. I would hate to wake up one day and everything’s gone that I care about because I was working too much to notice. I make time weekly to do therapy with my partner and yoga sessions with my partner to connect. We try to go out once a week or every other week to have time for just us away from the kids. I make sure to spend quality time with my kids when I’m not working. When I am working I work hard and dedicate my time to it fully, but that work life balance is important to figure out early on to get into a good groove.
Photograph by @thedonuttrap
What do you think the key to having a healthy relationship with self is?
Always be honest with yourself and say things out loud to yourself to figure out if it’s a bad/good/smart decision. Take time for yourself and don’t ever lose yourself too much in anything in life. It’s important to have your own self be your true identity. I make sure that being an entrepreneur, a dad, a partner, business person, etc. never become my full identity. I always stay true to myself at the core and never want to be too much of anything. Also, just doing whatever I want to do without questioning myself really allows me to have a healthy relationship with myself. I never deny myself from experiencing things just because of outside noise.
What is one thing that you value most in outside relationships? Friendships, family, romantic relationships, etc.
I value the vulnerability within my personal relationships. I value open mindedness within the people that I surround myself with. I’m always growing with my relationships and really value different outtakes on life. Ultimately, I value people that continue to grow with me and neither of us hold each other back from living up to everything that we want for ourselves.
What does self-acceptance mean to you or look like to you?
Self acceptance to me is just having complete peace within myself. I strive for that daily.
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