THANK YOU

I’ve been writing consistently for just about a year now.

At first, writing was just a cathartic exercise to help me express myself and feel relief from the things I struggled with. In all honesty my first post was about a woman that I liked and how I didn’t feel good enough for her.

I started writing at a time when I felt like I had no one to talk to. I know that I have many people in my life that care about me, but I didn’t want to change the image they saw of me.

So I wrote everything down online, and for a long time no one paid attention. I didn’t mind that.

But eventually people started relating to my stories. I always tried to put a positive spin on everything and focus on solutions to these struggles, instead of the endless negatives that came with them.

Fast forward a year and 2HelpfulGuys has released our first book.

“Not So F.A.Q.: Common Questions, Uncommonly Asked.”

It is a compilation of questions Leroy and I receive on a daily basis. Some are the most common questions about confidence and health etc., and some are more specific questions that strike a chord within us.

In this book I wrote my answers as if the asker and I were sitting outside looking at the stars in deep conversation.

I answered with my heart and put my own experiences with these struggles out there for them to relate.

Although I was answering one person, this conversation would not be for their eyes alone, and that scared me. Not only was I revealing myself to anyone who would care to look, but people would be paying for these insights.

I’m not good at asking people for money. With this book I’ve had a really hard time asking people if they’d like to buy, simply because I want to share this message with everyone without strings attached.

But the problem is that I want this to be my career. I want so desperately to have the resources to continue to spread our messages and help the people we resonate with.

Leroy and I at 2HelpfulGuys have dreams so big that they would surely be laughed at, but we have a deep routed attraction towards these dreams and the good that they will accomplish.

Even with this in mind, I still have a hard time asking people if they want to buy our book.

This made me worry.

I didn’t know if I was good enough, after all, I’m still a work in progress. I’m not perfect and I’ve never been perfect. I’ve often felt like I’ve been worse than most people out there.

But someone left a review to our book that made me realize that all of this worrying and fear was unwarranted. One specific thing that they said struck a chord with me.

“This book is inspiring because the authors pull back the polished masks folks wear and show the teeming process that is happening underneath. The reader is invited to actively think along with the answers being presented, and instead of being the last word on the subject, the answers that the authors give are more like a jumping off place.”

I don’t have all the answers, and I would never try to say that I am better than anyone else. I am still going through the process of improving myself every single day, and this reader understood that.

I was so worried that people would expect our answers to be a one stop cure to everything that they struggle with, but the truth is, we can only offer each other a new path to journey; a new perspective and new tools to carry with us in our growth.

Writing these articles week after week, working through my problems with you and hearing your insights has helped me to grow in ways I could never have imagined.

So I’m writing this post for you, our readers, as a thank you for giving us the opportunity to grow with you.

I’ve written about my fears, my dreams, and my mistakes, and every time we have helped each other work through these difficulties.

With our growing popularity I have often become tempted to leave out the blood, sweat and tears from my stories for the fear that people will think I am not a worthy teacher.

But as always you have shown me that these struggles are what connect us. We all go through tough times, it is what makes us human.

So thank you for teaching me every day, for growing with me and for accepting me as I am, at my highest and at my lowest.

I will continue to serve you to the best of my ability, and maybe one day in the future we will sit underneath the stars and have those beautifully deep conversations about the trials we’ve struggled through and the dreams we yearn for.

Until then,

Steven Farquharson, 2HelpfulGuys

Thanksgiving Celebrations

I woke this morning to a rather pleasant surprise. This blog almost has a THOUSAND followers. That’s huge. Almost a thousand people are reading my work. I am honored and incredibly thankful.

Today is also the national Canadian day of thanks. Tonight, people will be sitting down at their long dining table with their extended family, using the coveted silverware.

Not me.

Thanksgiving has never been a big event for me. Then again, no holiday has ever been a big event in my house. Everything just gets swept under the rug.

One reason: My family is broken.

So today, there will be no turkey carving ceremonies. No grandiose meals, filled with laughter. No drunken uncle bumbling around telling corny jokes. And, worst of all, no thanks.

I’ve learned to improvise. I don’t need a special day for thanks. You don’t need one either. For some reason, we see Thanksgiving as the only day to be thankful. What about the other 364 days?

For me, I’m thankful every single day. I’m thankful for my life, my body, and the world. I’m thankful for my friends and (little) family. I’m thankful to be in Canada where the biggest problems are tax-season and figuring out what to wear in the morning.

Most people can’t say the same. Most people don’t have what we have.

I am fortunate enough to be typing this on a computer in the quiet. I am fortunate enough to have the Internet to post this and read all your wonderful comments. You are fortunate enough to be reading this, on your computer, using your Internet.

There is so much to be thankful for everyday, that one day doesn’t seem to do justice.

The ‘Be Grateful’ List

Everyday, starting today, write down things that you are grateful for. Contemplate and dig. Search for everything. There are so many things that we take for granted.

If you start to struggle, dig deeper. It’s there. Something. There is always something. Struggling is good. When you find something to be grateful for, you will appreciate it much more.

On my particularly crappy days, writing this list helps. I feel rejuvenated. No matter how bad things may be, there is always something I can be grateful for. That’s the positive side of it all.

For me, I am grateful every morning. I wake up and my phone dings because of WordPress. I have new likes and comments and follows to reply to which makes my heart happy.

Write that list. Count your blessings.

I don’t need a turkey-carving ceremony or grandiose meals. I have everything that I love. I love everything that I have. There is no more for negativity.

I don’t need a drunken uncle. I have you. And I am grateful.

Be bold, be free, and love on.