I used to cry because of my hair.
When I was in high school, all the girls I liked only wanted to date the guys who were into sports and had straight blonde hair.
If you were a guy on the football team with blonde hair and blue eyes you could date anyone in my high school. If you were me: zero is the number of people you would date.
My hair was tangled and messy, I had bad acne, and I was…the head of the chess club.
I had braces and glasses. And I thought about girls constantly. I still do (well…women).
My hair never really changed. People are 100% judged on appearance. If I am in a business meeting people assume I am a genius because of my hair and glasses.
If I am on TV people think, “This homeless guy must be a genius if he is on TV.”
If I am dating a pretty girl people automatically think, “He must have a lot of money and she only likes him for money.” No matter what other accomplishments I have or what her personal history is.
(With Jasmine Lobe )
Yesterday in a taxi the driver kept looking at the rear view mirror. Finally he asked me, “Are you Malcolm Gladwell”? I get Malcolm Gladwell a lot.
I also get “Ted Mosby”, “Bob Dylan”, “Beck” and a few others.
(I wish)
When I was in high school I would daydream I had straight blonde hair. And no braces. And no acne. And no cysts. And that I was better at sports.
One friend of mine looked at me and said, “Just smile a lot. You look better when you smile.”
People constantly give me advice. Most people say, “Cut your hair short.” But I really hate it short. I hate how it makes me feel.
Tyra Banks said, “I love your hair. You should grow it out longer.” But then it gets too tangled.
(One of my favorite people)
People look at hair. Brian Grazer (producer of “Splash”, “Apollo 13”, and a hundred other movies and TV shows) told me that when he started spiking his hair, everyone started doing deals with him.
I read once that Malcolm Gladwell had straight hair and that when he spiked it out his books started selling 10x more.
For the first time in my life, I love my hair.
Looks shouldn’t make me feel anything. But I’m human, so they do.
I feel I am a little quirky and eccentric. And I’m proud of it. I am smart and I’m proud of it (although I’m very very stupid on some things as well and I’m not just saying that to be humble).
I learned this: take all of your qualities, find the positive in them, and OWN IT. Be proud and take advantage of what life has given you. There is ALWAYS advantage to be taken.
And because people assume I’m a genius because of my hair, I’ve had access to opportunities that have made me a lot of money. I have “crazy hair privilege”.
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. When people look at me and look at my crazy hair I want them to think, “that guy doesn’t give a shit.”
But I do give a shit.
(Just woke up. But screw it)