How To Become a Multi Award-Winning Barber in less than 6 months

by Eoin McCarthy October 9, 2020

In another blog I recently wrote - “what have you got to unlearn?” I spoke on the things in our mindsets that may be holding us back in all aspects of life. This week I want to follow that up with something that, in this present moment, may be invisibly holding you back or on the other hand may be propelling you forward. Consistency.

I’ve mentioned this before but I listen to a guy called Steven Bartlett quite regularly. He’s got a podcast called “The Diary of a CEO” & upon listening this week it made me realise that “consistency” has been one of the biggest factors that has contributed to any successes or on the other hand failures I have endured in my life.

I, along with Steven, believe it or not get messages from people asking me for tips on numerous topics. Whether it’s to do with haircuts, how I came to Australia from Ireland, how I started sharing my work with others & so on. Whenever this happens, I automatically rummage around looking for some sort of easy secret, hack or cheat way to get to you there faster or easier. Truth of the matter is, there is no fast or easy way. After all the rummaging I can never find that answer.

We live in an instant world, hence why Instagram is such a successful platform. We want everything fast so that we can show our “followers” how cool we are or how successful we are. I’m sure we’ve all seen the ads on Instagram about 6 minute abs or how to easily make $100’000 a week in your sleep. What a load of b*. This sort of click bait headline is what draws people in - hence why I decided to choose a clickbait headline for this article! Gotcha!

Generally with these sort of headlines, on one side of the scale is a large result & on the other side is a seemingly small amount of investment. This doesn’t work. However this taps into the human psyche in the modern day world. People generally gravitate towards what seems easy. Easy sells, it sells much more than hard work, patience & facing reality. We have all morphed into a society that want the smallest amount of investment for the largest possible return - oh & we want the results NOW!

I’ve found that the key to either being successful with something or on the other hand being a complete failure is consistency. It works on both ends of the spectrum. It’s a very simple answer, but it’s not an easy answer. It’s starts slow & it becomes fast. I’ve always looked at it like a ball rolling down a hill. I’ve experienced this through my cycling career & I have also experienced this now in my hair career. It’s starts slow & invisible then becomes fast & visible. The power of consistency is compounding for or against you as we speak. Steven uses an analogy about brushing your teeth. Don’t brush them today & you won’t even notice, but continue not to brush them for a year & they fall out of your head. Keeping on pushing & making marginal gains every day for a considerable amount of time is what gets anyone anywhere.

Finally, incase I didn’t make it clear the headline was a joke! If anyone is thinking they can become a multi award-winning barber in less than 6 months it’s probably not going to happen. Keep working hard, stay patient & stay consistent!

Peace.