In this motivational monologue, Aaron Doughty argues that personal identity is not fixed but a story we can rewrite at any moment. He frames 2020 as a pivotal year for shedding limiting self‑images and stepping into a new, freer version of ourselves. Using his own journey—from a nine‑to‑five shoe‑selling job to becoming a full‑time YouTuber, and from growing a beard (“the bird”) to shaving it to align with role models—he illustrates how conscious choices reshape reality. He describes the “old identity” as a survival‑focused, rigid box that clings to familiar beliefs, while the “new identity” seeks to “fly like a bird,” thriving beyond self‑imposed limits. Doughty warns against validation traps (e.g., chasing subscriber milestones) and encourages proactive self‑image work, including daily meditations to raise vibration and change self‑image. The talk ends with a call to action: practice the self‑image meditation, embrace the new identity, and experience freedom beyond the prison of old stories.
Chapters
Who you think you are is not fixed. It's not permanent. You may have had something happen to you in the past. You may have a story about love, about money, about success that's been on autopilot, but it's just a story, and you can change your identity at any moment by making a new choice about who you are. And in the year 2020, this is exactly what this year is all about. It is about letting go of the old stinky identity, the one that's kept you stagnant, the one that's kept you in limbo mode, The one that tells you you're not good enough, that doubts whether you're credible, that doubts whether you are capable of living your dream life. It's just a story. It's a story that's been on autopilot. That's all. And you can change that story at any moment by making a new choice about who you are. Now, that's exactly— you might wonder, like, maybe you've seen my YouTube videos before and I normally look very clean-shaven. I may look very different than I do now. Well, one of the things I'm doing is I'm really wiring it in that I can do and be the way I wanna be. Yes, I got a beard. I used to tell 'em, you know, when I started making these YouTube videos, I had a bird. I had a beard or a bird. I was like saying bird, it's kinda cool. I had a bird, okay? And that bird was pretty long. But then I said to myself, oh, I got like 100,000, no, I had like 50,000 subs on YouTube. I was like, if I wanna get to like 100,000 or a million one day, I gotta shave it because you know what? People that I look up to like Tony Robbins and Joe Dispenza and all these people, they're more clean shaven. That's the way they look. So I gotta do the same thing. I gotta follow in their footsteps. I gotta do the same. So I shaved off my bird, my bird. I trimmed, I like started looking a certain way. And maybe what a lot of what I'm realizing is maybe that was just a self-fulfilling prophecy. I told myself that story, I followed it up with action and that became my reality. Maybe I'd have like 3 quadrillion on YouTube right now if I would've left the fricking beard, the bird. 'Cause people like the bird, okay? A lot of people, it triggers, it's just funny. It's like the social conditioning. Yo, chill out, bro. See, the new identity just wants to come to life right now. It's like, it's just trying to lift off. It wants to be as free as a fricking bird, but not this bird. It wants to be as free as a bird with wings, okay? It's a little bit different type of bird, but guess what? The old identity feels trapped. The old identity is gonna do everything it can to remain consistent to the way it defines itself. And in 2020, you're probably experiencing this rigidity You're like, I gotta break out. I gotta break out of this box. It's so freaking tight. You gotta break out of it. That was me. You know, even, even, you know, I let go of one box in 2017. That box was I work a 9-to-5 job I freaking hate. I went in every day selling women's shoes. It wasn't a horrible job. I just wasn't passionate about it. And I did that every day for a long time, almost like 8 years, to be honest. 8 years. I sold the shoes like, hey man, would you like these shoes? And then one day I made a new choice about who I am. I made a new choice about my identity. I said, you know what? Nope. See, the new identity just wants to fly as a bird, but you gotta hold down, okay? Hold down. It's the old identity. I'm trying to explain something. So what happened is I had a little box of a 9 to 5 job I didn't like. I made a new choice about who I was. I said, I'm going to be this full-time YouTuber. I'm going to make daily videos every day, even though I have this 9 to 5 job working selling women's shoes 40 hours a week. And then as I began to wire in that new identity making videos and being passionate. You see, the thing is, is it also has to be connected to your passion. As I began to do that, guess what happened? Eventually, within 2 or 3 weeks, I had a video go viral. I started to grow, and then within a couple months, I quit that 9-to-5 job, and then I was doing what I love full-time. Come on, see what I mean? Now, what happened is then I got into a new box. You wanna know what that new box was? The new box was, I'm gonna get a million on YouTube. That's the goal, and I've been Ever since making daily, still making daily videos since 2017. But here's the thing, I started to play myself towards what people would like to see. Yes, it was me. A lot of some people watch my videos like, oh, he's very authentic. It's still me, but little things like looks isn't as important, you know, but like I shaved my bird so that I could then become that and look a certain way 'cause I thought more people would follow me if I looked like this like everyday person versus having a bird 'cause the bird triggers certain people. Some people don't like the bird, okay? But guess what? Guess what I eventually did? Okay, I'm realizing this year that first off, I got a bigger box. You wanna know what my box is? My box was— changed my battery already, see? Trying to fly up like a bird, but not this bird. So what it did is I, um, that bigger box was I got to make videos every single day. So now what I'm doing is I'm only making videos 3, 4 days a week. You might notice that on the channel, Aaron's making less videos. What's going on? Well, I'm breaking, I realized that part of me breaking outta that old belief system, that old identity, was me letting go of things that maybe feel kind of scary to let go of. You know, one of the reasons also, before I hit a million on YouTube, I stopped making daily videos because I knew that if I kept that pattern going, it was like, 'cause I had this rule, once I hit a million, then I'll go down to 3, 4 days a week. But I realized that that's just a trap. It's a validation trap that my ego was trying to live in. Once you hit a million, then you're gonna feel this amazing, No, but I know because when I first had the goal of 100,000 on YouTube, I remember thinking it was gonna be this glorious thing where like lightning shot out of the sky and like hit me and I was like, yes! And then this YouTube play button just like drifted on down, like descended into my reality, and I was like, oh my god! And then everywhere I go, people— I go to Whole Foods or Sprouts and people are like, oh my god, Aaron, that's the guy with the 100,000 on YouTube! And I just get these shots of worthiness and validation and I would feel so good, but guess what? Just another day. I hit 100,000. I was like, I went to the gym that day. I was like, this is pretty cool. I was like, oh, it feels pretty much the same as yesterday. And then now in my mind, I was like, oh, once you hit a million, you can feel a different way. But guess what? I wanted to break that pattern before I hit it. I don't know when this video goes out. Maybe this video goes out when I'm at it, or maybe before it. I don't know. But I'm good. I had to do it before so that I could prove to myself I don't need it. I feel good regardless. Plus, grow out my beard, grow my beard, grow my hair. I do what I want now because I'm creating my own rule. I'm becoming free as a freaking bird. Fly up, fly up. See, it's flying up like a freaking bird. Okay, it's flying like a bird. Okay, but not this bird, as I said. So the old identity— here's what the old identity is going to do. The old identity just wants you to survive. That's it. That's it. The old identity does not want you to thrive because if you were to thrive, you would be stretching your identity. You'd be stretching out of the little box that you created for yourself. And that's scary. That's scary. You don't want to do that. But what am I like— that's one thing I'm doing is I'm taking less of my attention away from YouTube. I put on some other stuff like TikTok. I'm doing those like TikTok dances. I'm just like— is that one of them? I don't know. Anyways, I know it kind of— I'm kind of like doing some stuff on TikTok, but not, not too intensely. Just gotta do what I wanted to, you know what I mean? I'm going out to bird. But 2020, you may be feeling the call. You may be in that old— you might be at a different stage. You might be in that old 9-to-5 job wanting to become free as a bird, but you in a 9-to-5 job right now that you don't really care. Or maybe you don't have that job no more, but you want to do something you love. Well, you can take on the role and become free. Challenge the old belief system. Have a vision and be it every single day. Don't think it, be it. And you'd be free as a bird. You'd be flying up so high, high in the sky. You can be like apple pie. Okay, just wanted to like rhyme a little bit. So 2020 is really about this transition right here. It's this stretch right here so you can become free as a freaking bird and not in the prison, in the prison system that your identity creates. Now sometimes that prison system will be self-sabotage. It'll be belief systems keeping you in a certain state before you actually get to a level of that freedom. So sometimes what you gotta do is you gotta become aware of that and then make a new choice, make a new choice. And you become aware of those beliefs by noticing that it's all it is is a belief. You know, one of the biggest transformations you'll ever make in your whole life is when you realize that you may think thoughts, but you not your thoughts. You think 'em, but they not you. When you can separate the thoughts you think from you, you then become more free. I used to tell myself a story that, you know, belief that I had ADHD, needed Adderall for it, felt unworthy because of my past, the past meaning I was giving to my past, having an 9-to-5 job. You wanna know what your current story is? Walk around. As you look around, you're gonna notice something in your world. That is your current story. Your current reality is a direct reflection of the story you tell yourself about who you are. If you wanna break out of it, First off, become aware this is all story. Right now my story is pretty frickin cool. I live in a dope-ass crib. I have another place in Sedona. I get to travel the world. Pretty cool story, right? Eventually that story may expand itself even more. I may find myself saying this is a limiting story compared to some other potential. It's all just a story. But in the same way, I used to have that story of having a 9-to-5 job and I became aware of it. Oh, this is just a frickin story. I can do whatever I want if I set my mind to it. But I gotta be that identity now. That's what I did. Then I be that identity now. Then you become free. Become aware of the old identity. It's just a freaking story. And then be this new identity. And as you do that, you become free as a freaking bird. People are here to clean my yard, so I gotta go. Okay, I love all of you. Do the self-image meditation right here. Change your freaking self-image. Become free. There's also a meditation on, um, on, uh, raising your vibration permanently in 2020. Listen to that right there. Other than that, I'll talk to you later. Peace, much love, and a bird.
