PART 7 - The Moment I Lost Myself (And What It Took to Rise Again)

PART 7 — THE MAN WHO TRIED TO OUTRUN HIMSELF

From “The Liberated Man Initiation” Mini Coaching Series

By Cory Skyy

Hey brother —

I want to tell you a story today —
not about a client,
not about a concept,
but about me.

A chapter of my life I didn’t talk about for a long time…
mostly because I didn’t want to accept how far I had let myself fall.

There was a period where I had everything.

Flow.
Abundance.
Freedom.
Trust in myself.
A full life.
A clear purpose.
A deep sense of who I was.

My inner world was strong…
so my outer world reflected that right back.

But something happened along the way —
slowly, quietly, almost unnoticeably at first.

I stopped taking care of myself.

Not just physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally.
Spiritually.

Little compromises.
Tiny moments of self-abandonment.
Putting other people’s needs above my own.
Ignoring my intuition.
Letting fear whisper into my choices.
Convincing myself I was “fine.”

I didn’t fall off a cliff.
I eroded over time.

And at some point, without realizing it…

I drifted from a state of abundance into a state of scarcity.

Scarcity of energy.
Scarcity of clarity.
Scarcity of trust in myself.
Scarcity of direction.
Scarcity of inner strength.

And when a man slips into scarcity,
something dangerous happens:

He starts making decisions from fear instead of truth.

That’s what happened to me.

I stopped choosing from desire.
Started choosing from obligation.
Stopped trusting my instincts.
Started listening to noise.
Stopped leading myself.
Started absorbing the beliefs of everyone around me.

Little by little…

I became part of the herd.

Not because I was weak —
but because I wasn’t awake.

Scarcity will do that.
Fear will do that.
Self-neglect will do that.

Before long, I couldn’t even hear my own voice.
I couldn’t tell what I wanted.
Every decision felt heavy.
Every direction felt unclear.

I had gone from a man who once created his life…
to a man who was reacting to the life happening around him.

And the scariest part?

I almost didn’t notice.

That’s how the herd mentality works —
you slip into it quietly.
You adopt the beliefs around you.
You absorb the fear.
You lose your center.
You forget your power.
You disconnect from your nature.

THE BREAKING POINT

One day, I remember looking at myself —
really looking.

Not the surface.
Not the excuses.
Not the “I’m fine.”

But deeper.

And I saw it:

I wasn’t choosing my life anymore.
Life was choosing for me.

I wasn’t leading.
I was following.
I wasn’t responding.
I was reacting.
I wasn’t anchored.
I was drifting.
I wasn’t aligned.
I was afraid.

And that realization hit me hard.

Not with shame —
but with honesty.

A moment of:

“Brother… look at what you’ve become.
Look at who you USED to be.
Look at what you’re meant to be.
It’s time to come back.”

That is when I left the city life behind. 

The fun, the social life and all the women. 

Bought a piece of property in rural America and started building. 

And slowly — painfully at first —
I began reclaiming myself.

Not all at once.
Not perfectly.
Not instantly.

But through small, steady acts of self-respect:

Taking care of my body again.
Rebuilding my discipline.
Setting boundaries I had neglected.
Challenging beliefs that weren’t mine.
Cutting away people who drained me.
Returning to my truth.
Reconnecting with my masculine center.
Moving from fear back into alignment.

And with each step…

Abundance started returning.
Clarity returned.
Strength returned.
Direction returned.
Courage returned.
Presence returned.

I started thinking for myself again.
Making decisions I actually believed in.
Trusting my instincts.
Leading my life instead of drifting through it.

And life responded immediately —
because life always responds when a man returns to himself.

THE LESSON?

If you don’t regularly examine your belief system…
if you don’t stay awake…
if you don’t prioritize your mind, body, spirit…
if you don’t question your assumptions…

you will drift into the herd without even realizing it.

You’ll start living by everyone else’s fears.
Everyone else’s limits.
Everyone else’s beliefs.
Everyone else’s scarcity.

And one day you’ll look around and think:

“How the hell did I get here?”

Brother, hear me:

Your life is always shaped by your beliefs —
so choose them consciously.

Challenge them.
Interrogate them.
Replace the ones built on fear.
Strengthen the ones built on truth.
Lead your life from the inside out.

Because if you don’t lead your life,
someone else will lead it for you.

A Mirror Question for Today

Where in your life have you started following…
instead of leading?

Sit with that.

Tomorrow, we go deeper —
into how to rebuild your internal compass
so you can stop drifting…
and start directing your life with certainty, truth, and power.

Talk soon,
— Cory