Sam Berns was born with progeria, an extremely rare disease that causes a child’s body to age and wither rapidly. He was essentially bald before he turned 7, but that was the least of his worries. Most kids who suffer with this devastating illness don’t live past the age of 13. Sam beat the odds and nearly reached adulthood, before passing away in 2014 at the age 17. Below is an ABC News video celebrating his life.
His TedX talk has been viewed nearly 19 million times. I’ve embedded it at the bottom of this post.
Moved by Music
In Sam’s life, music superseded progeria. He was a self-described band geek, who had a custom snare drum outfitted for himself so he could play with his school’s marching band. His other passions included Boston sports, comic books, scouting, and life in general.
In our lives, our passions should supersede hair loss. And all of our other insecurities and issues, for that matter.
That’s the first lesson we can all learn from Professor Sam. Next up:
Sam’s Life Philosophy
We can gain substantial wisdom and perspective from Sam’s three-fold philosophy of life, which goes as follows:
- Be okay with what you ultimately can’t do, because there’s so much you can do – In other words, accept your own limitations, but don’t let those limitations define you. No matter your insecurities or fears, you can rise above them and realize your dreams.
- Surround yourself with people you want to be around – Misery loves company, and negativity is contagious. Just visit one of the web’s many balding forums and you’ll realize this sad truth. But if you surround yourself with positive, like-minded people, you’ll become a happier, better person for it.
- When you face challenges, keep moving forward – It’s a little cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason. Extremely successful and happy people face just as many trials and tribulations as anybody else. The key to their success is often in their resilience — that is their ability to get back up when life knocks them down and cuts them until they cry out in their anger and their shame. The fighter inside them remains (Boxer reference, obviously, one of the best songs ever). You can listen to it here.
Sam describes a particularly difficult time in his life, when he was lying sick in a hospital bed. He was away from his friends and his passions, facing his own mortality. He got through it by looking forward — not by dwelling on the past or feeling sorry for himself in the moment. He knew there would be a time when he would feel better again, so he focused on that and moved forward to the best of his ability.
“I try not to waste time feeling bad for myself, because when I do, there’s no room for happiness.”
-Sam Berns
An Abnormal Protein
Sam refused to give progeria the power to destroy his life. So he looked at the disease strictly from a scientific persective, noting that progeria is nothing but abnormal protein that weakens the structure of his cells. That’s it. He didn’t view it as a death sentence, or an insurmountable burden, or as an excuse to not live his life to the fullest.
On a smaller scale, the same principle can be applied to hair loss. Look at it logically instead of emotionally. Androgenic alopecia or pattern baldness is an inherited trait that causes some of your hairs to shrink and eventually fall out. It’s not a disease. At least 70% of men have the gene, and so do 40% of women. It’s not unusual at all, in fact it’s totally normal. It’s also normal to get stressed, depressed, and overwhelmed by hair loss. But you can choose to accept your genetic fate and move forward, just like Sam did in his life.
In 2014, HBO released a documentary about Sam, appropriately titled The World According to Sam. At the beginning of the film, he says this: “I didn’t put myself in front of you to have you feel bad for me. I put myself in front of you to let you know you don’t need to feel bad for me. I want you to know me. This is my life, and progeria is part of it. It’s not a major part of it, but it is part of it.”
Hair loss is a part of your life, but don’t let it define you or become a major part of it. Ever. Pursue your passions, accept your limitations, and keep moving forward. I encourage you to watch Sam’s uplifting TedX talk below.
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.