Hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast Monday Morning Moments with John O'Leary Halloween edition.

I record these so that you and I can begin our days and our weeks in awe and on fire with a burst of inspiration.

Speaking of Halloween, remember those masks we used to wear on Halloween?

Now, I'm not referring to the modern masks that my children grew up wearing.

I'm referring to the old school, far cheaper, far more

dangerous ones. The ones that scratched our faces with dangerously jagged edges had eye cutouts

that never actually matched up with our eyes and had a rubber band so cheaply fastened to the

mask that after just a couple houses,

the band would break and we'd spend the rest of the night holding on to a bag of candy in one

hand and then our mask with the other. Yeah, remember those masks? Well, this time of year,

masks are mainstream for adults and children alike.

Halloween gives us an excuse to lean into childlike playfulness, to get dressed up for

a night, and to be someone radically different than we typically are.

I love Halloween, and I love getting dressed up for it.

But for many of us, masking our true selves is not reserved for once a year.

For many, it's Halloween all the time.

We were masked in seeking approval from others.

We may mold our words, our opinions, and even our appearances to whatever room we're in.

And in trying to fit in, we may go along with things we disagree with and pretend to be who we're not.

And hoping to be someone more worthy of being accepted, we cake on makeup less to amplify our natural beauty and more

to hide perceived imperfections. In pursuing success, frequently we stay so busy and we run so fast

so we can avoid letting others see our shortcomings, our weaknesses, our scars. We strive not to become the best version of

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