The end of another year approaches the old New Year Resolutions begins to enter our mind sets! There will be many different resolutions but one I have no doubt will be popular as I am sure it is every year, will be the cut down, or stop all drinking Alcohol all together.
So have you started to think 2015 might be your last year of drinking? Well congratulations, this is the first step towards sobriety, like everything it starts with an idea, and you my friend have that, you have also done some sort of search to end up reading this blog! so again congratulations, it is not easy to admit to yourself that you may have a problem but wanting the change & readying your mind and are the two first most important steps anyone can take, and you have taken them so please make sure you take the time to appreciate this achievement.
However, setting an exact date to stop drinking is unfortunately setting yourself up for failure, in theory the idea is great, from this day forth I will not have a drink, but like most new years resolutions the goals are to high and quickly become unrealistic and to hard eventually killing of all the motivation you started with back in late December.
I wanted to stop drinking for a good year before that faithful last drink, and I cannot to this day tell you what it was that triggered that switch in my head which finally gave me the power to actually not want another drink, but one thing I can tell you is, I tried to set many Saturday's and Sunday's as my last drinking point, but they all failed, it wasn't until I was completely ready that the time was right.
I am not saying do not use a new year resolution as motivation or to help reach your goal, just don't make it the day of reckoning, do not say to yourself form the 1st of January I will not drink anymore, you are putting a huge amount of pressure on yourself and setting yourself up for failure.
A more wise timely approach would be to set 3 or 4 smaller goals, goals that you want to achieve in a certain time frame, Goals that will help reach your end goal of quitting drinking. Remember it is a new years resolution, you have all year to accomplish it so give yourself a chance.
Hear are 4 idea's of smaller goals to help you reach that goal by the end of the new year.
1) 2016 (Or what ever year it may be) Will be the last year I ever drink alcohol. - This allows you a year to reach that point, this allows your mind to find the right time, it also puts a small amount of pressure on it to find it within that year.
2) I will distance myself from friends who are a bad influence on me and my drinking problem. - This takes time and when it comes time to quit drinking ditching those friends who are only friends due to Alcohol becomes a necessity so do it before and make your life easier.
3) I will start a journal, documenting how much I drink, how often & how much i spend, I will then reflect on this each week. - Tracking exactly how much you are drinking will help you realize how damaging alcohol is becoming to your health, your mind & your wallet!
4) I will not drink any Alcohol on a Sunday - This could be any day of the week, but pick a day where you do not touch Alcohol.
The point of this blog is not to bag out new years resolutions, or to discourage anyone, it is simply to identify that there is more to quitting Alcohol, then just deciding to quit, your entire life will change, and if you are not ready for that change neither is your will power and you will inevitably fail.
Set small goals for yourself, each year, each month, each week, each day, each hour. they will lead you to sobriety, it is not a race it is a marathon, remember, your alcoholism did not start the first time you got drunk!
Good luck, and please if there is anything I can ever help you with drop me an email or hit me up on social media, I am always willing to help.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Sunday, 6 December 2015
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
What do you look forward too?
What in your life do you look forward to? This is one question that keeps coming up consistently in my 8 month sobriety.
One thing I do know is what it was that I used to look forward to. I used to look forward to the end of my work day, and boy did I look forward to the end of the working week! But not for the reason's I should have! It was so I could drink. I could not wait to get those beers down my throat, to de-stress my day. Friday was just party night. The way I saw it, I had no commitments on Saturday, so it didn't matter how messed up I got myself because I could just sleep it off all day Saturday. At the expense of spending time with my family and kids, and at that stage of my life I did not care.
So I'd trained myself, over the course of 15 years, to look forward to drinking, to look forward to getting messed up to the point where I could not remember a thing. Even when I got to the stage of my life I knew this wasn't healthy and I should not be doing it, but I was still looking forward to it!
That is one of the biggest shifts in lifestyle I've had to deal with since being sober. I don't seem to look forward to anything like I used too, well at least look forward to anything the way I used to look forward to drinking and inevitably getting drunk!
Here in Australia we had a big horse race Tuesday just gone, called the Melbourne Cup, other wise known as The Race that Stops a Nation. This day has always been a day that I have looked forward to and really enjoyed, however this year has been the first year without it including alcohol, and guess what! My enthusiasm towards the build up and the fun I actually had on the day just wasn't there like it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I still had a good day and spent some quality time with my kids, but I ended up heading back to work not long after the race, where every other year going back to work just wouldn't be an option.
I have 3 things I look forward to now since being sober, my Family, my day job & my side projects. This isn't a bad thing by a long shot, it has allowed me to grow immensely as a father, as a partner, as an employee and as a entrepreneur so in overall, it has allowed me to grow as a person. I do feel as if something is missing, I still get that urge to have a good time, and the only way my mind seems to know how is to think about drinking.
Will this change over time? I guess only time will tell and I am going to make sure I give myself the time I need to figure out what it is in life that I can do for fun that does not including drinking!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
One thing I do know is what it was that I used to look forward to. I used to look forward to the end of my work day, and boy did I look forward to the end of the working week! But not for the reason's I should have! It was so I could drink. I could not wait to get those beers down my throat, to de-stress my day. Friday was just party night. The way I saw it, I had no commitments on Saturday, so it didn't matter how messed up I got myself because I could just sleep it off all day Saturday. At the expense of spending time with my family and kids, and at that stage of my life I did not care.
So I'd trained myself, over the course of 15 years, to look forward to drinking, to look forward to getting messed up to the point where I could not remember a thing. Even when I got to the stage of my life I knew this wasn't healthy and I should not be doing it, but I was still looking forward to it!
That is one of the biggest shifts in lifestyle I've had to deal with since being sober. I don't seem to look forward to anything like I used too, well at least look forward to anything the way I used to look forward to drinking and inevitably getting drunk!
Here in Australia we had a big horse race Tuesday just gone, called the Melbourne Cup, other wise known as The Race that Stops a Nation. This day has always been a day that I have looked forward to and really enjoyed, however this year has been the first year without it including alcohol, and guess what! My enthusiasm towards the build up and the fun I actually had on the day just wasn't there like it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I still had a good day and spent some quality time with my kids, but I ended up heading back to work not long after the race, where every other year going back to work just wouldn't be an option.
I have 3 things I look forward to now since being sober, my Family, my day job & my side projects. This isn't a bad thing by a long shot, it has allowed me to grow immensely as a father, as a partner, as an employee and as a entrepreneur so in overall, it has allowed me to grow as a person. I do feel as if something is missing, I still get that urge to have a good time, and the only way my mind seems to know how is to think about drinking.
Will this change over time? I guess only time will tell and I am going to make sure I give myself the time I need to figure out what it is in life that I can do for fun that does not including drinking!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Wednesday, 4 November 2015
Update
Wow another month has past! I can't figure out if I thought time went quicker while I was drinking or quicker now that I don't? I definitely am more aware of where my time goes now.
So like all my sober months prior to September, it was a busy month, I squashed in a week long family holiday down in the beautiful South West of Western Australia, and managed to pick up a virus which I am still not 100% over. But all being said and done I still managed to give this project a bit of time albeit a little less then the past couple of months and something I want to work to rectify.
Last month I spent most of the time on social media, my goal is to establish a small following across multiple channels and populate them with relevant quality information. I am starting to get a small following and hope this increase over time to help with the social media updates I recently started using a bit of software called HootSuit, which allows me to post to multiple social media channels at the same time and schedule when those post's go live, I currently have it set up to post to Facebook, Google+ & Twitter, I have been adding to Instagram (Alcoholic_entrepreneur) and Pinterest (alcoholicentrep) individually and have decided to put more focus on these two channels as I believe social media can be over whelming and you can get lost in the hustle if you do not focus on one or two channels at a time.
A big positive that came out of September is I received my first email opt in, I have had the site up now for a few months with the email opt in on a couple of the pages so to receive an opt in has given me great hope and excitement, I am still unsure and am still learning how to set up regular emails and send out to my huge email list of one person, but with time and determination this will get done.
I'm going to keep this Months update short as it doesn't feel as if I did a great deal this month and what I did do was small behind the scene social media things. But I will be making up for it in the October update.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
So like all my sober months prior to September, it was a busy month, I squashed in a week long family holiday down in the beautiful South West of Western Australia, and managed to pick up a virus which I am still not 100% over. But all being said and done I still managed to give this project a bit of time albeit a little less then the past couple of months and something I want to work to rectify.
Last month I spent most of the time on social media, my goal is to establish a small following across multiple channels and populate them with relevant quality information. I am starting to get a small following and hope this increase over time to help with the social media updates I recently started using a bit of software called HootSuit, which allows me to post to multiple social media channels at the same time and schedule when those post's go live, I currently have it set up to post to Facebook, Google+ & Twitter, I have been adding to Instagram (Alcoholic_entrepreneur) and Pinterest (alcoholicentrep) individually and have decided to put more focus on these two channels as I believe social media can be over whelming and you can get lost in the hustle if you do not focus on one or two channels at a time.
A big positive that came out of September is I received my first email opt in, I have had the site up now for a few months with the email opt in on a couple of the pages so to receive an opt in has given me great hope and excitement, I am still unsure and am still learning how to set up regular emails and send out to my huge email list of one person, but with time and determination this will get done.
I'm going to keep this Months update short as it doesn't feel as if I did a great deal this month and what I did do was small behind the scene social media things. But I will be making up for it in the October update.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
New Work Space
Most of the work I do on my side projects is done late at night after the kids are in bed, sitting on the couch, although this is definitely a convenient and comfortable option, I find it distracting and hard to really knuckle down and get in that working zone that you need to be in to do real amazing work.
Unfortunately we have a very small house, and all 3 of the bedrooms are taken, so there is no space for a study, or somewhere I can go to get away and work.
Back when I was drinking I spent a lot of time in my backyard shed, it was my little escape area, a place I could go and drink in peace without getting bothered, I always had idea's to turn the shed into a bit of a man cave, mainly to make my drinking hangout a little more comfortable, but as with most of the idea's I had when I was drinking they remained just that, idea's, obviously I have stopped drinking alcohol so the want to turn the shed into anything related to alcohol has gone.
So the shed has sat there not really been used for anything but storage the past 7 months I started clearing it out a bit a few weeks ago and that's when the idea came to me to turn it into a mini office. It has power, it has space, it already had a work bench albeit it needed a lot of work.
So for the past few weeks I have been moving things around to clear the bench so I could get to it and see what needed to happen to make it workable, once I saw it in all it's glory it was clear it needed replacing so that's what I spent my weekend doing.
I bought a new piece of pine would wood from our local hardware store Bunnings which would fit the stand that was already in the shed perfectly, I also bought some varnish, sandpaper and a little roller kit. so I was fully set to go by 6:30pm on Friday night, so I got to work sandpapering, once I'd finished sanding I had time to give it the first coat of varnish and let it dry overnight.
Saturday morning it was still a little wet so I left it till the afternoon and gave it another coat, there was only a little bit of paint left so I decided to let it dry again and give it a third coat.
By Sunday morning it was dry enough to move back into the shed, so I moved it back in there. once I got it in there I realized I need a high chair, as it was a rather high bench top and the piece of pine added an additional 30mm to it. So basically what I was looking for was a bar stool and a comfy one that would allow me to sit and work for a few hours at a time. I checked our local Gumtree and found one exactly like what I had in mind for 30 bucks, the guy who was selling it was only about 20 mins drive away so I went and picked it on the Sunday afternoon .
All the pieces were starting to come together there is still a lot to do, from cleaning dusty shelves to finding additional storage for things that I don't have space for in the shed, but this will just be chipped away at over the next few weeks and eventually it will be a comfortable working environment.The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Alcoholic Focus
Focus is extremely important in almost all aspects of life, whatever it is that you are doing, the more focused you are, the more successful at it you will be. This is exactly the same with recovery, remaining focused is very important. I have lost my focus over the past couple of weeks. I have had a virus which has knocked me around a bit and we have also had a family holiday during this time, so my routine has been thrown out quite significantly and this has had a knock-on effect to my focus.
It has now been over 7 months since I had my last drink and for a while there, the thought of drinking had not even entered my head, however over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that thought creeping back in, ever so slightly. Not in a way that would compromise my sobriety (at least not yet) but in a frustratingly, annoying way. I have been wondering why and what may be causing this to happen. The weather is starting to warm up and the days are becoming longer, this used to always make it easy to have and enjoy a drink. My Aussie Rules Footy team, The West Coast Eagles, are doing extremely well this season and have made the Grand Final, usually a big day of partying and drinking. But these are mere challenges. This is life and life goes on in sobriety, you decide how you go about these events and how you avoid drinking during these times. My problem is not the weather, or the fact that my football team has achieved something it hasn't achieved in 9 years, my problem is my lack of focus.
I have allowed the past couple of weeks to affect my focus and my mindset. With this, allowing old ways of thinking back in. I was talking about it with my partner last night and just talking about it was helping me feel better and get focused again. Writing this blog is doing the exact same thing.
I believe writing this blog and working on this website are keys to my ongoing recovery. When I am working on these projects, my mind is focused. Focused on what blog post I am writing next, what feature I want to add to my website, what photo to upload to Instagram, Pinterest or what to update on Facebook or Twitter, you get my drift... The point is, I don't want to have the time to think about alcohol. I don't want the thought of it to even enter my mind especially at this stage of my recovery, 7 months in, so therefore I need to be extremely focused and have my goals of sobriety & entrepreneurship clear in sight.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
It has now been over 7 months since I had my last drink and for a while there, the thought of drinking had not even entered my head, however over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that thought creeping back in, ever so slightly. Not in a way that would compromise my sobriety (at least not yet) but in a frustratingly, annoying way. I have been wondering why and what may be causing this to happen. The weather is starting to warm up and the days are becoming longer, this used to always make it easy to have and enjoy a drink. My Aussie Rules Footy team, The West Coast Eagles, are doing extremely well this season and have made the Grand Final, usually a big day of partying and drinking. But these are mere challenges. This is life and life goes on in sobriety, you decide how you go about these events and how you avoid drinking during these times. My problem is not the weather, or the fact that my football team has achieved something it hasn't achieved in 9 years, my problem is my lack of focus.
I have allowed the past couple of weeks to affect my focus and my mindset. With this, allowing old ways of thinking back in. I was talking about it with my partner last night and just talking about it was helping me feel better and get focused again. Writing this blog is doing the exact same thing.
I believe writing this blog and working on this website are keys to my ongoing recovery. When I am working on these projects, my mind is focused. Focused on what blog post I am writing next, what feature I want to add to my website, what photo to upload to Instagram, Pinterest or what to update on Facebook or Twitter, you get my drift... The point is, I don't want to have the time to think about alcohol. I don't want the thought of it to even enter my mind especially at this stage of my recovery, 7 months in, so therefore I need to be extremely focused and have my goals of sobriety & entrepreneurship clear in sight.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Thursday, 24 September 2015
How i am turning a drinking problem into a Entrepreneurial way of life
12 months ago I was drinking alcohol almost daily and to excess, when I say to excess I mean to the point of blackout, I was well and truly an alcoholic and I did not see a way out, I knew I had a problem and I knew something needed to change or I was on a quick journey to a place I did not want to be. It took me a long time to realise I had a drinking problem, you see I was a high functioning alcoholic, I still held down an important job, I paid my bills on time, I kept up a good appearance around family friends and general society, but that was because I planned my drinking times, planned my hangover times and did my best to hide the amount I was drinking from everyone including myself.
But once that idea of having a problem had entered my head it grew and kept growing over the next 6 months. I eventually got to the stage of not only knowing I had a serious problem, but knowing I had to stop, which was a big step towards stopping, but it wasn't until I actually wanted to stop drinking that things started to happen, but I was still in a dilemma, I wanted to stop I just didn't know how, I couldn't imagine my life without alcohol, how would I have fun? what would I do on my weekends? what would people think of me, I was extremely confused and torn, something I can compare it too is when you are in a bad relationship and you know it is the healthier option to just part ways and start your life fresh but you just can't imagine how your life is going to be without the other person and you are scared to make that break!
Well after some time some pretty serious soul searching and a few more drunken slumbers that never ended well, I finally did manage to stop, I decided to stop while I was on holiday and I haven't started again since, I can remember sitting on that beach on the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia, thinking to myself why am I sat here drinking by myself, I don't want to be drinking this drink but here I am sat here drinking it, why? I got drunk that night, very drunk, but I woke up the next morning and something had changed, I felt a change I cannot explain but it was there and to this day I have not picked up a drink.
I had stopped great! I had manage to break the cycle, but now I had to remain stopped and I felt completely lost, I didn't know what to do with myself, I had already started doing some small blog entries and found it really helped, so I kept going with it, but since my first few blog entries something had changed, since that faithful night on the Gold Coast I had found a new found energy I felt I had a message that I could spread and above all I felt and wanted to grow these blogs into something more.
I had extra time, I had spare income and I had added ambition with idea's and passion to go with it, so I continued to blog more frequently, but I still wanted more so I started investigating getting a website built, once I had sourced a web developer and the page was under way I registered the domain name www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com was born. I was already using the name the alcoholic entrepreneur, in my original blog but this made it real, I had my own domain name with my soon to be own website, this was exciting, I was creating a home base for myself my idea's and my recovery.
The site is still a work in progress and I tweak it most weeks trying to find that perfect formula I have also set up social media accounts and am beginning to get a small following, I am working on a book and have idea's to implement course to the website to help with recovery education and entrepreneurial dreams.
I have no expectations of where this will all lead, I am doing it because it is helping, it is helping keep me busy it is helping me keep focused on my recovery and I am enjoying every minute of it, I spent my time and money on alcohol before my sobriety, sobriety to me is about opportunities, opportunities that were not available while drinking. Don't just get sober, get sober and get rich!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
But once that idea of having a problem had entered my head it grew and kept growing over the next 6 months. I eventually got to the stage of not only knowing I had a serious problem, but knowing I had to stop, which was a big step towards stopping, but it wasn't until I actually wanted to stop drinking that things started to happen, but I was still in a dilemma, I wanted to stop I just didn't know how, I couldn't imagine my life without alcohol, how would I have fun? what would I do on my weekends? what would people think of me, I was extremely confused and torn, something I can compare it too is when you are in a bad relationship and you know it is the healthier option to just part ways and start your life fresh but you just can't imagine how your life is going to be without the other person and you are scared to make that break!
Well after some time some pretty serious soul searching and a few more drunken slumbers that never ended well, I finally did manage to stop, I decided to stop while I was on holiday and I haven't started again since, I can remember sitting on that beach on the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia, thinking to myself why am I sat here drinking by myself, I don't want to be drinking this drink but here I am sat here drinking it, why? I got drunk that night, very drunk, but I woke up the next morning and something had changed, I felt a change I cannot explain but it was there and to this day I have not picked up a drink.
I had stopped great! I had manage to break the cycle, but now I had to remain stopped and I felt completely lost, I didn't know what to do with myself, I had already started doing some small blog entries and found it really helped, so I kept going with it, but since my first few blog entries something had changed, since that faithful night on the Gold Coast I had found a new found energy I felt I had a message that I could spread and above all I felt and wanted to grow these blogs into something more.
I had extra time, I had spare income and I had added ambition with idea's and passion to go with it, so I continued to blog more frequently, but I still wanted more so I started investigating getting a website built, once I had sourced a web developer and the page was under way I registered the domain name www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com was born. I was already using the name the alcoholic entrepreneur, in my original blog but this made it real, I had my own domain name with my soon to be own website, this was exciting, I was creating a home base for myself my idea's and my recovery.
The site is still a work in progress and I tweak it most weeks trying to find that perfect formula I have also set up social media accounts and am beginning to get a small following, I am working on a book and have idea's to implement course to the website to help with recovery education and entrepreneurial dreams.
I have no expectations of where this will all lead, I am doing it because it is helping, it is helping keep me busy it is helping me keep focused on my recovery and I am enjoying every minute of it, I spent my time and money on alcohol before my sobriety, sobriety to me is about opportunities, opportunities that were not available while drinking. Don't just get sober, get sober and get rich!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Wednesday, 9 September 2015
How to stay sober when on holiday
Holidays are a great way to put your head down and relax, but when you are trying to change your lifestyle sometimes they can work both ways.
I am currently away with my family in the south west of Western Australia an area famous for it's beautiful country scenery and its wineries. There are 8 adults and 5 children, 6 of the adults I am with drink, 4 of them drink heavily in a similar fashion to what I did before I decided to stop drinking, so not needing to say, there has been and will continue to be plenty of alcohol around for the next week.
Now sometimes situations like this can be avoided or put off for a while, but this for me is a family tradition that means allot to me so I do not want to miss out because of a life choice I have made.
So to be able to go on a holiday like this knowing I want to remain sober and still enjoy the time with my family there are things that need to be done.
The first thing you have to do is make sure everyone you are going on holiday with understands that you are not drinking, they do not need to know everything you could for eg. just tell them you are having a week to give you body a break, or you are doing a cleansing month, whatever you feel comfortable in telling, i do however suggest if it is you family to come out and tell them the truth, let them know the reason's for wanting to stop drinking and let them know that you have stopped drinking and plan to stay stopped and would really appreciate that they did not offer you any alcohol, I also make clear that I do not expect anyone to change their drinking habits to make me feel better or help me as this is not necessary.
The next is to get your mind right, you need to know yourself and keep telling yourself that you will not be drinking, no matter how tempting that one drink at that lovely winery may seem your mind is already made up before that situation even becomes a reality, this is something very important in the early stages of recovery, you have to know how to convince yourself of something and commit to it. each challenge and each commitment is real and they all add up to the greater good.
Finally have fun, enjoy the time with your family & or friends, enjoy your life in sobriety and remember why it is you chose this life, you wanted to spend your time making wonderful memories without alcohol distorting, dramatising and dominating every aspect of your life, especially your holidays!
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
August Update
August was a busy month, not only for progress within this project but in my Life in general, it seems the longer I go with being sober the more responsibilities and jobs I take on. This is not a bad thing, but I have to learn to manage my time better and schedule time for different parts of my life.
I feel like when I do sit down and give this project time I am all over the place, I don't have it structured to any format, I just sit down and plod away and I hope I am making progress in the right direction, whether that be writing a blog post, updating social media, or working on the book, i do feel however that this is at a detriment to my progress, a goal that I have for July is to focus on 1 or 2 things a night and spend time to structure my months weeks and eventually days.
I feel like when I do sit down and give this project time I am all over the place, I don't have it structured to any format, I just sit down and plod away and I hope I am making progress in the right direction, whether that be writing a blog post, updating social media, or working on the book, i do feel however that this is at a detriment to my progress, a goal that I have for July is to focus on 1 or 2 things a night and spend time to structure my months weeks and eventually days.
The month of august I focussed on social media, I have set up links between facebook and twitter both ways, so whichever platform I post on the post shows up on the other, I have set up an Instagram account, which I have been aiming to do at least 1 or 2 post's per day, so far that has not been happening unfortunately but I will work on integrating Instagram with facebook etc. I also started using Periscope a new platform from twitter, where you can capture a live feed which will then stay on the periscope servers for 24hours I am pretty new to it but have been enjoying giving it a go, I think I have posted 12 or so videos so far, sign up and follow me @alco_preneur. Some Goals I want to set for social media are to set up a youtube account and start posting video's showing and talking about how sobriety and the entrepreneurially mindset can be achieved.
I also focussed on a few small changes to the website, I have added a calculator which can calculate how much money you can save per year when not drinking, I also started a couple more pages on my site, to document Movies, Documentaries & Books which all revolve around Alcohol, alcoholics & recovery, my aim is to keep growing this area of the website and eventually have a vast catalog of educational media which people can use as a quick reference guide to help there recovery, once this catalog has grown I will be then looking at including documentaries and movies that cover the entrepreneurially way of life.
My blog post's have not be as frequent this month, and that is something I would like to rectify, along with what I wrote above about structuring my time, I would like to make an effort o right at least including my monthly update 4 blogs per month, almost one per week. I don't feel to about it as I have spent a fair bit of time working on a book which I am aiming to get out in the next 6 month.
I also focussed on a few small changes to the website, I have added a calculator which can calculate how much money you can save per year when not drinking, I also started a couple more pages on my site, to document Movies, Documentaries & Books which all revolve around Alcohol, alcoholics & recovery, my aim is to keep growing this area of the website and eventually have a vast catalog of educational media which people can use as a quick reference guide to help there recovery, once this catalog has grown I will be then looking at including documentaries and movies that cover the entrepreneurially way of life.
My blog post's have not be as frequent this month, and that is something I would like to rectify, along with what I wrote above about structuring my time, I would like to make an effort o right at least including my monthly update 4 blogs per month, almost one per week. I don't feel to about it as I have spent a fair bit of time working on a book which I am aiming to get out in the next 6 month.
The progress I have made this month I am proud of and I am happy with the way things are going, however like I have pointed out in this post, I really need to spend some time making myself a road map structure map, so I can be more focused on what I am doing and where I am heading.
I would love to hear from you and your progress hit me up on social media or drop me an email at alcoholicentrepreneur@gmail.com
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
I would love to hear from you and your progress hit me up on social media or drop me an email at alcoholicentrepreneur@gmail.com
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
6 Months Sober
Today I reached my first significant milestone, I have gone 6 months without an alcoholic drink 6 months ago today i sat on a beach on a wet night drinking a couple of long necks (700ml beer) asking myself what I was doing? I didn't want to be drinking those beers yet I still had them in hand and was still pouring them down my neck. Something changed in me that night, to this day I can not explain what it was, but something changed and since that day I have remained a different sober person.
I realised I had a problem with drinking about a year and half before that night, i had plenty of arguments with myself during this time trying to convince myself I did not have a drinking problem I was in denial and did not get real about wanting to actually stop until about a year before that faithful night on the beach in Queensland, That year was tough, and it's ironic i sit here 6 months from my last drink thinking and reminiscing about the time it took to get my mind in the right place to be able to put that drink down and not pick another up.
I guess even though my last drink was 6 months ago I had decided to stop drinking long before that and I need to keep in mind that although these milestones are great reminders of the progress made, and far I have come, the journey had started a long time prior to these 6 months, the struggle was there and the struggle for me at least was harder prior to putting the drink down I had to convince myself it was the right thing to do I had to convince myself I had to do it and I had to want to do it. It was only then, that I knew I was ready to put that drink down once and for all.
So as I sit here on the 22nd of August 2015 about to head to bed knowing I have 6 months of sobriety to be proud of, i am still very aware of the fight and the struggle I had long before these past 6 months even started. Each milestone for me will be a simple reminder, a reminder of where I was in my life, why I choose to take a different path in my life and why going back will never be an option.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Time the Currency of the Mind
Time, time is an amazing thing and a thing I never gave a lot of thought to in previous years in my life. It is one of the most important things in life, without time we have nothing, waste our time on things that don't matter and don't give us anything in return and we have regrets! put our time to good use and we create amazing possibilities & wonderful memories!
I value my time a great deal more now than I did whilst I was drinking, I felt anytime I was not drinking I was just waiting and almost wasting the time I had until I could finish whatever boring or obligatory task I was doing and head to the pub or the bottle shop, thinking about it now, it almost felt as if my life was not complete without having that drink, I wasn't having fun I wasn't living, it's amazing looking back now and thinking about how I had allowed myself to be so consumed by a substance I clearly no longer controlled.
Today is very different, I cherish each and every minute, I plan my days and any downtime I get as anyone who has read my previous blogs would know, I spend with family and spend on projects like this blog. These two things alone are plenty to keep my mind occupied and my drive and passion for life to burn brighter than it ever did while I was drinking alcohol.
I am going to keep this post short as time is something I will be writing about rather often as I use my time differently over the months and years, but one thing I really want to drum home in this post is how important time actually without time we have nothing.
Think of time as the currency of the mind, teach your brain to use time to your advantage to create awesome memories and to plan and set up your life to be more comfortable in future years.
All too often we use our time to sparingly, wasting it on doing nothing to better ourselves our relationships or our life in general.
We all only get one life and we all have the choice in what way we spend the time given to us, just always be mindful that at some stage your time will run out, and will you look be looking back on the time you spent in your life and have wonderful memories filled with achievements & success, or a life of regret, wastefulness & disappointments.
I know the life I had infront of me if I continued drinking and living the lifestyle i was, was not going to be fun, it would not have created happy memories and it definitely would not have been filled with achievements & success. But I left that life behind in February 2015 and my new, better life is completely different, the drive passion and love i have in my life now is all I need to create the wonderful memories, achievements and success.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
I value my time a great deal more now than I did whilst I was drinking, I felt anytime I was not drinking I was just waiting and almost wasting the time I had until I could finish whatever boring or obligatory task I was doing and head to the pub or the bottle shop, thinking about it now, it almost felt as if my life was not complete without having that drink, I wasn't having fun I wasn't living, it's amazing looking back now and thinking about how I had allowed myself to be so consumed by a substance I clearly no longer controlled.
Today is very different, I cherish each and every minute, I plan my days and any downtime I get as anyone who has read my previous blogs would know, I spend with family and spend on projects like this blog. These two things alone are plenty to keep my mind occupied and my drive and passion for life to burn brighter than it ever did while I was drinking alcohol.
I am going to keep this post short as time is something I will be writing about rather often as I use my time differently over the months and years, but one thing I really want to drum home in this post is how important time actually without time we have nothing.
Think of time as the currency of the mind, teach your brain to use time to your advantage to create awesome memories and to plan and set up your life to be more comfortable in future years.
All too often we use our time to sparingly, wasting it on doing nothing to better ourselves our relationships or our life in general.
We all only get one life and we all have the choice in what way we spend the time given to us, just always be mindful that at some stage your time will run out, and will you look be looking back on the time you spent in your life and have wonderful memories filled with achievements & success, or a life of regret, wastefulness & disappointments.
I know the life I had infront of me if I continued drinking and living the lifestyle i was, was not going to be fun, it would not have created happy memories and it definitely would not have been filled with achievements & success. But I left that life behind in February 2015 and my new, better life is completely different, the drive passion and love i have in my life now is all I need to create the wonderful memories, achievements and success.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Saturday, 1 August 2015
July Financial Report
My first ever monthly financial report, as you may have already read, I averaged my weekly spending on alcohol while I was drinking to $120 Per week, so over a month on average I was spending $500. A fair amount of money no matter who you are, I vowed to save at least $80 per week and use that money towards building up The Alcoholic Entrepreneur brand and other small projects which I will documenting the progress and finances.
The past months main focus has been the website, I registered the domain name (thealcoholicentrepreneur.com) through godaddy.com which cost $11.95 for a year registration and I set up the hosting through Bluehost.com they were running a special for hosting at $2.95 Per month I paid up front for a year so a total cost of $35.40 Bluehost.com's normal price is $5.99 Per Month $71.88 Per year. So it definitely makes sense to keep your eyes out for special's when looking at hosting as the savings can be rather large.
Once the website was registered and being hosted I hired a web developer, I used Elance.com and found a great developer from India with the rate of $7.50 Per Hour. we agreed on 60 hours to complete the work which worked out to a total of $450.00 This was paid weekly over 3 weeks at $150.00 per week.
So that brought the total spending of the month of July to $497.35 which is over the amount I had agreed to save each month by $177.35.
Although the bulk of that spending occurred in July some of it was spent back in May and June, and for this reason I am happy to allow the additional spending this month.
The past months main focus has been the website, I registered the domain name (thealcoholicentrepreneur.com) through godaddy.com which cost $11.95 for a year registration and I set up the hosting through Bluehost.com they were running a special for hosting at $2.95 Per month I paid up front for a year so a total cost of $35.40 Bluehost.com's normal price is $5.99 Per Month $71.88 Per year. So it definitely makes sense to keep your eyes out for special's when looking at hosting as the savings can be rather large.
Once the website was registered and being hosted I hired a web developer, I used Elance.com and found a great developer from India with the rate of $7.50 Per Hour. we agreed on 60 hours to complete the work which worked out to a total of $450.00 This was paid weekly over 3 weeks at $150.00 per week.
So that brought the total spending of the month of July to $497.35 which is over the amount I had agreed to save each month by $177.35.
Although the bulk of that spending occurred in July some of it was spent back in May and June, and for this reason I am happy to allow the additional spending this month.
| July | Saved | Spent | Earned | |||
| Week 1 1/07/2015 - 7/07/2015 | $80 | 47.35 | 0 | |||
| Week 2 8/07/2015 - 14/07/2015 | $80 | 150.00 | 0 | |||
| Week 3 15/07/2015 - 21/07/2015 | $80 | 150.00 | 0 | |||
| Week 4 22/07/2015 - 28/07/2015 | $80 | 150.00 | 0 | |||
| Total: | $320 | $497.35 | 0 | |||
| Difference: | -$177.35 |
My goal for August is to make sure I get a bank account set up for The Alcoholic Entrepreneur so the saving's and spending will be separate from my personal accounts, i will also focus on finishing the site and get do a small amount of advertising by the end of the month to try and increase traffic.
I don't foresee a lot of spending in August so I should be able to save majority of the $320.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
I don't foresee a lot of spending in August so I should be able to save majority of the $320.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Watch what you Watch!
Netflix recently arrived in Australia to much fanfare! we are just a little bit behind over here as you can tell! But hey better late then never.
Well it is great and has opened up a hole new world of TV at our figure tips that we did not have prior so we have been watching a few shows that we would not of other wise of heard of.
One of these shows in called "Shameless" a show starring William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher an alcoholic who spends his time scheming his way to more drugs and alcohol while his 6 kids try their best to cope with raising themselves, each other and pressures of society.
It didn't bother me, and i still don't think it does, but at the same time this weekend has been a little different, I've had feelings i haven't had in a while, feelings like I'm missing something as if i want a drink!
I have know way of knowing if it had anything to do with the show or i was just having a off weekend but at the same i can't rule it out. One of my biggest ideology's to help with recovery is to train my brain that drinking alcohol and especially drinking alcohol expressively is not the norm and to distance myself from it as much as possible for at least the foreseeable future.
Watching TV shows & Movies with excessive drinking, drug taking or general lack of responsibility can big time hinder your recovery, you may not know it at the time and you may not think anything of it before watching something that may impact on you negatively. I do think it effected me in a negative way although i did manage to get through it and learn from it, i do however think it is worth considering where you are with your recovery and frame of mind before watching any type of movie or TV show that could reflect negatively on your end goal.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
I have know way of knowing if it had anything to do with the show or i was just having a off weekend but at the same i can't rule it out. One of my biggest ideology's to help with recovery is to train my brain that drinking alcohol and especially drinking alcohol expressively is not the norm and to distance myself from it as much as possible for at least the foreseeable future.
Watching TV shows & Movies with excessive drinking, drug taking or general lack of responsibility can big time hinder your recovery, you may not know it at the time and you may not think anything of it before watching something that may impact on you negatively. I do think it effected me in a negative way although i did manage to get through it and learn from it, i do however think it is worth considering where you are with your recovery and frame of mind before watching any type of movie or TV show that could reflect negatively on your end goal.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
Non drinking stigma
The stigma around not drinking is very real, most people do not understand it, and nor would they as they have obviously not had a drinking problem, but I do believe most people expect an "alcoholic" to be someone who does not work, who is possibly homeless, and has no real positive input into society. I know I did, I always thought an alcoholic was somebody who drank from the minute they woke up until going to sleep or passing out, I thought an alcoholic was someone who could not do anything without having a drink.
I guess this is part of the reason it took me and takes so many alcoholic's so long to admit to themselves that they do have a problem, their idea of what an alcoholic is very different to the situation they find themselves in.
I first started entertaining the idea of having a problem about 3 years ago, I realised I had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and started to notice that in most general life situations I wanted alcohol to be a part of it, I didn’t think I could have any fun without alcohol and lots of it! I was in two minds though, i knew that I was perhaps drinking too much but I also felt it was some what normal, most of my friends were drinking similar amounts and going out and getting on the piss for whatever the occasion was the accepted norm.
I guess this is part of the reason it took me and takes so many alcoholic's so long to admit to themselves that they do have a problem, their idea of what an alcoholic is very different to the situation they find themselves in.
I first started entertaining the idea of having a problem about 3 years ago, I realised I had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and started to notice that in most general life situations I wanted alcohol to be a part of it, I didn’t think I could have any fun without alcohol and lots of it! I was in two minds though, i knew that I was perhaps drinking too much but I also felt it was some what normal, most of my friends were drinking similar amounts and going out and getting on the piss for whatever the occasion was the accepted norm.
I guess this is the problem, the culture around alcohol is so normal and so accepted that if you are a non-drinking you are looked at differently almost weirdly and people can’t understand the reasons for you not wanting to drink, I know I couldn’t, I'd look at the non-drinkers at whatever the event I was attending and think wow how boring I wouldn’t want to be that guy,m he can't be having any fun!
I would basically just not attend a even if I had to drive to get there, it was easier just to stay home and drink, looking back it's amazing to see how wrong my priorities were!
That is the beauty of where I am now, I am not bothered by what people think, I know why I made the choice to not drink and I know it was the right choice, I am proud of my situation and I am proud of what I have achieved so far, I understand the culture around alcohol and I believe generally it is an acceptable way of life, however there are people out there, myself being included, that have trouble drinking the recommended amounts and not knowing when to stop, for people like us the accepted culture of alcohol is a hard pill to swallow as abuse is all too easy.
I would basically just not attend a even if I had to drive to get there, it was easier just to stay home and drink, looking back it's amazing to see how wrong my priorities were!
That is the beauty of where I am now, I am not bothered by what people think, I know why I made the choice to not drink and I know it was the right choice, I am proud of my situation and I am proud of what I have achieved so far, I understand the culture around alcohol and I believe generally it is an acceptable way of life, however there are people out there, myself being included, that have trouble drinking the recommended amounts and not knowing when to stop, for people like us the accepted culture of alcohol is a hard pill to swallow as abuse is all too easy.
If you think you may be drinking too much an easy first step is to just start monitoring it a bit more closely. Keep a tab at how much and how often you are drinking.
Success Built from Failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
Success Built from Failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Sports Box
I got invited to a box to watch my AFL (Australian Football League) team play at Domain Stadium over the weekend, it was in a box, which, of course, means plenty of free alcohol. I put my hand up to drive, which is just another small trick to keep the mind on the job and give me another reason to keep my mind from even contemplating having a drink.
But as is starting to become the normal that thought never came, we arrived about 30 minutes before the game started and the waitress was quick to offer everyone a drink, everyone that I was with ordered an alcoholic beverage and from what I could tell I was the only one in the box that was not drinking alcohol.
This didn't bother me at all and I enjoyed the atmosphere and conversation, I spent a bit of time watching the teams warm up and then before I knew it the game was starting, I've always been into the footy and have always enjoyed going to live games, but a live game for me generally meant multiple trips to the bar and multiple trips to the toilet, so the game was not the priority, alcohol was as usual. It was nice to just enjoy the game for what it was and not have to worry about my next drink or emptying my bladder every 20 minutes.
The box was mainly standing area in a kind of bar set up, with bar stools and barrels as tables being the main styling, it also had a row of seating just down in front which was shared with other members who obviously owned those seats, we spent most of our time sitting down there as the view was better and you didn't have to stand. One of the rows of seats just to the right of us was a bunch of guys who were there enjoying the night in the way I would have 12 months ago, they were going through drinks at a rapid rate and were gradually getting more rowdy as the night went on.
I have no problems with this and these guys caused no trouble at all and all seemed to be having a great night, but it did make me realise how much I have grown in the past 6 months as there was nothing about what they were doing that appealed to me, I was really enjoying my night, and i am really enjoying my sobriety and my life!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
But as is starting to become the normal that thought never came, we arrived about 30 minutes before the game started and the waitress was quick to offer everyone a drink, everyone that I was with ordered an alcoholic beverage and from what I could tell I was the only one in the box that was not drinking alcohol.
This didn't bother me at all and I enjoyed the atmosphere and conversation, I spent a bit of time watching the teams warm up and then before I knew it the game was starting, I've always been into the footy and have always enjoyed going to live games, but a live game for me generally meant multiple trips to the bar and multiple trips to the toilet, so the game was not the priority, alcohol was as usual. It was nice to just enjoy the game for what it was and not have to worry about my next drink or emptying my bladder every 20 minutes.
The box was mainly standing area in a kind of bar set up, with bar stools and barrels as tables being the main styling, it also had a row of seating just down in front which was shared with other members who obviously owned those seats, we spent most of our time sitting down there as the view was better and you didn't have to stand. One of the rows of seats just to the right of us was a bunch of guys who were there enjoying the night in the way I would have 12 months ago, they were going through drinks at a rapid rate and were gradually getting more rowdy as the night went on.
I have no problems with this and these guys caused no trouble at all and all seemed to be having a great night, but it did make me realise how much I have grown in the past 6 months as there was nothing about what they were doing that appealed to me, I was really enjoying my night, and i am really enjoying my sobriety and my life!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
Sunday, 5 July 2015
Weekend Progress
It's 8pm Sunday night and the kids have just been put to bed, I'm feeling relaxed and content with the weekend that has just past.
Alcohol played no part in my weekend nor was it craved or missed. After 4 months of not drinking I do not crave or even really give alcohol a second thought come the weekend, this obviously was vastly different 6 months ago. But that alone is an amazing feeling and allows me a lot more free time on the weekends.
The main reason for this post is to update where I am with my goals. My last post I explained how I was going to be saving part of the money saved and committing part of the time saved to my future entrepreneurial goals.
What I didn't share was I had already started some small steps, a few months ago I registered the domain name http://www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com/ and roughly a month ago I begin sourcing a web developer to get a basic site made, so I have a home base I guess you could call it for my future goals blogs & any other crazy idea's that may pop in my very sober very clear mind!
So the website has been built albeit a working in progress and being hosted by Bluehost and running live as I type and you read.. there is plenty of work to do but the foundation is down and I am happy with what I have in such little time. I will be doing a full blog of the steps I went through to get the site to where it is in a the very near future.
But for now this post is about this weekend, So what did i achieve this weekend? Up to this point in time I have clocked 8 hours, 4 of those were spent on Friday night, where I was editing the website in small ways, I added a second banner on the front page, and tweaked the sign up form slightly, i am slowly converting all the post's I have written in blogger across so I also transferred one of the older post's, within a few weeks I should be caught up and be running in sync with blogger.
I also set up google analytics, this required me to set up a google analytics account, then link to the site via code which I needed to enter into the back end of the site.
the other 4 hours were put in on Saturday afternoon/Night, during this time, I was playing with social media, I had created a facebook page a few weeks ago, but not a twitter account, so my partner set up a twitter account and a email address so we have a contact point alcoholicentrepreneur@gmail.com for anyone who may be interested. While she was doing that I tweaked the logo to fit the facebook page. I also connected the social media links on the web page to both the twitter & facebook page. Once the twitter page had been completed, I went ahead and tweaked the logos to fit that.
That basically brings us up to the now, so here I am writing this blog, I am also flicking between facebook & twitter and following other pages/people that are related to what we are doing here and what I am trying to achieve, I am finding the time hard to monitor as I am having so much fun I get lost in doing it, it does not feel like work and the enjoyment and excitement just wrap me up, it really is an amazing feeling and I recommend anyone who is thinking about it to get in contact with me and start your own new journey!
Would love to hear some feedback and anyone wanting to keep up to date, on the website there is a sign up form where I will eventually be linking to the blog and have monthly updates etc.
Friday, 3 July 2015
The Next Stage
One thing I have learnt so far in my sobriety is that you need a plan, ever since i started this blog and named myself "The Alcoholic Entrepreneur" I have had a plan in mind and over the months of sobriety that plan has slowly started to solidify itself and take shape, I have set the wheels in motion on a few small projects and am now ready to take the next step and explain what my plan is and how I am going to go about it.
As you may have read in previous post's not drinking free's up a lot of your time and a lot of money, two very important things in life, I'm sure you all agree!
Additional time & money is fantastic and something no one in the world would take for granted or deny them selfs, so it is one of the greatest rewards for stopping drinking and I truly believe it is not spoken about enough.
I have decided to put this new found time and money to even more use, I am not just going to allow my lifestyle to absorb these new changes, it would be all to easy to eat up all this new time on general life things, and not really gaining anything from it, and the same goes for the money. I am looking at it the same way I look at getting a pay rise. Every financial post I have ever read in myself, says when you get a pay rise, don't allow it to just increase your lifestyle, put it straight into savings and start investing those additional funds to help grow your wealth.
So that brings me to my plan, my addition to my already very real commitment to not drinking. So if you haven't already put it together basically what I am going to start doing from the 1st of July 2015 is to keep a record of the average saving's i make per week from not drinking, I averaged these savings to be $120 per week & roughly 30 hours per week.
For the sake of making sure I keep my beautiful supportive partner happy & to make sure I don't just turn one addiction into another, I obviously cannot take this money and time and use it all for this project, however I can take a responsible and manageable amount of both and work with that.
So I have decided to commit $80 & 12 hours per week to this project, the $80 is firm and will not change however the 12 hours is a minimum and could change from week to week.
To keep a record and hold myself accountable I will be keeping and posting two monthly reports, one that will basically be a time sheet and show what I have been working on and for how long, and another showing the money saved, what the money has been spent on and eventually how much additional money is coming in.
Help hold me accountable and reach these goals, join in along the way and let me know how you are doing!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
As you may have read in previous post's not drinking free's up a lot of your time and a lot of money, two very important things in life, I'm sure you all agree!
Additional time & money is fantastic and something no one in the world would take for granted or deny them selfs, so it is one of the greatest rewards for stopping drinking and I truly believe it is not spoken about enough.
I have decided to put this new found time and money to even more use, I am not just going to allow my lifestyle to absorb these new changes, it would be all to easy to eat up all this new time on general life things, and not really gaining anything from it, and the same goes for the money. I am looking at it the same way I look at getting a pay rise. Every financial post I have ever read in myself, says when you get a pay rise, don't allow it to just increase your lifestyle, put it straight into savings and start investing those additional funds to help grow your wealth.
So that brings me to my plan, my addition to my already very real commitment to not drinking. So if you haven't already put it together basically what I am going to start doing from the 1st of July 2015 is to keep a record of the average saving's i make per week from not drinking, I averaged these savings to be $120 per week & roughly 30 hours per week.
For the sake of making sure I keep my beautiful supportive partner happy & to make sure I don't just turn one addiction into another, I obviously cannot take this money and time and use it all for this project, however I can take a responsible and manageable amount of both and work with that.
So I have decided to commit $80 & 12 hours per week to this project, the $80 is firm and will not change however the 12 hours is a minimum and could change from week to week.
To keep a record and hold myself accountable I will be keeping and posting two monthly reports, one that will basically be a time sheet and show what I have been working on and for how long, and another showing the money saved, what the money has been spent on and eventually how much additional money is coming in.
Help hold me accountable and reach these goals, join in along the way and let me know how you are doing!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Drinking Routine
I want to reflect on my routine towards the end of my drinking days, the last couple of months of my drinking got pretty bad, my weekly afternoon routine was dominated by drinking choices and my weekend was not mine to enjoy with my family it was my alcoholic binge time.
Friday was the day I lived for it's an alcoholics holiday! I would often pick some beers up during the day and take them back to the office with me, having my first drink around 3pm I'd finish 3-4 before leaving the office at around 5pm, I would then generally make a stop at the local pub, I'd have at least 2 pints at the pub which I would down in quick succession as I was rushing to get home so I didn't upset my partner too much (Who hated me going to the pub), I'd leave the pub & then head straight to the bottle shop where I would grab either a carton of beer or a bottle of something, Once home I would sneak it into my backyard using a shelf I had installed for that exact reason, I did this for two reasons, I was ashamed of the amount I was drinking and it would avoid an argument with my partner as she knew what the end result was going to be if she saw how much alcohol I was intending to drink. Once the booze was in my back yard it was basically an all you can drink, I would drink until I would black out and eventually pass out. Great Friday night hey?
Saturday I would generally wake up on the couch after not making it to bed, I would wake up feeling like absolute shit, (I suffered bad with hang overs) my head would be pounding, my gut would be tuning I'd be tired dizzy and hungry. To top this off I'd have my two kids who were 2-3 or younger at the time full of energy and wanting their dad to play with them, this was just not possible and I would be grouchy and abrupt with them, and just not want them to be around me! A big regret I have. Saturdays wouldn't get much better I'd generally be hung over the entire day and not wanting to do anything, complete waste of a day. If I started to come around later in the afternoon I would go and get some more alcohol and do it again, if not I would remain sober Saturday night and start again Sunday.
Sunday I hated, as I never wanted to drink but very rarely resisted. I would always drink during the day on Sunday and I would do this to help recover more by Monday, quite often I would have had my first drink well before 12pm on Sunday and by 2 - 3pm be well and truly drunk. I would never completely right myself off on a Sunday the way I would on a Friday or Saturday night but I'd still be plenty drunk to most people's standards, I'd hit the water around 7 - 8pm and try and sober up the best I could so I could get to work the next day and at least be somewhat functional useful!
Weekdays I would start the Monday feeling average due to drinking Sunday, I would try to remain sober on a Monday and most weeks I would manage to do this, by Tuesday though I was feeling back to almost 100% at least what I thought was 100% so I was ready to hit it again, again i would try to drink as early as I could so I would stop on the way home from work and pick up at least a 6 pack, I would then down these beers as fast as possible to try and get the biggest effect I could from them. If I had only got a 6pack it was never enough, I would always end up going back down the bottle shop to get more. I would always stop drinking by about 9pm and hit the water to try and sober up as much as possible ready for work the next day. The rest of the week would
follow a very similar script, walking that fine line between almost being not functional at work and just managing to get there and get the job done. My work was affected by this, but this is another story for another day.
My drinking problem wasn't so much a drink every day type problem I could occasionally go 3 - 4 days without a drink, my problem was when I drank I did not have a ceiling, I did not stop until I could not physically for whatever reason get any more alcohol into my body. The only think that stopped me from drinking more was the hangovers and having to allow myself to recover before I drank myself to oblivion again.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Friday was the day I lived for it's an alcoholics holiday! I would often pick some beers up during the day and take them back to the office with me, having my first drink around 3pm I'd finish 3-4 before leaving the office at around 5pm, I would then generally make a stop at the local pub, I'd have at least 2 pints at the pub which I would down in quick succession as I was rushing to get home so I didn't upset my partner too much (Who hated me going to the pub), I'd leave the pub & then head straight to the bottle shop where I would grab either a carton of beer or a bottle of something, Once home I would sneak it into my backyard using a shelf I had installed for that exact reason, I did this for two reasons, I was ashamed of the amount I was drinking and it would avoid an argument with my partner as she knew what the end result was going to be if she saw how much alcohol I was intending to drink. Once the booze was in my back yard it was basically an all you can drink, I would drink until I would black out and eventually pass out. Great Friday night hey?
Saturday I would generally wake up on the couch after not making it to bed, I would wake up feeling like absolute shit, (I suffered bad with hang overs) my head would be pounding, my gut would be tuning I'd be tired dizzy and hungry. To top this off I'd have my two kids who were 2-3 or younger at the time full of energy and wanting their dad to play with them, this was just not possible and I would be grouchy and abrupt with them, and just not want them to be around me! A big regret I have. Saturdays wouldn't get much better I'd generally be hung over the entire day and not wanting to do anything, complete waste of a day. If I started to come around later in the afternoon I would go and get some more alcohol and do it again, if not I would remain sober Saturday night and start again Sunday.
Sunday I hated, as I never wanted to drink but very rarely resisted. I would always drink during the day on Sunday and I would do this to help recover more by Monday, quite often I would have had my first drink well before 12pm on Sunday and by 2 - 3pm be well and truly drunk. I would never completely right myself off on a Sunday the way I would on a Friday or Saturday night but I'd still be plenty drunk to most people's standards, I'd hit the water around 7 - 8pm and try and sober up the best I could so I could get to work the next day and at least be somewhat functional useful!
Weekdays I would start the Monday feeling average due to drinking Sunday, I would try to remain sober on a Monday and most weeks I would manage to do this, by Tuesday though I was feeling back to almost 100% at least what I thought was 100% so I was ready to hit it again, again i would try to drink as early as I could so I would stop on the way home from work and pick up at least a 6 pack, I would then down these beers as fast as possible to try and get the biggest effect I could from them. If I had only got a 6pack it was never enough, I would always end up going back down the bottle shop to get more. I would always stop drinking by about 9pm and hit the water to try and sober up as much as possible ready for work the next day. The rest of the week would
follow a very similar script, walking that fine line between almost being not functional at work and just managing to get there and get the job done. My work was affected by this, but this is another story for another day.
My drinking problem wasn't so much a drink every day type problem I could occasionally go 3 - 4 days without a drink, my problem was when I drank I did not have a ceiling, I did not stop until I could not physically for whatever reason get any more alcohol into my body. The only think that stopped me from drinking more was the hangovers and having to allow myself to recover before I drank myself to oblivion again.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Friday, 19 June 2015
Money
Oh the money how could I not write about the money, as you guys are aware I am now well over 3 months sober and one of the many things that have changed for the better since stopping drinking is the disposable income that has been freed up. I have always been a pretty frugal guy and prided myself on money management, however after I had put away for all the necessities, 90% of what was left went onto alcohol, so basically my "fun money" was all spent on alcohol. This was something that always bothered me and I think something that ultimately really helped towards making the decision to stop drinking.Alcohol is expensive at the best of times, but when you are drinking excessively and you know it, you try to trick your mind into not drinking as much, so one of my ways to try and combat this was to buy smaller amounts of alcohol at time for eg. Instead of buying the $40 carton with its 24 beers, i would by the 6 pack for $16, but once I'd finished the 6 pack and wasn't satisfied I'd then go and buy another 6 pack so I'd end up spending $32 on 12 beers, when had I have bought the carton I would have only paid $20, this was happening all the time and really did frustrate me!
But now my fun money is mine again and it feels great! but what feels even more great is i am not planning on just increasing my lifestyle with this money, I am planning on keeping a record of the money I am saving and holding myself accountable with the help of you guys by posting a record as I go on this blog.
This money is then going to be used to fund small projects to bring some legitimacy to the Entrepreneurial part for the name I have given myself, As I have already got my stripes for the Alcoholic part =P
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Friday, 12 June 2015
Lifestyle Reboot
It's been over 3 months since I last had an alcoholic drink and my body is definitely thanking me, I used to live in a clouded state of hungover ness, and never felt 100%.That cloud has lifted and my mind is feeling stronger than it has in years and as a result has started focusing on things I neglected for years, my health and fitness being a stand out at the moment.
This change is great, although I am being caution and strategic with each move I make at the moment, I do not want to over do it, I don't want to put all this energy into not drinking and all this energy into eating healthy and working out and then crash and burn and fall right back into my drinking non-productive lifestyle.
So to avoid this i am looking at the whole thing as a marathon and not a race, I am learning and making small changes with my choices of food, I am adding exercise to my life in small ways which may be as simple as parking my car further away and walking for 5 minutes, I want the changes I make to be permanent, as permanent as the non-drinking so they need to be done slowly educationally and strategically.
This life change I have chosen is not just about the drinking, it is about what the drinking was holding me back from, the possibilities that have now become available, I want to share my story, my story and journey to help others overcome addiction or doubt, because anything is possible with hard work and dedication.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Friday, 5 June 2015
Higher Power
Within Alcohol Anonymous there is a lot of talk about 'god' or your 'higher power', the first couple of times i attended AA I was a bit wary of this, as I am not a religious person, so felt a little put off thinking the whole program could be religious based. This thought was soon squashed and the real meaning of the word 'god' has been made obvious and it has nothing to do with the religion, at least to the people who don't want it to.I have heard many talks from people explaining how they are not religious yet their 'higher power' or 'god' has helped get them through and keep strong away from alcohol, i used to balk at these talks and felt they were contradicting themselves, but over time i have come to understand what they really meant and with that it has given me a whole new understanding of the word 'god'.
So i started to give my higher power a bit of though, something to help hold me accountable something to turn to when things start getting tough and the idea of drinking starts to creep back into my mind.
My goals and ambitions have always been rather high, some would say too high, but I have always been comfortable with them and felt anything is possible in this life if you put your mind to it and work hard enough to get it! However these goals and ambitions were always just a thought & dream while I was drinking I had the ideas and had the want but picking up that first beer or stepping in the pub was always the easier option.
Since being sober that has changed, I have started several small projects this blog being one of them and I continue to follow through with them, I am revelling the new found energy and ambition and feel as if this is what was missing from my life.
This is why I feel my higher power is the ambition and want to succeed that I have!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Sunday, 31 May 2015
Bachelor Party Power
The Bachelor party has come and gone, and things went well for me at least.
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| The beer fridge for the night |
As expected the theme for the night was Alcohol and as much as possible for some! I arrived at 4pm on the invite it said "from 3pm" from the minute I arrived it was clear people had been drinking long before 3pm the buck was already slurring his words and the beers were flowing freely!
I got asked if i wanted a drink within 5 minutes of being there which i replied "yeah I'll grab a coke" the puzzled look on the face of my mate was priceless, but he obliged and came back with a beer for himself and 2 others and a coke for me. I had multiple people ask me during the night why I was drinking coke water or whatever I had in my hand at the time, which I generally just replied I'm driving, that would generally move the conversation on.
There were at least 10 bottles of alcohol inside and shots were also flowing freely, this was the only mental challenge I found myself in during the night, knowing I could have had three or four shots in quick concession and got myself to a similar state of mind to most others.
But I stayed true and they remained all but a quick thought that I pushed out of my head as quick as they came in.
You may be wondering why I titled this post as I did, well it's because of the power I felt, not just the power within myself for having the control to choose not to drink in the first place or to push the small thoughts of having shots out of my head, but the power I felt in general being what felt like the only sober person there, i felt I had an advantage, An advantage of wit, an advantage of memory and an advantage of every day common sense.
The biggest thing I take from the night is that alcohol gives you a major false sense of security, it makes you feel confident, it makes you feel smart, it makes you feel powerful, but the real power sits with those who chose to remain sober!
Friday, 29 May 2015
Bachelor Party
Tomorrow i have my first real test, A long standing friend of mine is getting married and it's his last single days Hoorah, being organized by his rather irresponsible older brother, going off the updates on the Facebook events page this thing is going to get a little mess!
Normally i would be planning what and how much i was drinking, what time i would be starting so i arrived already half cut ready to go and trying to work out how i was getting too and from the event.
But instead i am looking forward to a relaxing drive down (it's a few hours away) liking the fact i have the freedom to leave when ever i want and am intrigued to see if i'll enjoy being around highly intoxicated people stoned cold sober.
It all feels new, and i would be lying if i said i wasn't a little excited. wish me luck guys and i'll be updating soon after!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
Normally i would be planning what and how much i was drinking, what time i would be starting so i arrived already half cut ready to go and trying to work out how i was getting too and from the event.But instead i am looking forward to a relaxing drive down (it's a few hours away) liking the fact i have the freedom to leave when ever i want and am intrigued to see if i'll enjoy being around highly intoxicated people stoned cold sober.
It all feels new, and i would be lying if i said i wasn't a little excited. wish me luck guys and i'll be updating soon after!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
3 Months Conquered
A couple of days ago i reached the 3 month mark, 3 months since i aloud alcohol to rule my life and it feels great.
3 months is a good effort and i feel happy about it, however i am well aware i have a long way to go. The urge to drink is still there and i still think about alcohol from time to time, so i still need to be 100% focused on where i want to be in my life and what i need to to do to get there.
Passing the 3 month time frame i feel it is time to take the next step and start putting to use my new found time, ambition and much healthier financial situation.
At this stage my plan is to build a home base (Website) to help document and categorize my journey and growth as a human and as an entrepreneur.
This Journey is a marathon and will last the rest of my life, what i make of it is completely up to me, one thing i know for sure is i have given myself a much higher chance of succeeding in many parts of my life without alcohol being a part of it.
Success built from failure,
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Searching
Since that last drink back on the 22nd of February 2015 something has been missing, obviously alcohol was a huge part of my life so that was to be expected, But it felt deep, it felt like loosing a close friend of many years, a friend i could turn to no matter what the situation, I'd drank solidly for 15 years, taking that away and knowing I won't ever be going back was emotional & scary and left me feeling empty & confused even though it was 100% the right thing to do!
Those feelings are getting easier with every day that passes but I still feel this strong urge of missing something, My Coke and soft drink intake has increased since stopping, i guess as a alternative to make the transition easier at least I thought, but over the past week I have started drinking stronger caffeinated drinks I've never enjoyed coffee and hardly ever drank it, but for some reason one day last week I grabbed one out of the deli fridge when i was getting my lunch and since then i can't seem to get enough of them, it isn't the taste I am craving it is the mild caffeine hit I am getting,
Is this my mind compensating for the alcohol? is it a wise to keep drinking these or am I heading in a dangerous direction? one part of me is saying just to go with it, it's just coffee, another is saying will I want to graduate from this like I did from coke? where will it end? what is it I am chasing?
One thing is for sure, I am aware of it and I am going to be bringing it up in my next AA meeting.
Those feelings are getting easier with every day that passes but I still feel this strong urge of missing something, My Coke and soft drink intake has increased since stopping, i guess as a alternative to make the transition easier at least I thought, but over the past week I have started drinking stronger caffeinated drinks I've never enjoyed coffee and hardly ever drank it, but for some reason one day last week I grabbed one out of the deli fridge when i was getting my lunch and since then i can't seem to get enough of them, it isn't the taste I am craving it is the mild caffeine hit I am getting,
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One thing is for sure, I am aware of it and I am going to be bringing it up in my next AA meeting.
Success built from failure,
Friday, 8 May 2015
My Weekends
Weekends were what i most looked forward to in my life and not for the right reasons. It wasn't because i got time to spend with my family or work on small projects & goals, it was because it gave me a chance to drink and drink without worrying i have my one committed obligation (Work) the next day, Alcohol took priority over everything but work.
It turned into a trend, a life style my weekends were dominated by alcohol.
I thought it was fun, i thought it was normal i'd come to think there was nothing else. It was hard to imagine my life with out alcohol let alone on a weekend!
It turned into a trend, a life style my weekends were dominated by alcohol.
I thought it was fun, i thought it was normal i'd come to think there was nothing else. It was hard to imagine my life with out alcohol let alone on a weekend!
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| Me on the left with a Mate of mine in 2006 |
Drinking straight alcohol became a normal and accepted thing for me, i'd drink it till i blacked out, i'd have no memory of my actions and no care in the world. I'm surprised and extremely lucky i never hurt myself, or worse anybody else!
But things have changed, i now look forward to the weekends for the right reasons.
I am writing this post from my couch with the movie Surrogates on in the back ground. I'm comfortable relaxed and i'm enjoying it, This may be a normal Friday night to allot of people, but for me it's new and it feels great!
Friday, 1 May 2015
This Can't be a Bad thing.
It's been almost a month since i last wrote, and normally i would be a bit disappointed in not making more effort to have at least added a weekly update, however it has been an extremely busy and productive month so i'll let it slip.
I started working on my backyard around the same time as i stopped drinking, trimming back and removing a rather over grown over planted space, the work and the idea's have increased over the weeks with me getting better and faster at starting and finishing projects. One project i have started and am half through currently is brick paving a rather large area of the yard, I've never done any paving before so luckily i have helping hand from my mate Mark who has some experience in the area.
I have also started a Facebook page called BustedBrands, The page as the name suggest's is a collection of brands that have gone belly up. The likes are trickling in and it is beginning to get a bit of traction, i am really enjoying reading about old companies and how and why they lost the battle to continue in our massively competitive world. I have registered the domain name Bustedbrands.com and plan to build a website to catalog the all the brands that are no more. i am excited about this project and am looking forward to watching it grow, and document it in these blogs.
My brain is feeling free, my mind is clearer enjoying and embracing the thoughts, idea's and emotions i am feeling. This can't be a bad thing!
My Soday as i call it, is the 22nd of February 2015 since that fateful night on a beach in Queensland my lips have been starved of the powerful substance we call alcohol.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
I started working on my backyard around the same time as i stopped drinking, trimming back and removing a rather over grown over planted space, the work and the idea's have increased over the weeks with me getting better and faster at starting and finishing projects. One project i have started and am half through currently is brick paving a rather large area of the yard, I've never done any paving before so luckily i have helping hand from my mate Mark who has some experience in the area.
I have also started a Facebook page called BustedBrands, The page as the name suggest's is a collection of brands that have gone belly up. The likes are trickling in and it is beginning to get a bit of traction, i am really enjoying reading about old companies and how and why they lost the battle to continue in our massively competitive world. I have registered the domain name Bustedbrands.com and plan to build a website to catalog the all the brands that are no more. i am excited about this project and am looking forward to watching it grow, and document it in these blogs.
My brain is feeling free, my mind is clearer enjoying and embracing the thoughts, idea's and emotions i am feeling. This can't be a bad thing!
My Soday as i call it, is the 22nd of February 2015 since that fateful night on a beach in Queensland my lips have been starved of the powerful substance we call alcohol.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Friday, 3 April 2015
Long weekend Battle
Today has been one of the tougher days i have had since starting this journey of sobriety. It was the last day of work before the Easter long weekend started, my first long weekend since stopping drinking, it was also the first game of the season for the AFL,(Ausie Rules Football) two things i loved to mix, Weekends, specially lonnngggg weekends and footy! All day the thought of drinking was there, i kept taking breaks from my work and doing push ups and taking small walks, but i could not shake it.
I couldn't shake the thought, but that i can live with, because I realized something today, i realized that is all it is, just a thought, a thought that i can control a thought that i can chose to act on or chose to ignore. 2 months ago i didn't stand a chance against these thoughts, these thoughts controlled me, these thoughts won and i drank every time they entered my head. But not today, today they did not, i won today and it feels great.
I have no illusion that this will be my last battle, but i can take confidence knowing i faced it and i won.
Every day is a new day, a day of Thought, a day of Choices and a day of Actions.
Think Clearly, Choose Wisely and then Act Freely!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
I couldn't shake the thought, but that i can live with, because I realized something today, i realized that is all it is, just a thought, a thought that i can control a thought that i can chose to act on or chose to ignore. 2 months ago i didn't stand a chance against these thoughts, these thoughts controlled me, these thoughts won and i drank every time they entered my head. But not today, today they did not, i won today and it feels great.
I have no illusion that this will be my last battle, but i can take confidence knowing i faced it and i won.
Every day is a new day, a day of Thought, a day of Choices and a day of Actions.
Think Clearly, Choose Wisely and then Act Freely!
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Going strong
Things have been so busy i keep meaning to come on and do an update but keep skipping it! But here i am! Things are going great! I have not had a drink for well over a month now and it feels great! my body feels younger then it has in years and my head is clearer then i think it has ever been!
These feelings just promote the want & drive to keep going on this new journey i have set for myself, the journey of freedom and success!
I want to talk a little about how my body feels younger and my head feels clearer!
For years i had very little activity in my life, walking to and from my car was about as active as i got most days, i always new it was bad, and occasionally tried to increase it but never managed to do much more then a few days then fall back into the routine of slackness, i'm lucky in the sense that i have not had a huge problem with weight so that was another reason in my head not needing to exercise more.
But that has changed, for the past month i have been doing push ups, squats and sit ups on a daily basis, I've also been walking every other day, and staying active on the weekends in the garden and playing with the kids. It feels great to be active, and i feel as if the drinking was what was holding me back, my goal is to keep up the active lifestyle and slowly increase my workouts to be more intense and rewarding in gains.
My head feels free, i am no longer arguing with myself about drinking, and boy has it released a huge amount pressure and saved a hole heap of energy! The decision not to drink is now an automatic one most days, and it doesn't get a second thought, this 2 months ago seemed impossible as every day i was fighting and arguing myself as to why i shouldn't drink, but giving into the compulsion by the end of the day! To have that head space back feels great, and clear! My memory is working better and my task list is getting done alot more efficiently & effectively. My goal is to learn and read as much i can every day, and to start setting my alarm earlier to allow morning time for myself, to fit in things like more intense workouts as above etc.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
These feelings just promote the want & drive to keep going on this new journey i have set for myself, the journey of freedom and success!
I want to talk a little about how my body feels younger and my head feels clearer!
For years i had very little activity in my life, walking to and from my car was about as active as i got most days, i always new it was bad, and occasionally tried to increase it but never managed to do much more then a few days then fall back into the routine of slackness, i'm lucky in the sense that i have not had a huge problem with weight so that was another reason in my head not needing to exercise more.
But that has changed, for the past month i have been doing push ups, squats and sit ups on a daily basis, I've also been walking every other day, and staying active on the weekends in the garden and playing with the kids. It feels great to be active, and i feel as if the drinking was what was holding me back, my goal is to keep up the active lifestyle and slowly increase my workouts to be more intense and rewarding in gains.
My head feels free, i am no longer arguing with myself about drinking, and boy has it released a huge amount pressure and saved a hole heap of energy! The decision not to drink is now an automatic one most days, and it doesn't get a second thought, this 2 months ago seemed impossible as every day i was fighting and arguing myself as to why i shouldn't drink, but giving into the compulsion by the end of the day! To have that head space back feels great, and clear! My memory is working better and my task list is getting done alot more efficiently & effectively. My goal is to learn and read as much i can every day, and to start setting my alarm earlier to allow morning time for myself, to fit in things like more intense workouts as above etc.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
Monday, 16 March 2015
How it all started Part 1
I've written so far about my short journey heading into Alcoholics Anonymous, i thought it would be a good idea to reflect on how i ended up in the situation to lead me down this path.
As a child i never liked the idea of drinking and consistently said i would never drink, i watched my parents and there friends drink at gatherings and parties, not excessively for Australian culture but still many more then your recommend standard drinks in this day and age!
But little did i know i had my teenage years ahead of me and as we all know allot changes during this time of your life, my friends started to change and i began heading out at night on my own for the first time in my life, albeit with a strict 9pm curfew, this at began when i was 15.
By the time i had turned 16 i had extended my curfew to 10pm and had started to bare witness to alcohol use, it wasn't long till i had tried my first drink shortly followed by my first drunken experience.
Parties started becoming a weekly thing and they all involved alcohol i was drinking most weekends almost definitely every second weekend, and come school holidays it was a 3, 4 night a week party! these were exciting fun times! little did i know i was setting myself up for a problem later in a life.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
As a child i never liked the idea of drinking and consistently said i would never drink, i watched my parents and there friends drink at gatherings and parties, not excessively for Australian culture but still many more then your recommend standard drinks in this day and age!
But little did i know i had my teenage years ahead of me and as we all know allot changes during this time of your life, my friends started to change and i began heading out at night on my own for the first time in my life, albeit with a strict 9pm curfew, this at began when i was 15.
By the time i had turned 16 i had extended my curfew to 10pm and had started to bare witness to alcohol use, it wasn't long till i had tried my first drink shortly followed by my first drunken experience.
Parties started becoming a weekly thing and they all involved alcohol i was drinking most weekends almost definitely every second weekend, and come school holidays it was a 3, 4 night a week party! these were exciting fun times! little did i know i was setting myself up for a problem later in a life.
Success built from failure,
The Alcoholic Entrepreneur
www.thealcoholicentrepreneur.com
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