My Unfair Advantage
Every Friday, I send my weekly newsletter to my list over at TimStodz.com.
I just received a reply from someone who said that “they see what I do and they don’t think it feels possible.”
I responded by saying that I have an unfair advantage, which is my sobriety.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been sober for more than 12 years. I can remember it like it was yesterday.
There was an AA meeting I went to called “The Double Digits Meeting.” The purpose of the meeting was that only those who had double digit years of sobriety (10 years or more for those of you who have trouble adding) were allowed to share.
10 years felt like a lifetime away. I couldn’t even fathom it. 10 years?! I couldn’t stay sober for 10 minutes.
It was also around that time when I heard a story. The story is as follows.
“A newcomers joins the program with 30 days of sobriety and talks to a guy with 30 years. The newcomer says that he would do anything to be where the other guy is. With 30 years of sobriety, the mans life is full of health, wealth and love. The other guy tells the newcomer that he would trade his 30 years for his 30 days, full stop.”
I get it now.
The journey has been beautiful. Those first few years in Florida were some of the best in my life. It was the first time in my life where I finally felt free. I was broke, malnourished, scared, unskilled, lonely and insecure beyond belief, but there was some strange sense of freedom that I found after I had stopped trying so hard to figure everything out.
Would I trade my 12 years for 12 days? I don’t think I would. I am happier than I’ve ever been.
These 12 years taught me about what it means to be a man and to be a happy person. It taught me how to prioritize. It taught me that “going out on the weekends” isn’t actually as fun as you think it will be.
It’s hard to put all of this into words. When I was sitting in those meetings listening to the double digit speakers, I remember thinking that if I could make it 10 years, I would know something. I would understand some kind of secret that I didn’t understand at the time.
What I’ve learned is that I have more questions than ever. I think it’s the willingness to never have it figured out that gives the illusion of having it figured out.
My higher power continues to guide me, and for that I am so blessed.
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Latest Podcast Episode
Bored Elon Musk on How to Build a Business as a Fake Person
In this episode, Tim sits down with the Twitter avatar, (@boredelonmusk). This is a different type of interview, because BoredElonMusk is not a real person, at least not in the way we think of it.
He goes by the nickname of Bored, and in this interview, he gives Tim a behind the scenes breakdown of his digital gaming business and how he uses Twitter, humor, and content marketing to grow.
Click here to listen to the episode and read the full show notes.