A few years ago, a football buddy from boarding school called me for a daily check-in. I was supporting him in putting his life back together from his latest jackpot in addiction which landed him a one-year stint at a correctional and rehab facility in Connecticut. This buddy, we'll call him Jack, was working for a construction general contractor and had turned two thousand dollars into nearly $500k trading stocks. Jack called me and was ecstatic. He told me about his stock trading system and a couple of online stock tip relationships he made. I could barely listen to his rationale as I knew he found an interesting strategy, but it was not sustainable. Jack needed to take some money off the table, "You're gambling," I said, "your elementary understanding of trading is nothing compared to the giants that outperform and move markets like Renaissance Technologies - yet; you're sitting on nearly a 45,000% gain in three months." Jack, "Your addiction has manifested. Take the money and pay the taxes - what are you thinking?" I'm sure there were some added explicatives. However, Jack told me to relax and that he would stop at $1 million.
One week later, Jack and I were speaking. I had recently started a YouTube channel about my life in recovery; he told me we should start a channel about stocks and recovery and that we could make money too. So I asked Jack, who was roughly eleven months sober, "What's the difference between sobriety and recovery?" Jack didn't know, but in true addict fashion, he managed some bullshit response. I told Jack I was open to working together, but I will not be some get-rich-quick scammer on YouTube masking my addiction with stocks to gain followers. And about a week later, I said, "Dude, please stop with this day-trading stuff! What you should start doing is investing in your sobriety, or you'll lose it."
You're probably wondering. Did Jack make his million? Unfortunately, the answer is, No. Shortly after, Jack was not showing up to work, his stocks moved to the pink sheets, his trading account was locked, and he was using his remaining $50k in cash, getting high, drinking, and living in hotels. He abandoned his family, and I haven't heard from him since. It's been almost 18 months since we last spoke, but he has been in prison for one year, and a family friend told me he doesn't have a dime.
So now, I'll ask you. What's the difference between sobriety and recovery? If you don't know, that's ok; don't bullshit me - unless you're a real addict. Even clinicians, recovery-based leaders, and programs often mix the words abstinence, sobriety, and recovery. Sober and in recovery for nearly eight years, I've established my definitions; I've also listened to and experienced many different viewpoints and approaches to living free from drugs, alcohol, or destructive process-based addictions. Some people's stories are more conventional than others, but I've learned to embrace them all. Nearly everyone I've met sober and in recovery has talked about connection with others, having a process, and some degree of mental, physical, or spiritual healing, growth, and awareness.
The mission of Investing In Sobriety is to connect with people that have unique experiences and backgrounds. In our fifteen-minute video segments, we will hear about our guest's history, experience in getting and remaining sober, and current life. During our segments, we wish to uncover our guest's blueprints for success and what has been positive and negative in their sobriety and recovery. The quality of this project will be discernible through the variety of stories and our ability to deliver different life designs for investing in one's self and sobriety and living a life in recovery.
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