"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it." -- Elon Musk, Tesla Inventor
When I got into recovery when I was 51, sobriety was the most important thing in my life.
After using drugs for 38 years and drinking for 42 years I had finally come to the realization that I was the problem. It wasn't my parents. It wasn't my ex-wives. It wasn't the justice system. My idea that I could successfully use kept me in constant trouble in every area of my life.
During the years of feeding my addictions, I served a lot of time on the installment plan. California State prison. Orange County jail. Metropolitan State Hospital, Norwalk, California. And several other jails. I burned through about 16 years of my life trying to prove to myself and everyone else that I could use heroin and drink without getting in trouble. But I was wrong. Nearly dead wrong, because my addictions almost killed me more than one time.
At some point, I decided I wanted to live. I was sick of the pain. I was sick of being homeless. I was sick of being broke. Even though I hated to admit it, those who told me I needed help were right.
I decided to change, even though the odds were against me starting over at the age of 51. But it was very important to me to do whatever it took to change my life. I still had children, even though all but one of them were grown. I still had parents who loved me. In other words, there were a lot of people that I didn't want to disappoint.
In the early years of my recovery, back in 1991, I started out in a halfway house where I lived for a year. And the secret to my success, I believe, is that I kept my eyes on my goal: the goal of staying sober regardless of what I encountered.
And the interesting thing is that when one has that kind of attitude, they can be unstoppable. Within a year, I had gone into the recovery business and was starting to build a team of like-minded people to help me.
Because I had the attitude that I could beat the odds I have a wonderful life today. Yes, I've had setbacks and losses. But none of them have taken my eyes off of my goal of living a sober life.
