When I was in Junior High School there was nothing I wanted to do more than make the 9th grade baseball team. I loved baseball and played it just about everyday at the field behind Thorson Elementary School on the border of Crystal and New Hope, Minnesota. When it came time for the coach to pick the team I missed the cut by 1 person but ended up being added to the team when another guy got kicked off the team. So I spent the year being treated like I was the guy that shouldn’t have been on the team but made it because of somebody elses misfortune. When school got out that year, I made up mind that I was going to find a way to make the High School team the following year without being the last guy. While paging through the Sporting News classified ads I came across an ad for a letter called “Show the Coach”, I call it a letter because that is exactly what was sent to me when I mailed in my $2 to get the letter. “Show the Coach” was a blueprint for how to make the team and much more, the principles I learned in that letter helped me succeed at many things I did in my business career as well.
“Show the Coach” was written by a guy who had been a lifelong minor league baseball player and later went on to be a “Baseball Clown” that performed at Minor league and major league stadiums. One of the guidelines for showing the coach was to take care of yourself and not drink alcohol or soda. I was so committed to following this blue print that I went through all of High School never drinking any alcohol or soda, all I drank was milk, water and orange juice. This was really the start of a discipline that I have carried with me most of my life. All through College, Broadcasting School and my first year in the radio business I never touched a drop of alcohol. Things changed when I got my second radio job and moved to Spearfish, South Dakota. I was on the air for 5 hours a day as a disc jockey. All of the DJs drank bottomless cups of coffee and were chain smokers, for my part I stayed a way from coffee and cigarettes but I would drink a six pack of Mountain Dew on each shift. I also drank a little beer when the sports director and I would be out doing play by play for a basketball game. At that time they had drive thru windows at the liquor store, so on the way back from every game the sports director would drive thru and get a six pack for us to share. That pretty much was the extent of my serious alcohol drinking period. After I left Spearfish, and for the next 29 years up until today, about the only drinks I have are on vacation and they all have those little umbrellas in them or occasionally a lime in a bottle of Corona.
It was very interesting during those 29 years to be a non-drinker. I can’t tell you how many times I would be at dinner or lunch with someone who had ordered a drink when I didn’t that would look at me very seriously and say ” you don’t drink ?” or “why don’t you drink?” as if I was a recovering alcoholic. Many times it was recovering alcoholics that asked me the question. To this day I am convinced that many people that asked me those questions were convinced that I was a recovering alcoholic. I still think it’s funny and for that matter empowering when you can tell someone that you don’t drink because you never got started because you cared too much about your High School and College Baseball career.
I turn 51 years old this week and after all those years of feeling that I was so strong that I could never get addicted to anything, I have to admit that I did develop an addiction a little over 10 years ago that I finally realized had a huge hold on me and was negatively affecting my life. I am serious about this and this isn’t a joke, I have many friends who have been through recovery and I don’t want them to think I am making light of their situation by what I am about to say. About two weeks ago, I was thinking about what I was doing in the late 90’s that made everything go right, I was in fantastic physical condition, I was focused and KNEW everything was going to fall my way and I was not addicted to anything. So what had changed in the last 10 years ? primarily I wasn’t the confident, knowing person I had been when I achieved my greatest levels of success, I was 45 pounds heavier and I had developed an addiction that I believe caused the weight gain and attitude change. For the last 10 years, I was addicted to Diet Mountain Dew which I think was as bad or worse than alcohol or drugs. As I look back, my day revolved around Diet Mountain Dew, it was the first drink I had the morning and I usually drank the equivalent of 2 six packs per day. I was thrilled when the SuperAmerica gas station chain announced their Mountain Dew club which gave you every 7th, 20 ounce Mountain Dew free when you purchased six. I hate to admit it but I was averaging 5 free Mountain Dews per week. Diet Mountain Dew had a hold on me and it affected everything I did, I haven’t slept well in 10 years, I gained a ton of weight, my memory isn’t what it used to be and I couldn’t do anything without having my diet Mountain Dew. I truly was addicted if in no other way than I couldn’t break free of it’s hold on me.
So two weeks ago, I gave it up and started an intensive course to focus on the things that led to my success and knowing in the 90’s. The Diet Dew is gone, the weight is leaving as well and my creativity and memory is back. I am sleeping better and I know I am in for a big change that is going to lead to the next 10 years being better than ever. Addictions of any kind can hold you back from achieving great things, it doesn’t matter if that addiction is drugs, video games, soda, food, sex , alcohol or whatever, addictions will hold you back and destroy the life you really deserve to have.
Look closely at your life, are you addicted to something ? it doesn’t have to be obvious or for that matter one of the usual addictions. Freeing yourself from your addictions will allow you to move to the next level, you can become someone who KNOWS not just believes that they can do amazing things.
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