1000 Days Sober Podcast

Episode 141A: Three Little Piggies

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who each decided to build a house to protect them from outside forces. The first little pig built his house with straw. The second little pig built his house with sticks. The third little pig built her house with bricks. One day a big bad wolf arrived at the house made out of straw. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” Shouted the wolf. “Not by the hairs of my chinny, chin, chin,” said the little pig. “Then I will huff, and I will puff, and I will blow your house down,” said the little pig. So he huffed, and he puffed, blew down the house, and ate the little pig. Next, the big bad wolf arrived at the house made of sticks. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” Shouted the wolf. “Not by the hairs of my chinny, chin, chin,” said the little pig. “Then I will huff, and I will puff, and I will blow your house down,” said the little pig. So he huffed, and he puffed, blew down the house, and ate the little pig. Finally, the big bad wolf arrived at the house made of bricks. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” Shouted the wolf. “Not by the hairs of my chinny, chin, chin,” said the little pig. “Then I will huff, and I will puff, and I will blow your house down,” said the little pig. He huffed, and he puffed. He huffed, and he puffed. He huffed, and he puffed. Eventually, realising that no matter how many times he huffed or puffed, he would not blow the house down, the big bad wolf left the little piggy alone and went looking for more little piggies uneducated enough to build their homes made from straw and wood. If you live in a house made of straw or wood why not come to our house? We chose bricks. The Alcohol & Addiction Podcast is a brick. The Strive movement is a brick. The Strive Academy is a brick. Radical Honesty is a brick. The Truth About Alcohol Life-Changing Experience (TTAA-LCE https://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/offers/QBZLYnPv) is the cement that holds everything together, and on Sunday you can join the next adventure. Hurry, there are two spaces left.

Episode #141: Doing and Being

At Strive, we help people do the things they want to do, so they can be who they want to be. What do you think comes first? Figuring out the things you want to do, or defining the person you want to be?

Episode #140: Juggling

Seth Godin has a brilliant podcast called Akimbo. Listen to it. One of his episodes is about juggling. Godin says that most people are learning to juggle by throwing the balls and then try to catch them. It seems the most rational way to learn, to me. But it’s not the most efficient. Godin believes in learning to juggle, you first need to learn to throw. Throw one ball, and let it drop on the floor. Throw two, and the same. Throw three, and the same. Keep on throwing until you have perfected your throw. Now learn to catch one ball. Then two. Then three. Keep doing it until you excel in catching. You get the picture, right? People don't like to drop the ball because it leads to a decrease in status. If you are willing to temporarily decrease your status in the short term, for an increase over the long run, shortcuts become available. Take alcohol as an example. How do you become someone that doesn’t drink alcohol? You don’t stop drinking alcohol. You check-in on Strive, daily. Only people don't want to do this because it leads to a temporary reduction of status. Barge past this resistance. If you check-in daily, your accountability grows. People see you, hear you and respect you. You help others and receive help in equal measure. Most importantly, if you're triggered, you are less likely to develop a case of the ‘fuck-its.' Find the most efficient way of learning, not the obvious way. If you don’t know how to find it, ask someone who knows.

Episode #139: Laurie Seguin on Becoming a Striver

In this episode you get to meet the fabulous Laurie Seguin. "When I thought about whether or not I could live my life without drinking alcohol in a culture where alcohol was all around me, I was very concerned that I would be able to handle the ‘craving’ to drink," Laurie told me recently. "There had been many attempts at giving up alcohol before and each time, I gave in to what I now call the ‘bewitching hour’ and the fact that all around me other people were still drinking. I was very skeptical that anything could get me passed those cravings and doubted anyone else could understand what that was like for me." "When I began taking The Truth About Alcohol Life Changing Experience (TTAA LCE), we began to take a look at how we structure our time during those moments and what we do with the ‘white space’ or down time. In other words, finding pursuits outside of drinking to occupy the time that I would normally use on that activity. At first, that sounded like an easy thing to do, but I found that I needed to get to know myself again. It was also the first time that I really looked at how much time I was setting aside to consume alcohol and then recover from it. While taking the course, we began to deconstruct our beliefs around drinking and became reacquainted with the things that that used to bring us joy, before drinking quietly ushered those things into a place that seemed far away. We also delved into our thought patterns and the coping strategies we gradually developed as drinkers to begin building healthier habits in our thinking. We become proactive and aware as opposed to reactive and confused. The urge to submit to the knee-jerk, subconscious habit of pouring a drink is replaced with clear headed cognitive and emotional awareness. My personal experience with the course is that once I saw the truth about alcohol, I could never unsee it. It was like finding out that someone I thought was a good friend was a total fraud." "I finished the LCE in February and have been someone who does not drink alcohol for about 6 months. More importantly though, than not drinking alcohol, I don’t think about drinking alcohol. It does not present a temptation and I have no desire to return to the sluggish haze that was me prior to my experience at TTAA." Today, Laurie is a TTAA Moderator, helping fellow Strivers to follow in her footsteps. Find more at: www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholic, And we Refuse to be Anonymous

Episode #138: The Signal

In this episode, Lee Davy, shares his thoughts on the way the Russian government control the minds of the nation, and how I believe alcohol advertising does the same in the UK. Masha Gessen is a Russian-American journalist, and an outspoken critic of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sam Harris recently interviewed Gessen on his Waking Up Podcast, where they talked about Putin’s Russia, immigration and the #MeToo movement. There is a moment in the podcast, where Gessen, struggles to get her point of view across to Harris, that Russia’s public opinion doesn’t exist. When responding to Harris’s question on the status of public opinion towards Putin and America, Gessen responds: “I wouldn’t describe public opinion in Russia. In a country where they have no ‘public’ or ‘opinions’ it is very difficult to talk about public opinion and I mean that literally.” Gessen then states that you can’t have public opinion without a public sphere. For some of you (it was for me) the phrase public sphere may be a new one. If it is, let me explain. The public sphere is the environment in which people can come together and talk freely about societal issues and problems, and through those discussion influence political action. “Without a public sphere, there is no public opinion, and Putin has destroyed that public sphere.” Said Gessen. A few minutes pass, and Harris once again returns to the question of public opinion. A clearly irritated Gessen reasserts her view. “I am saying people don’t have views.” “How is that possible?” Asks Harris. Gessen proceeds to explain to Harris that the most recent polls show that you can predict with 86% accuracy that Russians will say exactly what they have learned through television. If the TV is saying that US is the enemy then this is what Russians will believe. “It’s a matter of survival in a totalitanairiam state to actively mirror the signal that comes from above.” How Alcohol Fits In As I listened to Gessen talking to Harris my mind wandered to alcoholism and the view that it’s a byproduct of people known as alcoholics who drink too much alcohol. That is the signal from above. That is the signal we in the UK actively mirror. Believing that life on TV is real life is a theory known a Cultivation Theory. The average person in America will receive between 5,000 + 10,000 adverts per day. The alcohol industry is one of the biggest spenders in marketing. In addition to the branded alcohol marketing, if you watch TV, you are subjected to a minute by minute viewpoint that drinking alcohol is normal and pleasurable. I contend that alcoholism is not the byproduct of alcoholics drinking to much alcohol, but instead, it’s an invisible, violent and dominant belief system that kills more than 3.3 million people per year and is one of the causal factors in over 200 illnesses and diseases. This powerful belief system destroys the public sphere when it comes to discussion on this topic in the same way Putin has destroyed the public sphere in Russia. The Russians don’t dare criticise Russia out of fear of reprisal from the Russian government or supporters of Putin. It’s no different when it comes to alcohol. People who choose not to drink alcohol are afraid of talking about it in the public sphere because of the fear of ostracisation, ridicule and shame. It’s for this reason that Strive and the Truth About Alcohol Life-Changing Experience is vital. We are the protectors of the public sphere when it comes to this discussion. We are not alcoholics. We refuse to be anonymous. We do not drink alcohol. We refuse to actively mirror the signal that comes from above. And we spend every waking moment helping people do the same. Find out more at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholic, And we Refuse to be Anonymous

Episode #137: On Being A Zealot

In this episode, Lee Davy, shares his thoughts on the benefits of talking openly, honestly, and proudly about our decision to be people that don't drink alcohol. Find out more & sign up at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk today.

Episode #136: Status

We often think of status from an external perspective. How do people perceive us? The answers can be damaging or liberating. But that’s chicken feed. What’s more likely to drag your brain along the sharp edges of a cracked glass is thinking of status from an internal perspective. How do you perceive yourself? Tony Robbins talks about decisions being made to avoid pain or to produce pleasure, but you can also say that all decisions either increase or decrease our status. What school will I go to? What football team will I join? Who will I marry? What house will I buy? Where will I live? What career should I choose? Should I drink alcohol or not? Of course, you only utter the final question after becoming addicted to alcohol, by which time, your status is already enshrined in your social commune. It’s a question you now ask frequently. It’s a question that brought you here. The new question is: “Will my decision to be someone that doesn’t drink alcohol increase or decrease my status.” Some of you are answering “decrease” and others are saying “increase” right now. But I am here to tell you that there is only ONE answer, right now. Decrease. You can try and big up this non-drinking lark if you like. You can picture the rainbows, and grab hold of the rock hard horns on top of the unicorns, but you know it, and I know it, when you stop drinking alcohol your status will plummet rapidly. And here’s the thing. You can only become someone that doesn’t drink alcohol by accepting this notion. Not because I said so, because you believe so with conviction. Only when you do this. Only by siding with the resistance will you see the truth. It will be so clear the sight of it will knock you off your feet. Join me at 6pm (BST) on Saturday 30 June as I deliver an exclusive webinar on Resistance including what it is, how it manifests and how to beat it. Sign up at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk today.

Episode #134: The 4 Minute Mile

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, clocking in at 3:59.4. My Google Assistant tells me that since that groundbreaking day, athletes have shaved 17 seconds off that record, with more than 1,400 athletes having competed the 1,760 yards in four minutes or less. My name is Lee Davy, I am not an alcoholic, I refuse to be anonymous, I am someone that doesn’t drink alcohol, and I spend every waking moment helping other people do the same. I am a Striver. What is the four-minute mile for a Striver? It’s Resistance. It’s not difficult to find support on the Internet or in a local church basement if you want to quit drinking. Our four minute mile - what makes you a Striver - is your transformation from someone who drinks, to someone who has no DESIRE to drink. No desire = no craving = someone who doesn’t drink alcohol. I have beaten Resistance. Let me be an inspiration to you, as Bannister has been to 1,400+ athletes. I am living proof that you can drink daily, and love it, to suddenly stopping without a single craving. Let me help you run the four minute mile. Let me help you become a Striver. Join me at 6pm (BST) on Saturday 30 June as I deliver an exclusive webinar on Resistance including what it is, how it manifests and how to beat it. Sign up at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk today.

Episode #135: The Strivers

What is a Striver? I am working on the perfect set of words. Until. Then. Steve Jobs nailed it. Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you cannot do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do. Beat Resistance. Be a Striver. Change the world. Join me at 6pm (BST) on Saturday 30 June as I deliver an exclusive webinar on Resistance including what it is, how it manifests and how to beat it. Sign up at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk today.

Episode #133: The Maze

At first, there was me. Angus arrived from Herefordshire. Arthur tuned in from Northern Ireland. Eileen arrived from Australia. Michelle was the first person from America. Then there was Kim. Angus became someone that doesn't drink alcohol and then vanished like a pickle on the table of a deli. King Arthur stayed for 18-months but couldn't crack the code. Kim died. A few weeks ago, Eileen celebrated two years as someone that doesn’t drink alcohol. At the same time, Michelle blew up a few balloons that contained the words “1st Anniversary.” What's the critical ingredient, here? How did Eileen and Michelle move from where they were to where they wanted to be? Firstly, they knew where they wanted to be. Most people get this. Then came the toughest part. They both realised that to find their true essence they had to dispense with their identity. To do this, they needed hope that their essence would be every bit as wonderful as I told them it would be. Hope. At this point, they met Resistance. It wasn't until they both accepted that they LOVED alcohol, and needed every single drop that had ever entered their stomach that they could move on. If we fear our essence, then we cling on to the present. If we are someone who drinks alcohol that means clinging on to the bottle. Faith and hope in your essence and a joyous trepidation of finding it opens you up for the possibility of change. You’re in a maze. Somewhere you will find your essence. Standing in the way of all paths is Resistance. You can’t climb over it. You can’t sneak under it. You can’t squeeze past it. At some point, you have to face it. Join me at 6pm (BST) on Saturday 30 June as I deliver an exclusive webinar on Resistance including what it is, how it manifests and how to beat it. Sign up at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk today.