I’ve almost been killed multiple times in my life. And I’ve been...

@matt_gray_
MATT GRAY@matt_gray_
61 views Jan 21, 2024
1
I’ve almost been killed multiple times in my life. And I’ve been drunk for 99% of those times.

I used to drink 4 times a week for 3 years, but now I haven’t had a sip of alcohol in 1,000 days.

Why and how I quit drinking:
Media image
2
I've always had high energy.

I’m a pretty hyperactive, ADD-type person, ever since I was a kid to where I am now.

It’s served me pretty well in the entrepreneurial world.

But candidly, I find it hard to relax.
Media image
3
I didn’t know what to do with it early in my career.

Instead of using my energy for healthy outlets like working out or meditating, I turned to weed and alcohol.

I soon found myself smoking 10 joints a day.

I was keeping up with Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg, not the Joneses.
Media image
4
I was also traveling and going to meetings every other day.

I’d find myself in LA in a meeting, and we’d grab a cocktail afterward. Harmless.

A couple meetings a week; a couple cocktails - it sounded pretty innocent to me.

But most habits start with an act of innocence.
5
One thing led to another.

It snowballed from drinking at my 4 meetings a week to getting drinks at dinner most nights.

I wasn’t a full-blown alcoholic - in my mind, alcoholism meant choosing drinks over your relationships, work, and performance.

I didn’t think I was THAT bad.
Media image
6
But the drinking WAS affecting my relationships and performance.

I'd find myself irritable, quick-tempered, and not bringing my best self.

I wasn’t sleeping well either. It was having a brutal effect on my REM sleep.

I’d developed a habit - and it was affecting my life.
7
The environment I found myself in meant it felt 10x harder to stop.

But I knew deep down it wasn't serving me. I wanted to be disciplined.

I started reflecting on what I was doing to myself. I asked one breakthrough question:

Is this thing useful in my life?
8
Was drinking a tool that was helping me?

Or was it secretly messing me up?

I was optimizing my life in so many other areas; what was drinking doing for me?

So I turned to the 12 Steps book by Alcoholics Anonymous to dig deeper.
Media image
9
I decided to go on a hike in Runyon Canyon in LA.

As I’m hiking, I journaled my thoughts down as they suggested in 12 Steps.

A task of mental hygiene - I described all the ways that alcohol negatively affected me.

My reflections made me want to sober up for good.
Media image
10
I looked back at the unnecessary arguments, aggression, and dangerous situations.

Alcohol was destructive, jeopardizing my health, relationships, and mental state.

The incidents from my memory bank piled up…
11
One night I’d fallen asleep drunk on the roof of this random car on the way to Coachella.

The driver couldn’t wake me up so they DROVE off with me still lying on top. Onto the highway.

He kept driving but the cops pulled him over and eventually dragged me off.
Media image
12
I ended up in jail for the night with near-zero memory.

Me and my friends thought it was pretty hilarious.

And it was - it’s a legendary story.
13
But I was lucky to be alive.

I could’ve fallen off the roof and gotten run over. I could’ve been robbed or beaten.

Somehow, I escaped unharmed.
14
Another time in Laos, I was tubing down a river drunk.

Someone else had my tube, so I was swimming alone in a fast-moving river. A pretty stupid-ass decision

I almost drowned - I had no business being in that situation impaired

These were blatant signs things had gone too far.
Media image
15
The final straw was when I was dating this really beautiful woman.

Long story short, she dumped me via text

I was floored - I’d never been dumped before, and it confused the hell out of me.

I had this vision of who I was as a man - strong, formidable, responsible, healthy.
16
But actually, I had this dark side of smoking weed, drinking, partying.

Being distant to my loved ones.

I realized this dark underbelly of habits really didn’t align to the person I was trying to become.

I was a walking contradiction - and I needed to change.
Media image
17
That day I decided I was done. I wanted to live up to the man I envisioned being - alcohol had to go.

So I reached out to Dr. Andrew Huberman for help.

Long story short, he urged me to get my bloodwork done.

He told me I was lucky to be alive (which I already knew).
18
My results came back.

One thing I hadn’t known was that testosterone in humans is the chemical that makes effort feel good.

But my testosterone had tanked from the drinking - no wonder my mood, energy and motivation were so low.

A pretty terrible equation.
19
I was trying to become someone great with a mission in life to positively impact others.

But this habit was ruining my chances of that.

So I reached out to a coach and found a mentor who had been sober for 30 years.

Their wisdom guided me into the intricacies of sobriety.
Media image
20
I’d gone through so much of life using drink as a social lubricant.

Simple things like dating and socializing sober felt alien to me.

In the past, I’d resorted to drinking to get over the awkwardness. A glass or two of wine to cope.

Now that was gone, I had to confront myself.
21
I had to face up to my new existence in this world.

Dealing with the anxiety and awkwardness was super hard at first.

But I learned that it was normal to feel that - and I learned step by step to be okay with it.

And the rewards of clarity and energy were 100% worth it.
Media image
22
Now over 1,000 days without alcohol, I feel free.

No longer tied to this crutch of booze, I've been able to forge a life of purpose and passion.

My relationships are better, my work is better, my health is better.

I'm finally living an optimized existence true to myself.
Media image
23
I built an audience of 14 million, with an 80%+ margin, and with zero paid ads.

Want my personalized help so you can do the same?

Book a call here:

form.typeform.com/to/Lbt9LU6a
Actions
Visual Editor Carousel Maker NEW
Update Thread
What You Can Do
  • Download as PDF
  • Save to Notion
  • Export as Markdown
  • Visual Editor
  • LinkedIn & Instagram Carousel Maker
Create Free Account

Includes 7-day Premium trial