14: Unleashing the Endless Potential of a Sober Life

Steve Coughran: 0:00

This is the Addiction Recovery podcast with Steven T Ginsburg, founder of Restore Detox Centers in sunny California. Enjoy your experience. Hey there, and welcome back to another episode of Addiction Recovery. My name is Steve Coughran. I'm here with Steven Ginsburg. Steven, happy new year. It's so great to be back together today.

Steven Ginsburg: 0:24

Steve, happy and healthy new year. I love that we are again having this moment on the start of the year to focus on what matters most, which is the truth and the solution, absolutely.

Steve Coughran: 0:37

We were talking about this the other day, where it's not like our other episodes necessarily have a negative tone. But we talk a lot about addiction and the bad side about addiction, but there's also this beautiful side of sobriety. In the month of January, we want to do a couple episodes focusing on this, because there's tremendous upside. I mean, Steven, if you look back on your life, where you were when you were in the depths of hell, like a darkness and depression and just like rock bottom and I've been there before and then you fast forward to today in the beautiful life that you lead and how you're touching so many people's lives, what a contrast. That's what I want to focus on today is unleashing the endless potential of a sober life. I want to hear your thoughts on that. Maybe you could kick things off with sharing some of your thoughts on this topic.

Steven Ginsburg: 1:29

Absolutely and to your point, which is well taken. I think we need to, because there's such a sense of urgency to the topic to look at crisis intervention and rooting out the disease and getting into recovery and keeping people safe and alive, and that's all a necessity. But, by the same token, the remarkable occurrences that happen when people are granted and take care of that blessing and gift of sobriety. What happens behind that is something worth taking a moment, especially at the start of a new year. You know anything is possible at the start of a new year. You've got day one, one, like the sky's the limit. You know that is very much what people should and can expect. Starting their journey, their trudge. Trudge means walk with purpose in the sobriety. And when you have the gift of clarity, when you have this disease no longer blinding you and keeping you from having forward progress, there is nothing beyond reach nor limit for any individual who does their part with a footwork of sobriety's concern.

Steve Coughran: 2:43

Yeah, I mean I absolutely agree with you. And you, I mean you have probably the best job in the world to work with people and see them in this fallen, you know broken state, and then they go to restore, they go through the program they receive. You know your coaching, your love, your guidance and everybody else at restore. I mean there's such a wonderful team that's at restore and then you see this transformative journey. So maybe you could share some experiences and I know we got to protect the identity of people but maybe you could share some examples and some success stories of people that you have seen like at their worst. And then you see them today and you're like, oh my goodness, they're in a totally different place, right?

Steven Ginsburg: 3:29

Such a beautiful place 100%, Just, first and foremost, one of the first things that just naturally comes to me through a place of discernment is even, Steve, sometimes, when, when individuals come in and we're trusted with their care unfortunately so many times with them being in acute or sub acute detox they're so sick which is hard to see and they're hurting, and then they're able to get some rest and we're able to hydrate and they get some real sleep and some REM sleep. There's a big difference between REM sleep and passing out and they start to get some meals in them and they're in a warm, safe bed and they're being cared for as they should be. Just within that first three, five, seven days, watching the remarkable way they bounce back is such a gift. Seeing them, you know, came, came to, came to believe, watching them come to life, seeing light in their eyes and color in their skin again, it literally will.

Steven Ginsburg: 4:27

I will get taken aback. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I see the individual several days or a number of days later then going just one step further. To answer, in a broad stroke, everything you just addressed, you know, seeing people who have been in dire straits and have been on death's door and have had crisis after crisis in their life, come through a store, continue to do their part, do the footwork, adhere to the process, buy into the culture of recovery and then watching what occurs in their life. And I'll give you one example, but at the same point protecting anonymity. You know there are alumni from Restore who are now team members at Restore, so they are facilitating and helping the community. So to me, above anything else, that is one of the greatest actual proof of concept tales we can provide where someone's journey is concerned. Yeah, exactly.

Steve Coughran: 5:26

I mean to see them like where they were before, and then see them today, and now they're blessing the lives of other people. I mean, how remarkable is that? I mean that's crazy.

Steven Ginsburg: 5:34

Through their experience, strength and hope. And what better living testimony? I always think those team members are their living testimony because that's what they're providing. They were in the seats that the community members are in and now they're coming alongside those very community members and helping them get onto this path. And I will tell you this, stephen, it's the beauty of the possibility it is proven to work if we do our part. It is proven to work if we do our part. Yeah, absolutely.

Steve Coughran: 6:03

I completely agree with that and it's interesting to see like the physical transformation of people as well and I wanna hear your thoughts on this. But the other day I was going through some of my photo albums because I wanted to find some pictures of when I was in high school in my early 20s, because I was doing this little presentation about my landscape company that I started. I started a company when I was 16 years old and I grew into this thing, so I wanted to try to find some pictures of those days Now in my early 20s. This is like after I launched my business, my business was doing pretty well, I was going out and I was like partying with friends, I was drinking on some like work nights and I wasn't taking really good care of myself, like I had smoke, I had eat.

Steve Coughran: 6:48

I remember one day and this is not to shame anybody, this is just me, my story but remember one day I woke up I was completely hungover. I'm like throwing up in the shower because I felt terrible. And it's like a Wednesday, right, right in the middle of the week, like driving to work. I'm like I gotta be at this appointment, I'm running late and I'm totally disheveled. I'm going through the drive-thru of like Burger King, I'm smoking my cigarettes, I get to work. You know I'm like a mess, my eyes are probably all bloodshot. And then it's like for lunch I'm eating like McDonald's and for dinner I'm like Taco Bell.

Steve Coughran: 7:24

I'm like doing this over and over and over again for weeks and months and years, and so when I look back on these pictures, it gives me like the heebie-jeebies looking at myself, cause I don't even recognize myself in some of the pictures, like who is that? And physically, like I was completely overweight. But you can see this like sadness in my eyes, like my entire countenance was affected by my lifestyle. So what are your thoughts on that, steven? And how have you seen people's physical demeanor, their actual countenance, change as they get sober and start living this life? That's like where the burden's lifted and things are much more beautiful than ever before.

Steven Ginsburg: 8:06

I like hearing everything you just shared with me, but I want to kind of funnel it down to one facet, brother, cause I think it's very relevant. You know, the only thing we have to change is what Everything is something I talk about a lot within the realm of sobriety. So you see the choices changing. I see, for these individuals, the choices changing and with those choices changing, the benefit for their bodies, for their minds, for their spirit. That is a complete, comprehensive change because of the change of choices they have made. And they reap what they sell entirely on both ends when they're in the throes of addiction and alcoholism.

Steven Ginsburg: 8:55

It ravages your system. Look the clarity of your eyes. When you look at someone's eyes, the way that their skin appears, whether or not they're bloated, they're sluggish. And then you see these very same individuals and again I want to repeat some of what I said earlier, steve. They hydrate, they're being fed, they're resting, they're sunshine and fresh air, they're moving their body, which we are meant to move, they're having endorphin releases, they're getting beautiful REM sleep, they're being loved on and cared for. That's a necessity, it's a must for all of us, and they blossom and our bodies are so resilient.

Steven Ginsburg: 9:32

And I believe one of the liabilities. It's a blessing but it's a liability, I believe addicts and alcoholics. We are bodily and mentally different than our fellows, it's proven. We are remarkably, remarkably resilient and that is a blessing and a curse. And you, it's a curse because you see that bounce back and very quickly they will forget from once they came. That's where our part comes into play. But, steve, you see, these people come back to life. It is a different human being, entirely to the point of the analogy you just made with yourself, because when that body, mind and spirit is fed, and fed well on all fronts, it's incredible to watch the transitions and the transformation of these individuals.

Steve Coughran: 10:16

Yeah, I love that and you're absolutely right and I like what you said about how it's like one choice, one decision leads to another choice and another decision, and like patterns and habits and it's everything right, like everything changes at once. It's kind of like you go to the gym, you work out, you're like, wow, my muscles are kind of sore. I'm feeling kind of good. When I go home tonight, instead of eating that pizza you know, that greasy pizza I'm going to eat, you know, maybe I'll have some chicken and broccoli and I'm going to go to bed early tonight because I want to go work out tomorrow.

Steve Coughran: 10:49

I feel kind of good and then all of a sudden, all of your patterns and all your behaviors start to change. But the reverse is true, where you know you start going down a bad path and it's like you feel like crap because you're hungover. So you're like me, so you eat terrible because you don't care, because you already feel terrible, you're staying up late, you know, or not getting the sleep that you need, and then all of a sudden it's just like this downward spiral in all parts of your life.

Steven Ginsburg: 11:16

Completely. It all falls into alignment and, again, the only thing that seems to change is everything. But there's a real beauty to that and part of and I don't want to get ahead of ourselves and I know we're going to focus on this in future episodes but part of what's remarkable is truly just the possibilities and the ability to make. I've seen people change their entire, and not people who are in their 20s or 30s Not that it matters what age you are. I've seen like full on career people change their entire life trajectory and careers based on the choices that they've made in the fork they've done to achieve sobriety. Yeah, and it's just. There isn't any more of a limitation because, again, when you allow yourself, when you've got that ism, when you've got the actual addiction and alcoholism and obsessive nature in your life and you allow that to take hold in a positive fashion where it's constructive and productive, there is nothing beyond your reach when you have managed, a day at a time, to survive addiction and alcoholism.

Steve Coughran: 12:25

Yeah, I absolutely agree. I completely agree with that, Steven, and let me shift gears here and then we can wrap up on this, this kind of thought here. You know, whether you believe in God or Buddha or nature or the universe, like whatever you call your higher power, you know, I believe we're all set here to planet Earth to fulfill like a specific mission. Right, me personally I don't believe that two atoms came together and made Steve right. Sure, there's probably science in the creation, but I don't think it's like happenstance. So we all come here, in my opinion, in my beliefs, are to fulfill a certain mission.

Steve Coughran: 13:06

Now there's this adversary. Whether you call the adversary Satan, the devil or like some type of opposition out there, I feel like there's this true opposition that wants to hold us back. So when you know, when we're out there and we're doing good and we're agents for good, and when we're fulfilling our potential and we're just like unleashing our full power, like the adversary in opposition is gonna be pushing against us because you know he doesn't want us to be out there like impacting people's lives, spreading love, joy, happiness and everything else, he wants misery and fear and all this, these other bad things, to come about, and I think you know along these lines with this episode is like when we're out there and we're doing things that are contrary to like what we really know is right because I think we all have a conscious Then all of a sudden we're gonna be living in discontent Because we're not fulfilling our full potential. We're not unleashing that full potential. So I want to hear your thoughts on this, steven.

Steve Coughran: 14:15

As far as you know, unleashing this endless potential with a sober life because we could do so much more with our lives when we're sober there's gonna be this opposition along the journey. What are your thoughts on that?

Steven Ginsburg: 14:29

I love what you're talking on and I've got an unusual analogy, but I often do. Look, when someone has a peanut allergy, they never do well with eating peanuts. When someone is an addict and alcoholic, they are never gonna do well with any Mind altering substance. Yeah, it's not a good fit for their body composition. When they remove that facet from their life, when they take away the very thing that ails them to your point, the darkness, the enemy and that's that's to me with addiction and alcoholism is Because that element is out of the way. They are no longer gonna suffer from, from mental and physical illness behind that element, and then they can get on with the business of the life that they are there to have and what they are here to provide this world of ours. And without that element being removed, they will never get through it and they will never get to it. It's just going to be a matter of what is it going to take? What level of bottom is it gonna take? What degree of surrender are they willing to achieve so they can get into that complete mode of submission and they submit to gain the victory, they submit to gain the foothold and the leverage point and start to discover who they are, because they have no idea who they are, because substance use and abuse has always Impeded that discovery, and that's where the real growth comes and that's where the real magic happens and the beauty occurs.

Steven Ginsburg: 16:06

You watch these individuals Understand. I know what I'm all about. I understand that my old tapes are lies and I know who I am and, better yet, I know who's I am and they start to fulfill their potential. And it is just such a remarkable thing. But the idea that drugs and alcohol would keep that set individual from having the impact that they're here to make, that's what drives me daily and my hope is that's what will start to drive our brother and our brothers and sisters in recovery. There's something better waiting for you. It's not gonna happen overnight, but make no mistake about it will happen. But we must all what we must all do our part, yeah absolutely.

Steve Coughran: 16:51

We have to do our part. Let me ask you this, Steven you know and don't don't take this the wrong way, please but when you were at your lowest point, you know, the most recent relapse, which isn't recent, but you know, over a decade ago, in filling the void which is your book. You're talking about this like time. You're like locked in your place, yeah, dirty. You're like physically dirty, you're just like paranoid. You like wanting to take a shower because you're so freaked out that they are gonna come get you.

Steve Coughran: 17:21

No, and you know, here's Steven Ginsburg, this guy with so much potential. Hmm, but the drugs and alcohol are just like destroying you. And in this is where I take no offense to this, but I'm sorry, but if you would have remained in that spot, like if you're lucky to be alive today, if you're still continuing that number one, like what the heck would you? I mean you could impact anybody. How would you help anybody? I mean you can even help yourself, couldn't even help me. And now look at today. And now look at today. So I guess my question is like, when you were in that state, I mean, did you just feel like, oh my gosh, I have no self-worth, like I don't care about living and dying. You didn't see the potential, or you did. The drugs and alcohol were just so much more like powerful, then like your potential, does that make sense? what I'm asking?

Steven Ginsburg: 18:14

It Does you? My thoughts go so many places and it's easy. Look, you know, by the grace of God, over 19 years and a month plus, I've been clean and sober, by God's grace and mercy, and, of course, all I can come up with, as I hear, that which is, and it's, accurate. Look, I was in total despair. I was in total darkness. What would make me happy was the idea that I wasn't going to wake up. That's, that was my objective.

Steve Coughran: 18:43

I'm like I know Because you didn't see your potential or-.

Steven Ginsburg: 18:47

I just didn't care. I just couldn't see anything. There was nothing left. I was just at my bottom and four and a half years of a relapse, after 12 years of sobriety and on a death march and alienated and ostracized from everything and everyone, I'm like, forget about hope. I. Just what I hope is I don't wake up, and that's just my truth. And I need to be able to show the truth and I don't want anyone to go through that and I don't want anyone to feel that. And that was not the plan for me.

Steven Ginsburg: 19:19

And here we are today, you know why, by the grace and mercy of my Lord and Savior, and through the footwork of Alcoholics Anonymous, sponsor, working the steps, going to meetings, belief in a power greater than myself. And you know my calling and my purpose I was not supposed to die, I was supposed to live. Why? Because I was supposed to be trusted with restore, because I was supposed to know you, because I was supposed to write, going to wait, because I was supposed to be a husband and a father. And my primary purpose what is the primary purpose of the addict and alcoholic? To help the man or woman who is still suffering. And that is my primary purpose. I would have gone to none of that. I would not be here today. If it was still the way it was, I would have died. Nobody can stay alive like that. Of course I would have died. That wasn't the plan and my calling was for this moment and moments like these and my work at Restore and my work with everyone else.

Steven Ginsburg: 20:17

And every one of us has their own version of that story. But again, in all roads lead to Rome, which is beautiful. We can't get near it, we can't see it, we can't hear it, we can't get to it until we get the drugs and the alcohol out of the way, which is why look, you know, I'm not above begging. I will implore and beg people. Just give it a minute, please. This works. Give it a chance. Let us help you and then let us help you, help yourself and watch what will occur. But we don't blow it all up overnight. We can't rebuild it overnight. But it is remarkable what is waiting for us all, a day at a time, on this trudge, on this walk with purpose.

Steve Coughran: 20:59

Yeah, I love that. And it goes back to what you were saying earlier about just those small choices lead to other choices and changes in patterns and habits and everything else. So I love that. And this isn't just a story about Steven T Ginsburg, this is a story about you, and we all have this potential within ourselves. And, look, it may not be drugs and alcohol, but you may have something that's holding you back. And what Steven and I were talking about before recording this episode is like this is a fresh start, a new beginning. There's something magical about a new year. So when we flip that calendar, it's like okay, it's like a mental shift as well. It's like what do we need to cut? What do we need to do differently? Like what do we need to change in our lives to start living the life that we deserve? And I think this is a great time to really reflect on all parts of our lives 100%.

Steven Ginsburg: 21:51

And I would just say this you know again, like it's, there's nothing more beautiful than even just forget about the new year. Let's just take it to the new day. There's nothing more beautiful than the new year and the new day. Each day we have a chance to begin again, to continue to perpetuate the best possible steps, patterns, it's approaches and pursuits so that we live to our highest and best purpose. And if you are like me, look, I am an addict and alcohol. That is who I am. That is how I was made. If you are like me, you can't even begin to sniff out the best day until we get the drugs and the alcohol out of the way.

Steven Ginsburg: 22:38

And some people this is what kills me, steve some people will never even know what one day like that is, because they won't put down the drink or the drug. And that breaks my heart because it is beyond anything. I love to talk, I talk and talk and talk and talk and ask my poor wife. I love to talk, and you hear enough of my talking to Steve, but I could not even begin to prescribe or describe enough words about what. The glory of a day of clarity and sobriety, the Holy Spirit loving on others. Putting others first, being of service, what that is like. That is only because of and through my journey of sobriety.

Steve Coughran: 23:19

Yeah, amen, brother, amen. So that's great. So I'll have you close it down for this episode. But before I turn the time back to you, steven, to wrap up, if any of you are listening to this, you want help, you want to learn more about what we do. Go to restore detox centers. com on the website. We have a ton of resources. We have two great ebooks. You'll find just a ton of information that can help you along your journey. If you have any comments or feedback for us, we would love to hear from you as well. You can email us at hello at restore detox centers. com, and Steven back to you. Thanks again for a great episode.

Steven Ginsburg: 23:58

Absolutely and happy New Year, Steve. Just to anyone out there, I want to know whether I know you are not, or whether we ever know each other or not. I am praying with and for you and your family and I want you to have a year filled with infinite possibilities and hope. And if you need help, if you have questions, if you need someone to reach out to, we are not for the sake of lip service for this podcast saying that we are here, we are here and we are available and I am available and we will help you or we will find someone to help you. But do not live in the darkness when there is so much light ahead. I just wish everyone a blessed, a prosperous, a sober and a remarkable New Year ahead. Take it a day at a time. Know that the solution is real and that the truth continues to set us all free.