April 9, 2025 • 10 mins
What if your greatest obstacle is actually your pathway to transformation? After watching addiction claim the lives of my father, mother, and uncle, I spent a decade numbing my pain through substances—running from a reality I couldn't face. Rock bottom came in a jail cell where I made the decision that saved my life: to get sober and stay that way forever.
Twelve years later, I'm not just "in recovery"—I've completely transformed. Sobriety became the foundation that allowed me to rebuild everything. This episode takes you through my personal journey and reveals why people turn to addiction in the first place. Whether it's drugs, alcohol, food, or even technology, addictive behaviors stem from unprocessed trauma and a desperate need to escape uncomfortable emotions.
The journey doesn't end with sobriety. While programs like AA provide essential support, true transformation comes when we move beyond identifying as addicts and start creating a vision for what's possible. I discovered that learning new skills, setting ambitious goals, pursuing fitness, and building meaningful relationships were crucial steps in my evolution. As Tony Robbins says, "Progression is the key to fulfillment"—the moment we stop growing is when we lose our sense of purpose.
Ready to unlock your full potential? Sobriety isn't just about what you give up—it's about what you gain: clarity, energy, authentic connections, and a deeper sense of purpose. If we were meant to experience life in an altered state, we would have been born that way. Discover why I believe sobriety is a superpower that can radically enhance everything you do. Subscribe now and share this episode with someone who needs to hear that transformation is possible.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My dad overdosed, my mom died from drug-complicated
issues.
My uncle overdosed in my garagewhen I was 19, while I was
sleeping in the house.
For 10 years of my life, I ranfrom reality.
Both my parents left me at ayoung age.
My dad went to prison, my momjust to the streets, and a new
boyfriend and I was heartbroken,man, I had to do everything
right just to get a secondchance.
I couldn't freaking make onemistake.
(00:20):
I had to walk that line, man,and I made a decision in my jail
cell that I was going to getsober and stay sober for the
rest of my life.
You have to learn how to talkabout it freely, without being
judged, without being scared,without holding back.
You have to be able to expressyour truth, man, and because in
that is healing, sobriety is asuperpower.
You guys, the moment yourecognize this and commit to a
life of sobriety, I guarantee,guarantee you it will positively
(00:41):
enhance and impact everythingthat you do going forward.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Unstoppable Mindset
Podcast.
I'm your host, sean MichaelCrane.
You guys, today we're going tobe talking about sobriety, how I
got sober, why I got sober andsubsequently how it transformed
(01:04):
my life for the better.
So if you know somebody who'sstruggling in addiction, or
maybe you have thought aboutgetting sober in your life for
whatever reason, this is goingto be a valuable message.
Please make sure to subscribeand share with anybody you know
that wants to level up in theirlife.
So I've been sober 12 years,you guys.
Before that, I battledaddiction for 10 years of my
life.
I come from a family who has ahistory of drug and alcohol
(01:26):
abuse.
My dad overdosed, my mom diedfrom drug complicated issues.
My uncle overdosed in my garagewhen I was 19, while I was
sleeping in the house.
You know a lot of familymembers and friends that I know
growing up lost their lives totheir addiction.
So for me this is a verypersonal issue and I would not
be here today had I not beenable to get sober.
(01:47):
I was so close to dying so manytimes.
You know, being young andreckless and just out partying
all night, drinking, then takingpills, and then someone hands
you ecstasy and like, dude, Ididn't care, I, it's like I had
a death wish I would do anything.
I had.
No, you know, no sense of like,of like protecting myself, like
longevity, I didn't care, I wasliving in the moment.
(02:09):
I was wild and reckless, andthere's a reason for that, and
this is the first thing that Iwant to touch on.
If you're somebody whostruggles with addiction and
this might not just be addictionto drugs and alcohol, it might
be food A lot of people areaddicted to food.
It might be porn.
I know a lot of guys that,secretly, are addicted to porn.
Anybody that has something thatthey turn to as a recourse that
over time is maladaptive,meaning over time it causes more
(02:32):
harm than good.
That's an addiction that needsto be addressed right and so so
a lot of people are addicted totheir phones too.
But for people that are moreheavily plagued by addiction
like I was, like you're usingheavy amounts of drugs and
alcohol there's a reason forthat.
This is the first step isfiguring out.
Why do you need to numbyourself and check out that
frequently?
Because eventually it becomes apattern and then your brain
(02:55):
like really craves this thing.
Because there's certainneurotransmitters and chemicals
in your brain that are releasedthat make you feel good and
forget about what, forget aboutthe reason why you're doing it,
your problems, your life, yourtrauma.
That's what I want to talkabout first.
For 10 years of my life I ranfrom reality.
Both my parents left me at ayoung age.
My dad went to prison, my momjust to the streets, and a new
(03:16):
boyfriend and I was heartbrokenman, and for 10 years I never
talked about it, I neveracknowledged it.
I didn't want anybody to bringit up.
I stopped going to familyfunctions, I stopped doing
anything that I had donepreviously.
I got a new group of friendswho wouldn't ask me about it and
they were just getting high anddrinking so I could just fit in
with them.
And so for 10 years I stayednumb and checked out.
When I got to prison, I realizedthat I was in a life or death
(03:38):
set of circumstances and I hadto do everything and anything in
my power to change.
I had to do everything rightjust to get a second chance
right.
I couldn't, freaking, make onemistake.
I had to walk that line, man,and I made a decision in my jail
cell that I was going to getsober and stay sober for the
rest of my life.
I knew that my life depended onit, and for some of us we have
to get to that moment wherewe're at rock bottom, and thank
(04:00):
God I did.
You know I know a lot of peoplethat use, maybe recreationally
or habitually, for their entirelives and it just keeps them
stuck as a shadow of the personthey could have become.
So thank God that I had thoseset of circumstances that really
woke me up and the first thingI realized man was like I'm
using drugs and alcohol for areason and I never stopped to
actually just like dissect itand peel back the layers.
(04:23):
Man and this is actually anexercise I do with clients that
I work with who are battlingaddiction I start helping them
to peel back the layers andmemories in their life so they
understand where does this comefrom?
Why am I numbing myself?
Why do I feel this need toalways use something?
And chances are it comes fromsome traumatic event or a series
of events that scarred you,whether it's your upbringing
(04:43):
like I went through with myparents or maybe a really
devastating breakup or divorce,loss of a child or a loved one,
like.
There's usually a set ofcircumstances that led to us
abusing substances, andsometimes it's just a series of
mild things that just affectedyour sense of self-worth, Like I
know a lot of people who werebullied as a kid, they didn't
get girlfriends, they didn'thang out with the cool kids,
(05:04):
they weren't good at sports,whatever, and there's this
overwhelming feeling of like I'mnot good enough.
And when somebody lacksself-worth, what do they want to
do?
They want to numb that feelingout, because it's not a good way
to feel about yourself,obviously.
So the first step, though, isfiguring out.
Why do I want to use drugs andalcohol?
Where is this craving, thisinsatiable desire to check out
and numb myself, coming from?
(05:25):
Once you can pinpoint that andkind of trace back you know the
memories and the experiences oflife to start coming to these
more pivotal, emotionallycharged events, then you have to
learn how to process it.
You have to learn how to talkabout it freely, without being
judged, without being scared,without holding back.
You have to be able to expressyour truth, man, and because in
(05:45):
that is healing, in that isacceptance.
And you know there's a numberof ways you do this.
Some people go to therapy,other people hire life coaches,
some people just do it on theirown, or a lot of people go to AA
.
You know the steps in AA.
They walk you through thisprocess, and I went to AA for
many years, but what I foundwith AA and NA and therapy is
they're limited.
(06:06):
They're limited because theyhelp you to get sober and kind
of uncover the baggage and thereasons why you use drugs and
alcohol in the first place orwhy you abuse substances.
But from there there needs to beprogression.
You see, the thing is I gotsober but I just didn't want to
be Sean.
I'm an alcoholic in recoveryand I'm sober for the rest of my
life.
Like, you go to AA and youstill identify as an addict.
(06:28):
Dude, I'm not a fucking addict.
I've been sober 12 years.
I changed my programming, Ieradicated my addiction.
There's a big difference there.
And when you go to therapiststhey always want to dwell on and
talk about the negative stuff,the trauma, the events, the
people.
Like there has to be a come, apoint where you grow beyond that
, you make an amends with thepast, you heal, you accept what
(06:48):
happened.
You can no longer change it.
But now you got to move forwardtowards something that's bigger
and better, that gets all yourattention.
When you have a goal or avision or something that you
want to change in your lifebeyond sobriety, that's what
radically transforms you for thebetter.
Right, I fell in love withfitness.
I fell in love with coaching.
I wanted to be the best father,the best husband.
I started creating this visionof what my life could be like
(07:10):
because I was sober, right,because I was educating myself,
because I was working out and Ipainted a picture that was
completely different than whatmy life currently was.
At the moment, there has to be aprogression and this is one of
the biggest things that I seemissing in NA and AA and other
group therapy sessions and allthat shit.
You know it's.
They don't.
They don't have thatprogression.
(07:31):
They don't have that thing tostrive for, that vision, those
goals.
Because in the midst of thatjourney pursuing those goals and
those visions, you continue toevolve and transform.
You see a lot of people getsober and then they just don't
do anything else.
They think that just beingsober is enough and, thank God,
I'm sober.
Yeah, that's great, that's yourfoundation.
But let's learn new skills,let's set bigger goals, let's
(07:53):
transform ourselves, man, andthat's why, like, competitions
and endurance training is sogood.
That's why going to the gym isso good.
You can continue to see yourbody change over time, reading
books, developing skillsets.
Don't settle in your job, likedon't settle in your marriage.
Life's about progression andTony Robbins said it perfectly.
He said you know, progressionis the key to fulfillment.
(08:14):
The moment you stop growing,the moment you stop striving to
be a better version of yourself,the moment you think you
learned enough, you don't got tolearn anymore, the moment that
you think you got to that placethat you were intended to be in,
you stop growing, you getcomplacent.
That's the moment you startlosing fulfillment.
If you want to be fulfilled forthe rest of your life, keep
growing, keep learning, keepchanging.
That's why people, when theyretire, dude, they end up dying.
(08:35):
People that work until the daythey die, they live longer.
You know, statistics show this.
So the message is, you guys,that for me, sobriety was a
catalyst to change my entirelife, because it gave me a
foundation.
But I had to continue to buildupon that foundation.
You know, having faith in Godand a higher power and a higher
plan for me, sobriety andfitness, and then marriage and
(08:56):
becoming a family man, thosethings changed my life radically
.
But it wasn't just one thingright, it was a series of
changes and choices over time.
For me personally, withoutgetting sober, I wouldn't be
here, and a lot of you listeningto this.
You might not want to accept itor admit it, but you not being
sober drastically limits yourpotential.
The way you think, your energy,your productivity, how you show
(09:20):
up for others, your influenceis compromised when you're not
clear-headed and sober.
People who are sober have aconnection to source that is
more profound than people thatare checking out.
Even if you're just numbingyourself from time to time, I'm
telling you, man, your thoughtsaren't going to be as pure, your
energy is not going to be aspure.
That depth inside of you, yourtruth, your purpose, is not
(09:40):
going to be as easy to tap intoand you will be a limited
version of yourself.
If we were meant to be altered,if we were meant to be checked
out, you would have been bornthat way.
The only reason people getaltered and check out is because
they don't know how to functionor get the results or feel the
way they want to feel withoutthat thing.
Imagine if you didn't need thatthing and you could feel that
way or operate that way or bethat way without that substance.
Imagine that person'sdevelopment, imagine that
(10:03):
person's growth to get to thatlevel and imagine what that
person can do in their lifegoing forward, knowing they
don't need a crutch or anythingelse to help them feel the way
they want to feel.
Sobriety is a superpower.
You guys, the moment yourecognize this and commit to a
life of sobriety, I guaranteeyou it will positively enhance
and impact everything that youdo going forward.
My dad overdosed, my mom died from drug-complicated
issues.
My uncle overdosed in my garagewhen I was 19, while I was
sleeping in the house.
For 10 years of my life, I ranfrom reality.
Both my parents left me at ayoung age.
My dad went to prison, my momjust to the streets, and a new
boyfriend and I was heartbroken,man, I had to do everything
right just to get a secondchance.
I couldn't freaking make onemistake.
(00:20):
I had to walk that line, man,and I made a decision in my jail
cell that I was going to getsober and stay sober for the
rest of my life.
You have to learn how to talkabout it freely, without being
judged, without being scared,without holding back.
You have to be able to expressyour truth, man, and because in
that is healing, sobriety is asuperpower.
You guys, the moment yourecognize this and commit to a
life of sobriety, I guarantee,guarantee you it will positively
(00:41):
enhance and impact everythingthat you do going forward.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Unstoppable Mindset
Podcast.
I'm your host, sean MichaelCrane.
You guys, today we're going tobe talking about sobriety, how I
got sober, why I got sober andsubsequently how it transformed
(01:04):
my life for the better.
So if you know somebody who'sstruggling in addiction, or
maybe you have thought aboutgetting sober in your life for
whatever reason, this is goingto be a valuable message.
Please make sure to subscribeand share with anybody you know
that wants to level up in theirlife.
So I've been sober 12 years,you guys.
Before that, I battledaddiction for 10 years of my
life.
I come from a family who has ahistory of drug and alcohol
(01:26):
abuse.
My dad overdosed, my mom diedfrom drug complicated issues.
My uncle overdosed in my garagewhen I was 19, while I was
sleeping in the house.
You know a lot of familymembers and friends that I know
growing up lost their lives totheir addiction.
So for me this is a verypersonal issue and I would not
be here today had I not beenable to get sober.
(01:47):
I was so close to dying so manytimes.
You know, being young andreckless and just out partying
all night, drinking, then takingpills, and then someone hands
you ecstasy and like, dude, Ididn't care, I, it's like I had
a death wish I would do anything.
I had.
No, you know, no sense of like,of like protecting myself, like
longevity, I didn't care, I wasliving in the moment.
(02:09):
I was wild and reckless, andthere's a reason for that, and
this is the first thing that Iwant to touch on.
If you're somebody whostruggles with addiction and
this might not just be addictionto drugs and alcohol, it might
be food A lot of people areaddicted to food.
It might be porn.
I know a lot of guys that,secretly, are addicted to porn.
Anybody that has something thatthey turn to as a recourse that
over time is maladaptive,meaning over time it causes more
(02:32):
harm than good.
That's an addiction that needsto be addressed right and so so
a lot of people are addicted totheir phones too.
But for people that are moreheavily plagued by addiction
like I was, like you're usingheavy amounts of drugs and
alcohol there's a reason forthat.
This is the first step isfiguring out.
Why do you need to numbyourself and check out that
frequently?
Because eventually it becomes apattern and then your brain
(02:55):
like really craves this thing.
Because there's certainneurotransmitters and chemicals
in your brain that are releasedthat make you feel good and
forget about what, forget aboutthe reason why you're doing it,
your problems, your life, yourtrauma.
That's what I want to talkabout first.
For 10 years of my life I ranfrom reality.
Both my parents left me at ayoung age.
My dad went to prison, my momjust to the streets, and a new
(03:16):
boyfriend and I was heartbrokenman, and for 10 years I never
talked about it, I neveracknowledged it.
I didn't want anybody to bringit up.
I stopped going to familyfunctions, I stopped doing
anything that I had donepreviously.
I got a new group of friendswho wouldn't ask me about it and
they were just getting high anddrinking so I could just fit in
with them.
And so for 10 years I stayednumb and checked out.
When I got to prison, I realizedthat I was in a life or death
(03:38):
set of circumstances and I hadto do everything and anything in
my power to change.
I had to do everything rightjust to get a second chance
right.
I couldn't, freaking, make onemistake.
I had to walk that line, man,and I made a decision in my jail
cell that I was going to getsober and stay sober for the
rest of my life.
I knew that my life depended onit, and for some of us we have
to get to that moment wherewe're at rock bottom, and thank
(04:00):
God I did.
You know I know a lot of peoplethat use, maybe recreationally
or habitually, for their entirelives and it just keeps them
stuck as a shadow of the personthey could have become.
So thank God that I had thoseset of circumstances that really
woke me up and the first thingI realized man was like I'm
using drugs and alcohol for areason and I never stopped to
actually just like dissect itand peel back the layers.
(04:23):
Man and this is actually anexercise I do with clients that
I work with who are battlingaddiction I start helping them
to peel back the layers andmemories in their life so they
understand where does this comefrom?
Why am I numbing myself?
Why do I feel this need toalways use something?
And chances are it comes fromsome traumatic event or a series
of events that scarred you,whether it's your upbringing
(04:43):
like I went through with myparents or maybe a really
devastating breakup or divorce,loss of a child or a loved one,
like.
There's usually a set ofcircumstances that led to us
abusing substances, andsometimes it's just a series of
mild things that just affectedyour sense of self-worth, Like I
know a lot of people who werebullied as a kid, they didn't
get girlfriends, they didn'thang out with the cool kids,
(05:04):
they weren't good at sports,whatever, and there's this
overwhelming feeling of like I'mnot good enough.
And when somebody lacksself-worth, what do they want to
do?
They want to numb that feelingout, because it's not a good way
to feel about yourself,obviously.
So the first step, though, isfiguring out.
Why do I want to use drugs andalcohol?
Where is this craving, thisinsatiable desire to check out
and numb myself, coming from?
(05:25):
Once you can pinpoint that andkind of trace back you know the
memories and the experiences oflife to start coming to these
more pivotal, emotionallycharged events, then you have to
learn how to process it.
You have to learn how to talkabout it freely, without being
judged, without being scared,without holding back.
You have to be able to expressyour truth, man, and because in
(05:45):
that is healing, in that isacceptance.
And you know there's a numberof ways you do this.
Some people go to therapy,other people hire life coaches,
some people just do it on theirown, or a lot of people go to AA
.
You know the steps in AA.
They walk you through thisprocess, and I went to AA for
many years, but what I foundwith AA and NA and therapy is
they're limited.
(06:06):
They're limited because theyhelp you to get sober and kind
of uncover the baggage and thereasons why you use drugs and
alcohol in the first place orwhy you abuse substances.
But from there there needs to beprogression.
You see, the thing is I gotsober but I just didn't want to
be Sean.
I'm an alcoholic in recoveryand I'm sober for the rest of my
life.
Like, you go to AA and youstill identify as an addict.
(06:28):
Dude, I'm not a fucking addict.
I've been sober 12 years.
I changed my programming, Ieradicated my addiction.
There's a big difference there.
And when you go to therapiststhey always want to dwell on and
talk about the negative stuff,the trauma, the events, the
people.
Like there has to be a come, apoint where you grow beyond that
, you make an amends with thepast, you heal, you accept what
(06:48):
happened.
You can no longer change it.
But now you got to move forwardtowards something that's bigger
and better, that gets all yourattention.
When you have a goal or avision or something that you
want to change in your lifebeyond sobriety, that's what
radically transforms you for thebetter.
Right, I fell in love withfitness.
I fell in love with coaching.
I wanted to be the best father,the best husband.
I started creating this visionof what my life could be like
(07:10):
because I was sober, right,because I was educating myself,
because I was working out and Ipainted a picture that was
completely different than whatmy life currently was.
At the moment, there has to be aprogression and this is one of
the biggest things that I seemissing in NA and AA and other
group therapy sessions and allthat shit.
You know it's.
They don't.
They don't have thatprogression.
(07:31):
They don't have that thing tostrive for, that vision, those
goals.
Because in the midst of thatjourney pursuing those goals and
those visions, you continue toevolve and transform.
You see a lot of people getsober and then they just don't
do anything else.
They think that just beingsober is enough and, thank God,
I'm sober.
Yeah, that's great, that's yourfoundation.
But let's learn new skills,let's set bigger goals, let's
(07:53):
transform ourselves, man, andthat's why, like, competitions
and endurance training is sogood.
That's why going to the gym isso good.
You can continue to see yourbody change over time, reading
books, developing skillsets.
Don't settle in your job, likedon't settle in your marriage.
Life's about progression andTony Robbins said it perfectly.
He said you know, progressionis the key to fulfillment.
(08:14):
The moment you stop growing,the moment you stop striving to
be a better version of yourself,the moment you think you
learned enough, you don't got tolearn anymore, the moment that
you think you got to that placethat you were intended to be in,
you stop growing, you getcomplacent.
That's the moment you startlosing fulfillment.
If you want to be fulfilled forthe rest of your life, keep
growing, keep learning, keepchanging.
That's why people, when theyretire, dude, they end up dying.
(08:35):
People that work until the daythey die, they live longer.
You know, statistics show this.
So the message is, you guys,that for me, sobriety was a
catalyst to change my entirelife, because it gave me a
foundation.
But I had to continue to buildupon that foundation.
You know, having faith in Godand a higher power and a higher
plan for me, sobriety andfitness, and then marriage and
(08:56):
becoming a family man, thosethings changed my life radically
.
But it wasn't just one thingright, it was a series of
changes and choices over time.
For me personally, withoutgetting sober, I wouldn't be
here, and a lot of you listeningto this.
You might not want to accept itor admit it, but you not being
sober drastically limits yourpotential.
The way you think, your energy,your productivity, how you show
(09:20):
up for others, your influenceis compromised when you're not
clear-headed and sober.
People who are sober have aconnection to source that is
more profound than people thatare checking out.
Even if you're just numbingyourself from time to time, I'm
telling you, man, your thoughtsaren't going to be as pure, your
energy is not going to be aspure.
That depth inside of you, yourtruth, your purpose, is not
(09:40):
going to be as easy to tap intoand you will be a limited
version of yourself.
If we were meant to be altered,if we were meant to be checked
out, you would have been bornthat way.
The only reason people getaltered and check out is because
they don't know how to functionor get the results or feel the
way they want to feel withoutthat thing.
Imagine if you didn't need thatthing and you could feel that
way or operate that way or bethat way without that substance.
Imagine that person'sdevelopment, imagine that
(10:03):
person's growth to get to thatlevel and imagine what that
person can do in their lifegoing forward, knowing they
don't need a crutch or anythingelse to help them feel the way
they want to feel.
Sobriety is a superpower.
You guys, the moment yourecognize this and commit to a
life of sobriety, I guaranteeyou it will positively enhance
and impact everything that youdo going forward.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.