Old Fashioned Mistakes

Sorry for the whiplash on this story. I promise it will be worth it.

Update: listen to me read this post with my own vibrato and vocal training:

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Mistakes.

Not Miss Steaks or Missed Aches or even Meh Stakes.

I’m talking mistakes here. Errors. Misjudgments. Over- or undercompensations. Flat-out wrong-doing.

They’re part of your life. And news flash, they’re part of Michael Jordan’s life too. They’re part of Elon Musk’s life. Definitely. Barack Obama? Not him! (yes, him) Your grandma. Your high school bully. The sales bro who talks way-too-loudly on conference calls as he paces up and down your street like a maniac but also maybe he’s a savant business genius and you should learn something from him. Elvis. The Trader Joe’s checker guy with 47 earrings. EVERYONE.

Just like every human being breathes air and drinks water (or Gatorade or a $34 Erewhon smoothie or whatever), people make mistakes.

I do. You do. We all do.

So give yourself a break today. Let some things go. Give yourself a pat on the back (literally, if you’re flexible), and find a way to do better tomorrow.

Because the only way you make a REAL mistake is if you hide them down, deep down in your pretty little soul, and don’t let anyone else see them, and then drown them in 10,000 Old Fashioneds like I did, from 2017 to 2023, until 36 days ago.

I realized recently that I had had a drink (or a few) every day for 2,000 straight days. No exceptions. I skipped leg day often, but never drink day.

Now listen, I was never passed out in the gutter. I was “high functioning.” It was just something that happened every single night. But even if it “wasn’t a problem” and “it was my COVID hobby” and “I wasn’t hiding it” (all true), my extensive medical training says that 2,000 days probably isn’t a great trend.

Drinking: Mad Men and Just Plain Madness

So, I paused for a while earlier this year but really, I never stopped. Just slowed down.

But I stopped cold on August 30, because I wanted to try changing two things in my life (out of the 17 I actually need to change, but that’s another story). This was to be an experiment during the month of September (Stephtember?) 2023.

For 30 days:

• I wrote and posted something almost every day, for the first time ever.

• And I stopped drinking.

And I’m here to confirm that both changes were worth it. Big time.

I don’t think I was an alcoholic, but if I’m being completely honest, a little bit of that drinking was to keep from dealing with some mistakes I was making. Avoiding some deeply felt unhappiness. For 2,000 days. My extensive psychology training says that probably isn’t a great trend.

Letting those mistakes up to the surface, to see the sun for just a moment, has made them wilt away. Fast. Faster than I thought it would. Something’s different. I’m different. I’m feisty. Ready. I’m myself.

I don’t know if I’ll ever drink again (these Hoppy waters aren’t cutting it), but all I do know is that I was asleep and now I have awakened. And there is work to do.

So whatever your mistakes are, give yourself a second chance. (or a third) (or a fourth) (or a fifth) (or a sixth) (I could do this all day) (or a seventh) (or an eighth)….

Thanks for reading, and your support. This newsletter is about me - strategic, creative, funny, business-y, real. I hope you’re getting a slice of what I’m all about. If you know of a friend who might like this, I hope you share it with them. Forward this on to your friends, or your enemies? Who knows. They might become a friend. Or you might scare them away. Win win!

Shout-out to

Charlie Bleecker

for the encouragement on this piece during yesterday’s Write of Passage course.

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A few follow-up thoughts:

1. You know when you go in for a physical and the doctor asks you how many drinks you have in a week? I’d always say three to five “but socially.” I can only assume that all doctors know to multiply your answer by four.

2. I really do miss a Negroni. It was Negroni week two weeks ago (Ryan Reynolds told me) and I couldn’t celebrate. The SHAME.

3. I honestly did replace my nightly drinking with Hop Waters by Lagunitas and Spindrifts.

4. One final thought. I know this is a funny statement after I’ve admitted to drinking on the reg for like six years, but I am feeling confident, so here goes. I’ve worked with marketing executives at major brands for 15 years on brand strategy, creative communication, and also, delighting them with clever quips and turns of phrases. I have a killer small team doing great work, and we probably have room for another one or two projects. If you have a head-scratching messaging/audience/marketing problem that requires research, insights, clever writing, and creative, I’d love to chat. No pressure. Just to see if we might be a fit. (pitch over)

Any other questions I can answer for you?