 Hi everyone, I'm Roseanne with the alcohol-free lifestyle programs and I'm an enrollment and client journey coach with one of our programs called Project 90. I'm filling in for James. And today we are talking to Catherine Sharp from the Bay Area and she's a school counselor and teacher. She's just recently completed her journey in Project 90 and I will let her tell you where she is in her journey. So welcome Catherine. Thank you. It's good to be here. Good to have you. Thanks for joining us. I know it's a big leap for some to just share their stories so I always appreciate people coming on and sharing theirs. Tell me how many days are you alcohol-free? So I'm 117 days with Project 90 and I actually started a little bit before Project 90 with a five-day alcohol-free so I'm actually 120 days total. Nice, nice. That's that's a legit four months, isn't it? How are you feeling in general? Like tell me how four months feels. It feels really good. I don't know that some people experience a lot of physical changes. I don't know that I experience a ton of physical changes but it's more mental and the feeling that I'm actually I haven't I've tried and tried to quit you know and I've been able to do like maybe 20 days at the most but always went back and so this is kind of the first time that I've actually stuck with it and and I feel really proud of myself and there's been a lot of internal changes I think more than necessarily outwardly. So tell me what um what brought you to the point where you just said hey enough is enough I want to quit. I want to I want to see what an alcohol-free life looks like. Well I think it's been a it's been a long journey. I think I've tried I've probably tried to quit probably for the last maybe three or four years. I mean I've heard of people doing dry January or October dry October or something and sometimes I've given it up tried to give it up for Lent and found that to be just horrifically awful and very painful and not fun and I've just never been able to do it and I when I when I saw the Facebook five-day thing I just I don't know I didn't really even think about it I just said I'm doing this I want to see if I can do it and there was going to be and I knew there was going to be support and I think that was the big key because trying to do it by yourself or even with a family member or friend it's too easy to say ah I had a glass of wine sorry you know right I knew there would be this accountability and I think that's what really struck me. Well what were you drinking prior to quitting? I really love Chardonnay and I and that's my probably third favorite my first favorite is champagne in a cheap champagne mind you not expensive champagne but I loved it and I could you know I would start at like four o'clock and I'd have a glass and then I would think okay I'm not going to have any more but of course six o'clock I'd have another glass seven o'clock another you know and I the whole bottle would be gone and then I would go dog gone and I wasn't going to drink tonight and of course when you drink you eat so I would eat chips and whatever else late at night because I was because I didn't like that feeling of kind of I don't know feeling kind of woozy or something so I would I would eat some carbohydrates to kind of fill that in but my all-time favorite are lemon drops and I learned how to make them and I learned how to make them very strong and so you know I I didn't drink those every night by any means but probably once or maybe sometimes twice a week I would get on lemon drops which is vodka and lemons basically in triple sec so it's a lot of alcohol if I would go out to dinner it was a lemon drop at least one lemon drop maybe two and a glass of wine right well you're I mean for those those that are just listening on the podcast you're you're a fairly petite person um how tall are you five seven yeah one and but I could handle you know I well anyway um so that was kind those are kind of my drinks of choice yeah but I wouldn't ever it wouldn't ever be usually just one it wouldn't just be one lemon drop with dinner it would be a lemon drop and wine or two glasses of wine and then I would if I went out like for a late lunch let's say or early dinner I would drink more it wouldn't be enough right it usually isn't when we when we call to get help it usually is like wait a minute why is it easier to stop for Tim just have one and it's a habit and and probably I've experienced quite a few blackouts where I don't remember and I find out the next day that I did or said something that wasn't very nice or you know and that's pretty scary I you know when I when you think about it and sometimes you know I know the first one I experienced I was super I was way too thin and it wasn't that I drank so much but I completely like blacked out and and I think even fainted or I don't know whatever so it's kind of scary but I I would have those you know in the last 10 years probably 10 or 15 times right right and who would tell you about what you did well either my boyfriend or my boyfriend's daughter or if we would be out with friends and it would happen I would find out you know I'd wake up the next day and my boyfriend's mad at me and I have no idea why or what I did calling my friend going what what it actually goes oh my gosh Kathy you know you know right right um how does that make you feel terrible and I and that's I mean that's one of the joys the last thing that happened that was kind of not good as we my boyfriend and I both have can-ams they're motorcycles with two wheels in the front one and back right motorcycles that you can ride anyway kind of like quads or whatever so we went on a big bike ride with another couple and of course we stopped at bars and drank and the last place we stopped of course I had had wine tasting what else that I had anyway wine tasting and something else I think and then we stopped at this last place and of course I had to have a lemon drop or two I had two and we have to drive home and it's worked two and a half hours away from home and little did I know my boyfriend was really mad at me like for doing like what the hell are you doing you know having another one kind of looking at me like that and I'm like yeah I'll do what I want you know kind of an attitude and and driving that thing home was really scary and and we ended up getting separated because I think he was mad and I was whatever I was you know when you're drinking you kind of just don't give a you know you kind of don't care what's going on with I was kind of the last you know I'm like that was not comfortable and I and I'm so excited to be able to to now come into summer and be able to ride and if we if we go to bars we go to bars I don't even care but I'm not going to drink and I'm not going to have that experience again right I feel like what on myself what was the I guess the turning point for you was at that event or was it you were sick of it was all and then project 90 was James right his and and knowing you know knowing that I couldn't I couldn't do 90 days on my own I knew I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't and and oh and that night so I talked to him let's say on one day and I went I keep it I've kept the journals for anyway for a long time and so I went back and because you know it's a lot it's the money it's the skin in the game kind of thing and I went back and read my journals the last like two that I've done and every other page was I want to quit I need to quit I need to quit drinking I need to you know my I think my last thing was okay I'm not you know I'm going to be a big girl and I'm not going to drink on during the week period no I'm not doing it I'm going to drink just on the weekends well that lasted not even a week by Thursday I was drinking so I knew I couldn't do it by myself and that's kind of a scary place to be right you need and I wasn't I didn't feel I mean I've I have I think the big book on my phone with AA you know I've contemplated that but I'm not you know I'm I'm working I'm you know I'm not at the bottom of the barrel and I did not feel comfortable I've been to an AA meeting I thought it was kind of cool where you can really it's like being in church where you can really cuss you know I thought it was kind of me but you know I don't feel like I'm an alcoholic I don't feel like I need to go to you know I'm not I haven't lost everything and I'm at the bottom and I need to do the you know I just didn't and I didn't know where to look really where is a program that's for people that just have a habit of drinking too much because they're bored a lot of it's out of boredom we're not knowing what to do with myself in the afternoons you know right and I do want to ask you don't I don't usually ask this to people on the podcast but I should you know this is a fairly significant investment and as you look and as an enrollment coach it's really hard for people to understand the value of that investment but you know given that it was a significant investment for you how do you look at that investment in in the review mirror how do you see that I think it was the best investment in myself that I've ever made for a lot of reasons you know alcohol free is one of the big ones but there have been other things along the way that I've gained that you know it's you know and I still have a you know there's a few times my my little head will go maybe you could have done it on your own maybe you could have done it on your own but you know what I wouldn't have the other things that this program has offered right the friendships the sense of community the accountability that all the other little subgroups that have happened and so I I look at it as the best investment I've made of myself and and I and I never really understood the whole skin in the game thing until and until this realizing that when you if I mean if you're a millionaire right right then it's no big deal but if you're not you know this the amount of money can be a significant thing and it definitely was to me and I'm like I am not going and I I'm I tend to be impulsive and I'll jump on things before I think right I'll just yeah let's do it two thousand bucks okay let's go or whatever the case may be and I'm like that is not going to happen this time I am not going to be a year from now drinking like I was and that was a waste of money I'm not doing it I am not and so that's been a key motivation for me to keep going and to know and to hear other people's stories and to know that if I were to have one glass of wine tonight I would have another glass tomorrow and another glass the next day and another and then it would be two I'd be right back to where I started I'm not maybe you know I don't know maybe down the road there's you know miraculously all change but I know myself and I've heard from other people that you end up and you end up probably even drinking more if you go back to it yeah I've heard people do that I I don't plan on testing the theory but let's get back to um project 90 because of course I love project 92 and um but people do you see this as a recovery program or do you see this as a coaching program like which I don't see it as a recovery program right I see it as a people wanting to let go of something that's been hindering them in their life and what and that's the beauty that is the beauty of this program it's it's not just people going okay I'm not going to drink I'm not going to drink it's like okay where do I want to do next what changes do I want to make in my life what what's if I if I'm if I'm able to um get a handle and choose not to drink alcohol what else am I capable of doing and I think that's the huge beauty of this program and that it's it's aiming higher not pushing something down if that makes any sense like it's yeah absolutely yeah trying to and people who maybe you listened to the podcast will hear me say this more than one time but one of our members Warren um mentioned it and he's like I felt like I had a parachute and it was deflated and now that I've gone alcohol-free my parachute is open and it represents energy and ideas and positivity and would that be a good explanation very good explanation yeah yeah and you know you um you and other people go through a lot of transitions during project 90 and just in life and a lot of a lot of times what we're learning inside project 90 is that it's not what's happening to us that's the problem it's how we're learning to deal with it and you just made a major life decision yet you're doing so with confidence and looking to the future with um you know positivity and yeah so tell us huh and excitement yeah so tell us about that well I've always I'm I'm the kind of person that doesn't really like to think too far ahead I'm not one of those that has a 10-year plan a 20-year plan I just I that overwhelms me so I've I've kind of just not really thought it like the thought when people talk about retirement I just go like this I don't want to talk about it I don't want to talk about it you know life is going to happen and I'll do what I don't know um and I think some of that I'm going to keep because I that's just part of me but I'm I'm now able to kind of look at life and what is it that I really want what is what kind of a future do I want and what am I willing to let go of and what what do I want to keep in my life with a lot more confidence you know I think drinking just kind of doled my senses doled my vision made me feel maybe not very good about myself because I couldn't control it so I would if I felt bad about something or if I got in a fight with my boyfriend's daughter or something happened that I didn't like I would just go get a glass of wine and maybe would make me fall asleep fall asleep and I wouldn't have to think about it or deal with it right yeah actually another huge thing for you and project 90 has been relationships you want to share about how your relationships have changed with people um over the four months I think my you know my daughter and my mom will tell me even though you know you don't see the changes in yourself right you don't I don't see it in myself but my daughter will look at me and it's like mom you look just so beautiful or so you know you just look different and you look happier and so she'll my mom and my daughter will kind of tell me that but then in my relationship with my boyfriend and his daughter who lives with us or I live with him I don't know how however you want to look at it or and I have butted heads from the very beginning and you know it's hard for a daughter to accept another woman I get it you know she has valid reasons for maybe not liking me or whatever but we have just butted heads I mean huge fights yelling screaming cussing at each other um where her dad gets involved and then he's mad at her and yelling at her it's just been horrid it's been awful and a lot of alcohol induced you know she'll do you know if I've had a few glasses of wine and she does something that pisses me off um there it goes right and I don't I didn't have the clarity to go that's really petty Kathy what do you get or Kathy what are you getting so mad at her for like let it go doesn't matter right um and so we just fought and I you know and I came to the point this is before project 90 but and talking with my daughter and reading books that that I was I was coming to her with with a certain kind of energy and negative energy I'm sure right every time you know I would think about oh Nia you know Nia's home and oh what's going to happen and what mood is what mood is she going to be in and so I would I know I was bringing an energy that wasn't I was part of the problem right it wasn't just her and and I didn't even you know I so I joined project 90 and stopped drinking alcohol and and it was like all of a sudden we get we get along all of a sudden we get and I can't explain it it's one of those things that you know I feel like many people got the they lost weight they could sleep better all these physical things I didn't get that but I got this right this whatever it is that I'm bringing to that relationship in in particular is good right it's positive and it's and it is an absolute night and day and have you asked her I mean have you asked her not yet I don't know that she thinks deeply enough about me to be able to say yeah you know she hasn't said anything to me like wow we're getting along it's really weird you know and we still have it's not 100 you know it's not always perfect we still have our little you know little things that kind of rub each other the wrong way but it's very short-lived over very fast and it I'm it's just I look at it as a miracle honestly it's you know and I the only thing that's changed is I'm not drinking right that's that's the big thing so you feel a lot calmer yeah I do yeah yeah that's one thing I notice is that you are less reactive to situations less up to take things on yourself because you have more confidence at yourself right just thinking about you know what's going on in the world if if and I'm having a hard enough time with it as it is right for a variety of reasons and if I was drinking it would be probably more than I could bear right I I would not you know I'm calmer and I'm able to kind of just okay I have those feelings I have those thoughts about what's happening just okay that's okay and let kind of let it go and I think if I was drinking it away trying to drink it away right this would be a great you know I I I think people are drinking a lot more right now because it's things are so upside down and I'm glad that I'm not you know I can't I kind of can't believe it sometimes that I'm not you know rushing to drown out my angry feelings that I have sometimes that's good yeah I um with those on in the outside world is affects me but it doesn't affect me anymore not like it used to um so your relationship with your boyfriend's changed a little bit too and you've I think you've been able to inspire him some yeah yeah he stopped he has stopped drinking January 1st mainly I think due to medical issues right being like he's got to stop or he's not going to live very much longer um and he you know he was a hard drinker vodka every night 12 15 beers wow but yeah that's pretty heavy very heavy drinker and the good thing about me starting before him is I was you know we we tried this one other time like he tried to stop drinking like probably a year ago and I was going to not drink with him while I was sneaking off to the restaurant and having my lemon drops and you know not able to support him and so this has been you know me kind of taking it you know making this decision and choice and I'm sure it makes it a little easier for him to see that I'm not doing it the the the interesting thing is sometimes I think we think if we stop drinking it's going to be just right I kind of thought even with him that it would change he would change a little more you know his some of his the way he acts and some of his whatever but it hasn't so you know and there's a lot of work he doesn't have the coaching right yeah exactly he doesn't have that it's just you know and I think so far it's been pretty easy for him because he just made that decision you know just like when you're 100% in it's pretty easy but he doesn't have yeah he doesn't have the other support the the the nuggets of truth that we get in the and that is that you do I talk to a lot of people that have been able to go alcohol free for 30 or 60 or six months along a lot of times you know like I didn't get that pop and I think that's what the the leverage point is in here it's like because we're not allowed to just put drinking to the side we're like okay now what are we going to change like now what's our focus going to be now how do we fill our time you know now what are our goals and it's seeing those wins over that 90 days that allow us to go put everything on the scale like for you the relationships and looking forward and making decisions about your future and you had a really difficult decision post 90 that was causing you a lot of stress that you had to process do you want to tell us about that sure so I I got a job this year as a I'm not a I don't have my teaching credential so I'm not really a teacher but I got I was able to work as a teacher and they were able to give me credit for my counseling days and so my I was I'm making this year more than I've ever made in my life doing something that's you know I enjoy but I don't love right and so I decided you know like I do many things I'm doing it I'm just I'm doing it I'm going to get my masters and get my teaching credential because I want this job because I like the money and so I did all that you know applied to San Francisco state and got all the stuff that I had to do and um got accepted and started the program with not not really deeply thinking about what that was going to involve and is it really my passion right I just I don't care I'm doing it because the money's so good so I started it and um was about four weeks in and realizing that I'm not happy at all I do not I I don't I mean the the professors are great right and that you know and and it wasn't even that we were on zoom because I kind of like that I didn't have to actually drive somewhere to go to class but it just wasn't and I it was just agony and I and I remember I would I took notes you know I had a like a binder or whatever and I would take notes and I would go back and I'm like I don't even remember doing that I don't remember even taking those notes what's the matter here I don't have I have no interest I have zero interest in this I have zero interest in it what am I going to do I've already paid for the classes out of my pocket um I'm four weeks in if I don't do this I don't have this job next year so but I and I talked to I reached out to people reached out to you reached out to my daughter another friend my boyfriend his daughter and everybody was just like Kathy you know if you're not happy don't do it just don't you're you know I'm not 30 years old right deciding on my career I'm you know closer to retirement and do I really want to spend the next five years or whatever doing this program or even teaching even even this job I felt such a relief that I don't have to go back next year I'm like oh I don't have to deal with you know I don't have to deal with it and so it was hard it was a tough decision and that you know I shed some tears which I don't normally do especially over decisions um but you know I was thinking about this well it just popped into my head right now so tell me you you know how you you made the decision this time clear-headed was solid advice you're able to think through it you made the decision you're relieved right and tell me about what the future looks like with this decision behind you how do you feel about making that decision well I felt a lot of relief you know the first I think it was I made the decision on a Sunday and dropped everything on Monday just boom told everybody drop the class done um and you know it's talking to even my dog you know just talking to people feeling a little bit panicked and I think now I feel I'm just whatever's going to happen is going to happen I'll figure it out I'll figure out a way to make money or get a job or whatever I need to do we have houses that we you know my boyfriend and I both own we own some property on a lake or up where we have a view of the lake and you know I was thinking if I was working I wouldn't you know it's pretty much going to be he and I building these houses right maybe a little we'll get maybe a little bit of help but you know if I was going to keep this job which the money was good enough you know to warrant that but I wouldn't be able to help and so now I'm maybe maybe I'm going to end up just helping with the houses and figuring out how to pay the bills you know later I don't know I don't know what I'm going to do and that's okay and I'm okay with that that's the key how do you think you would have processed the decision if you were drinking you wouldn't I don't even know if I could have done the done the four weeks of school if I was drinking honestly I don't know I don't know you would have you might have failed but blamed it on the alcohol and yourself as opposed to a clear-minded choice maybe yeah it's hard to make those choices you know and and I've kind of you know with with the way the world is I might not have ever be able to even travel again so I've kind of just gone you know what I don't have to have I don't know money's always been a big deal to me like I I want I don't you know some people want to win the lottery I've never would I want to win the lottery but I would like just a supply that I don't have to worry about right if I want this I can buy not you know but not I've had I had a windfall when in my past kind of and it and it wasn't even a big windfall and it created a lot of problems so I wouldn't want people to want to win the lottery have no idea what they're asking for but I do like to be able to buy things I want you know so I gotta find a way I think you will I'm pretty sure you will so um tell me about your experience in project 90 it has been incredible it's been incredible um I never I don't know what I expected I knew I knew I needed I know I needed support but I didn't know what that was going to look like I had never heard of Marco Polo which is one of the the things used in project 90 where you can you tell people about it yeah so Marco Polo is an app on your basically on your phone and you can record yourself talking leaving a message to somebody whatever you want to say you could show them your house you could take you know whatever you want to do um and it goes directly to them or to a group and they can open it anytime they want so it let's say you want to you know say I want to talk to my mom and it's 12 o'clock at night I can Marco Polo her and tell her mom blah blah and she can open that up the next day and it's and I've used you know learning about it I've used it with other friends and stuff but with within Marco Polo it's a way for the community those all of us that are trying to go 90 days without drinking get to tell our story talk about what's going on be you know I'm struggling today or I'm having a great day or I did this or this happened or this triggered me and and then you have the support of people listening to what you've said and coming on and commenting on that and giving you encouragement and telling you what they did and it's absolutely life changing and of course me being the stubborn person that I am it took me I think I was on day 40 or something before I actually maybe day 30 in the program before I actually got on and did Marco Polo because who I don't like to look at my face even on this you know it's hard to do these kind of things but you get used to it and it and I've made friends I've made actual friends that I like that I that I want to talk to that that I could see going to visit you know if they in you're one of them Rosanne thank you you are too you know it's I I know that I couldn't have done it I could never have done even 90 days without the community I couldn't have done it I mean besides you know the community calls are great and the and the Kevin calls are here the one on you know the the coaching that you get once a week is great but it's 20 you know it's not you're not getting an you know two hours of coaching you're getting just a short so that the Marco Polo time is just I still the secret sauce yeah did your friendships come when you ventured out to Marco Polo I'm curious you have to say something because people are listening and it took you know I'm she's nodding her head for those of you listening on the podcast and I'm not one to you know like I was telling Rosanne earlier I'm not I don't make friends very easily and very fast I'm kind of picky about people that I that I want to call a friend there has to be a connection of an ability to talk about deep things and stuff um and so you know it took a little while with with some of the people that I now consider really good friends but it's it's beautiful it's it's fabulous and it it's like a dating app without a date you know you're not dating and the people that I made friends with are women but it's like you're making connections with people in Australia and people in the east coast that I would never ever get to meet right never right now we've we've made this connection and we have this we're able to kind of look at each other objectively we don't have that you know 20 years of being a friend or or any or any preconceived um I don't know biases or or whatever with that sometimes your friends might have like they might not be able to your friends good you know your close friends that you've had for a long time it's just a different it's a different kind of accountability and a different kind of relationship I guess is what I want to say that's a little more objective and you're on this journey if we've all been doing this together right it's not my friend saying well I can't I don't know why you're doing it you know why are you giving up alcohol you don't drink that much you know well you know that kind of thing you have people that are like hey I'm doing this with you and um they're looking the people that you meet are looking to better their lives and you know what do they say if you want to be successful be around people that are successful be around people that are you know moving and and changing and growing right and that's going to help you and that's kind of what I found in Marco Polo that's what you see and now you're in Marco Polo uh almost it for at four months and you're going in there and going hey people this works stick it out and you're being the inspiration so the lot of the lot of giving back don't you think yeah I really think this this program is just very it's it's brilliant it's brilliant it's brilliant what what has been together to help people that find themselves not having just one drink every other week you know it's it's gotten to be something that they don't like and they don't want to do and either it's causing health issues or it's causing relationship issues or or just you don't feel good and don't feel right and you feel kind of you know embarrassed or not embarrassed but if there was one aha moment where where would you say you had it it's not a very big aha moment but it's a little aha moment I remember I think I had posted maybe once or twice on Marco Polo just kind of real brief saying this is very uncomfortable I don't really like it and then a few days have gone by and I've kind of gotten kind of blah just feeling kind of down right and I thought I'm gonna go I'm gonna listen to that Marco Polo stuff I'm gonna see what's going on and I'm telling you what it just was like oh I get it and I it changed my mood right away I felt invigorated and excited and happy and it's kind of like oh this is what this is all about this is this is the purpose of this and it pulled me and from then on from that point on it was I was listening every day uh not necessarily commenting every single solitary day but it definitely became integrated it was like a shot of adrenaline like oh wow this is I get it now I finally get it what this is all about you know and I think you'd be part of that I was I would I would get on and I would be like what are people talking about come on get to the come on get to the point okay say it and get off you know kind of a little irritated kind of and after that I was like oh I get it now this is anyway so that was kind of you know my most aha moment I did have I remember I don't know week three or something I remember getting on with Kevin on our coaching call and I was like this is the most I was so it was like the rainbows man I was so excited my life is changing and this is what it's oh I was you know I just felt like I had been reborn kind of and that was pretty that was pretty cool that was a pretty cool you don't know it it's hard to keep that feeling but man I felt that like oh this is so incredible I felt so good and feel so good and you know so then you you had that at three weeks then you didn't feel so good then you went on Marco Polo then you had your life on moment that's right kind of yeah kind of what the what I didn't really understand the purpose of Marco Polo in the beginning I didn't really get it what's I didn't really understand it like what it was supposed to do I guess and then that day I was feeling I remember I was in my sewing room trying to sew and I'm just like I just feel like crap man and then I go I'm gonna listen to some I'm gonna get into this Marco Polo and then it totally changed you know then I was like happy and I was like oh anyway just kind of it all made sense at that point yeah well and I love your um your description of first going on and like come on what is it that you're trying to say because that's the impatient part of us I want it now I want it now I want it now so what what exactly did change for you in that I want it now I want it now okay I'm willing to listen how did that I don't know relationships because that's where they happened right yeah I'm thinking of Liz who I who she's my I she's my little soulmate buddy right to me and I remember in the beginning listening to her and I'd be like come on Liz I didn't even know her and I was just like she just took forever I love you Liz I love you to death and then you know and I'm kind of like that I have that tendency sometimes to be quick to judge right and then I'm always eating it you know because now I just love her to death I love you know you know I don't know what change I don't know what it was I don't know what it was about that day well we know we know the result right it provided connection it provided sounds like it provided patience yeah um because when we stop and listen it does create connection and relationship because I find that myself like parka polo kata but you can go like one and a half so you can just make people talk a little faster and that doesn't mean you're not listening it just means I have little time and I want to make it go faster but then I'll get to the second one and somebody's comments I'm not wait a minute I didn't hear that right so now I have to go back and hear it slow so it is worth it to hear every person's story in their time yeah and see what they're trying to express and that's yeah I call it the secret sauce of of project 90 I mean not everybody has to go through there and and get success but those that do find that much more and um and success yeah and I and it was very unexpected I did not I had no never thought like oh I'm going to go make friends this is going to be a way to find friends or this is going to wait we be a way to find a community or never thought of that and it's such a nice icing on the cake you know beautiful beautiful right this and maybe not everybody's going to experience that I don't know but I certainly have so as we kind of try and wind down this conversation is there anything you like people to know about an alcohol free life or your journey or if there's any amount of wisdom you'd like to pass on what would be the the biggest or smallest nugget because sometimes the smallest nugget can be the most important thing to other people so what are you what what what wisdom would you like to impart to others as you leave this for pleasure but um I think kind of the I I used to think that alcohol was so important in my life and that I couldn't live without it like I just couldn't I couldn't how do people do it I would look at people that didn't drink and thought how boring are you and seriously I would I'd be like you're not drinking what the you know what's wrong with you are you some crude and the the I think the thing that I've realized and gotten out of this it it it really isn't a needed part of life it doesn't have to be a part of it it's it's really a small piece right I mean it's a big piece to us in the past but it's such a small piece of existence and it doesn't really matter right it doesn't it doesn't I don't have to judge people whether they drink or whether they don't drink I don't have to think if a guy doesn't drink berries kind of a pussy right which is what I told Kevin in the very beginning I don't have to judge people based on that kind of stuff right the other thing that this isn't really a nugget but I've realized like when I go on vacation now when I which I haven't yet but when I do go on vacation I'm thinking about what do I get to do I want to do stuff I want to hike and go places and see things I don't want to just think ooh I wonder what kind of alcohol they have in the bar and you know those all inclusive so we don't have to buy our drinks and we can drink whatever we want right not thinking like that anymore I want to do things I want to have excitement and adventure in my life and not have it based around because when you drink it's a depressant right so it's like now I just want to go to bed or I mean it can I guess enlighten you for a while but then you crash um and it doesn't have to be I don't know once once you kind of let it go choose to just say you know I don't need that in my life it becomes why do I need it in my life you know I don't know and it is hard as an enrollment coach as you can imagine your first day because you don't know what but it's like you want to right raise your arms up and go oh you know like okay bring on the world I'm ready I can't wait to go on vacation like think of all the money I'm going to save because I don't have to buy alcohol I can upgrade now to first class yes I mean seriously it's just uh especially when you go out to you know go out to eat and I'm not one I have one friend that's like okay what's the cheapest what's the cheapest wine you have what's on you know what's on whatever the happy hour I'm like give me the best wine give me the most expensive lemon drop you have give me the best tequila whatever so I wasn't one to try to save money when I drank so when I go out it was yeah I know wait wait I'm gonna I have uh I have an app too that um I I'm almost a year yeah does your app track um how much money you saved no but I I I think I can put it in there I can't remember uh I have saved seven thousand one hundred and eighty dollars yeah well in a year yeah it's like twenty but it's only twenty bucks a day right twenty bucks a day it is I put in well that's what they they have then the app is not counting right but I thought right I just saying I I I mine was more like 10 bucks a day I think well three yeah I'm at 350 days so 20 bucks a day but you're putting in I I mean you have to go out and your lemon drop costs you a lot of money you have to add the alcohol in your vacations that's true and in your dinners not what it costs you at home to make your lemon drop okay and I remember going to a concert and I we my friend and I wanted um something to drink and we bought probably this big it was a margarita for 25 bucks 25 bucks I once had two makers on the mark on the rocks at a place and they gave me the the bill it was 40 dollars it was like oh god I know it's crazy and I wouldn't care I I wouldn't care now that I've and now that I've uh enlightened you that the cost of alcohol includes what you spend when you go out on vacation would you adjust your average spending to yeah yeah and my friend my girlfriend and I would go when we would go out to breakfast it was on man and we had m mimosas we would spend a hundred dollars on a breakfast and most of that would okay so you're gonna be happy I want you to adjust your app yeah I know appropriately for what you really spent on alcohol because there's no way that you're spending that you used to spend 10 dollars a day and now you have more money to spend on vacations exactly if I can go on vacation yeah well in the states I can yeah all right Liz it has been really fun um talking to you and you are definitely a lot of fun without alcohol um how do you just before we sign off how do you see your future do you see your future with any alcohol in it or where you at this point I uh no no desire I know it's just a slippery what yeah and I'll be calling James and you and two years and going to guess what I gotta I gotta spend another whatever the price is because it's going up so okay well thank you for joining us Catherine it's been really fun so we'll see you around soon all right bye thanks for listening to the alcohol-free lifestyle podcast I want to load you up with some free stuff right now so if you want to go to jameswanick.com slash guide I will send you my quit alcohol guide which has helped six figure entrepreneurs and top professionals produce or quit drinking you can also text the word quit guide to the number 44222 if you're in the US of course it doesn't really work anywhere outside of the US but if you're in the US on your mobile phone and you'd like that guide text the word quit guide to the number 44222 or you can go to jameswanick.com slash guide if you'd like to schedule a free 15 minute call with one of my top coaches just an exploratory call to see if or how we can help you then you can go to jameswanick.com slash schedule or you can text the word project 90 to the number 44222 if you're listening in the US on a mobile phone that's jameswanick.com slash schedule or you can text the word project 90 that's one word project 90 to the number 44222 feel free to send me a direct message over on my instagram account which is at jameswanick you can also watch video episodes of this podcast and a series of other educational videos on my youtube channel which is jameswanick one or you can direct message me on facebook at jameswanick official and finally a request would you please now write a short review of the podcast inside of the apple podcast app on your phone or on itunes on your desktop computer would you please give the show five stars and write a quick one or two sentence review this will help the show get in front of even more listeners potentially transforming someone's life you can rate and review the show inside of your apple podcast app on your phone or over on itunes on your desktop thank you so much and i'll catch you next time