 Hi there, this is James Swannick and you're listening to the alcohol-free lifestyle podcast where you learn how to take back control over alcohol and live a life of health wealth love and happiness Angela is 90 days alcohol-free today congratulations Angela and Angela has a More connected relationship with her daughters. She's gonna tell us about yeah, she's a better leader and Guess what? She's socializing with her friends who have always drunk and are still drinking and she's having more fun now Yes, I Have I have videos to prove. Have you? Have you really? Yeah Angela Ponsford, congratulations on 90 days. So good. What was life like? Before you worked with me and my program and my method for quitting drinking for 90 days What was life like around alcohol? So I drank every weekend. I was I didn't drink During the week. I was fine with that. I didn't get the arduous But every single weekend I would get to Friday and I would be thinking about having a beer or a wine So and so pretty much every Sunday. I was feeling a little bit seedy You know, I wasn't like I've gone out and getting outrageously drunk but it was enough for me to Feel it every weekend and then usually on a Sunday afternoon like I live in Australia Sunday sessions are a huge thing in Australia and Yeah, I would have a few beers on a Sunday and then Monday morning. I would you know, just feel the effects of it So and I think that's how I connected with the original it was like it wasn't that I felt that I had an alcohol problem Yeah, I just was over this like just not being at my peak. Yeah I knew that I just wasn't right up there and I wanted to be more Scala 1 to 10 on how you felt and how productive and effective you were being Now looking back probably a six six out of ten. Yeah, and six out of ten You might you probably realize now like costs you money cost you connection with the kids and family. Yep health Clarity focus so six out of ten is kind of just existing in the world really isn't it kind of yeah Yeah, and now that you've been alcohol-free 90 days If you were then a six out of ten, how do you feel? I'm not Nine and a half or nine. I mean like because I'm you know 90 days, and I'm like there's so many more possibilities Opening up for me now. So let's say a nine. Yeah, because I've got plans for bigger things. Yeah, if I'm already at a 10, then yeah, I love it Yeah, tell us a little bit about Your yourself and your friends and your daughters and what you do. Okay, so I work with a US Agency we run Facebook and Instagram ads and I manage the media buying team So there's ten people in the team and we're spread. I live in Australia and we're spread right across Asia Europe and into the US So, you know, I do pretty well. Yeah, my my Roach at Role in the agency fairly high-powered and lots of Calls at different times of the day. So I do that and I have nine and a half year old twin girls and And friends who drink. Yeah Yeah, friends who drink friends who drink. Yeah, and I Drink can drink. You can drink. You're a Scottish lass. I am Scottish lasses can drink All right, they can especially when they live in Australia. It's nice and sunny and a nice cold beer is beautiful So yeah, that's kind of what I do for work and I'm a mum and etc And What's she been you drinking choice before beer and wine beer and wine never really drank many spirits at all But yeah, a cold beer and a glass of wine. Do you remember a feeling of luck your lowest point? I mean, look, you're not enough. Obviously, you're not an alcoholic But you were drinking regularly enough that it was slowing down and causing you problems Yeah, do you remember like when when it dawned on you while there's something that I need to fix you Probably that last month before connecting with you So just thinking, you know, like on so because of the hours I work and working with people in the US like Saturday morning calls Are a regular thing so early, you know, like 3 a.m. Calls on a Saturday. Yeah, and I remember going out a couple of Fridays and then Having just a few glasses of wine but then having to get up at 3 in the morning and then just getting up and thinking what the hell were you thinking and like what were you thinking and and Just suffering through, you know, a few hours of calls and knowing that I wasn't fully Present and fully there and fully able to use this thing which I have been gifted with is fairly smart And just knowing that it wasn't really being utilized. And so I think that last month I got really Clear on that and plus I was also doing a 12-week fitness challenge, which is, you know, four days a week Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and quite most of the Mondays of that 12-week challenge. I had a few drinks on the Sunday It's ludicrous, you know doing this like real, you know intense fitness Challenge and then knowing that the Mondays I really wasn't given 100% Yeah, it was a it was a combination of those things and particularly in that last month so November last year and then I think I was following you already on Instagram and then you just started seeing the posts About the court chain Yeah, so What do you ended up doing is joining my group which helps entrepreneurs business owners executives professionals quit drinking for at least 90 days get to today which is 90 days and And then from there ultimately choose whether you wish to go continue going alcohol-free, etc But before you did that you had to get on a call with me And you had to speak with me How were you feeling? Well, first of all what inspired you to click the button and Book a call with me and then how were you feeling before and during the call? so I Was terrified of doing the call cuz like I never get on calls for these Like for any kind of coaching like if I know that I have to get on a call I'd usually not not doing it and I remember sitting with it The page open for a bit two days beforehand and I was like no and it was a good batters and forwards And I was on my mobile now I'll just go check out the page on desktop and then we'll go back to my mobile And then I think it was one morning and I was like I picked the last time that was available and it was like This was on the Friday, and I think the call was on the Monday I was like, I'm not doing the call at the weekend. I'll do it on the Monday morning and I think I'd gone out I got I think the Friday night before the show I'd booked the call I went over and met a couple of friends for early just to say hi had a couple of drinks too many again got up for my Saturday morning Meetings and was feeling just like just didn't feel a hundred percent And I think actually on that Saturday then I booked it Maybe it's Friday the Saturday I booked it and then that was the last time I had a drink And then I got on the call with you already so already more than 24 hours into yeah Having had a drink which doesn't sound like much but for I hadn't had a drink on that Sunday Yeah, and I got on the call the Monday morning, and I was I was ready. I was ready to talk to you Yeah, like I didn't I had no idea what to expect. Yes. I was just like shit I'm getting on a call with this Aussie guy that lives in Venice and like I feel like I know him because I've seen him on Instagram But I don't really know him. Yeah, and yeah, and Was the call I mean obviously ultimately you joined and got the benefit of the 90 days of coaching Was the core valuable for you? Yeah, really valuable like Yeah, the calling itself was like we you like delved into just asking some really good questions about how I was feeling that my really current relationships, you know with my kids and my friends and and where I was at in business and yeah It was the calling itself. I got a lot of value out of and Yeah, just when you when you told me what the program was about and you know the benefits that I could get I mean I was terrified. It was the first of December a second of December And I was like well when does it start and you were like well right now? And I'm like I'm going to the UK in Paris for Christmas and New Year, and there's champagne there What's this tip talking about? But I did yeah, because I got so much value at the call. Yeah, like I you know Just go through I've been you know stalking you all weekend. What's he been on? What's this guy all about? So you're Googling my name. Hell yeah Did you find anything incriminating on me? Lots, no Okay, so then you took action and you joined? Yes And were you nervous to join or once you finally made that decision were you excited? What were you feeling when you said yes, okay? Let's do it. Nerves, nerves mainly because it was it was December Yeah, and that's you know drinking season, you know that's drinking season for Scottish people and Australians and party season and I was like Not sure about this it's like still wasn't sure about it Yeah, even though I'd said yes, but was excited about the possibility that Yeah, and I guess it was you know, you're letting go of something that you that's been a familiar Friend for a long time. Yeah, but also an unwanted friend. Mm-hmm. Yeah kind of funny to say that like an unwanted friend, right? Yeah And then that Christmas that December holiday period you actually were over and there was beautiful fires And there was opportunity to drink mulled wine and and what happened? I didn't drink and It was awesome And I didn't feel like I was missing out and I got really present to the amount of time I actually spent thinking about drinking and That was not there and when I say thinking about drinking like one so when I would be having a glass of wine I was thinking about oh when I'm going to be finished it soon And I have to go up and get another glass of wine or where's the waiter is the waiter coming round to offer me another glass of wine And just the amount of time spent thinking about Realizing like the time that was crazy still crazy and Does it feel 90 days later? Does it feel easy to be alcohol-free or does it feel still feel like a challenge? No, it doesn't feel like a challenge So I just had a conference there which you were at and normally that's a super busy time of year for me There's a lot of networking a lot of parties and I went out and probably had more fun Certainly on the after party. It was an eighties party eighties What characters you go as well like Cindy Lauper someone told me I look like Cindy Lauper and nice pink choo-choo on and a pink shell suit and you know rather fetching and And there was a dance dancing dancing all night and then there was a competition on stage Which involved a shake weight and I got up on stage and joined the competition completely sober Amazing. Wow. My mates were like one minute. I was there and then they turn around And then they realized I was up on the stage and they were just laughing their heads off that I was up there stone-cold sober So you can have fun without alcohol. It's so much fun and you can network and do deals and be a great leader in your business While being alcohol-free as well totally because a lot of people think well and network there's open bars as conferences There's all these kind of things like there's the staff drinks on a Friday night But you've been able to navigate all of that alcohol-free while other people are drinking around you While there's an open bar. I don't know about you, but I used to love the open bars It's like open bar. Don't have to pay anything for alcohol. Give it to me The eddies party was an open bar like in a nightclub and in San Diego And it was really cool and they had a really cool bad and open bar all night. What did you drink? I had some sort of water and fresh light. I love it. So What was life like before you went alcohol-free and what's life like now for you so before it was weekends Weekends drinking certainly Saturday night. Usually Sunday night Not been able to drive anywhere with my kids So if they wanted to go anywhere that wasn't going to happen on a Saturday night or a Sunday night Just feeling sluggish generally at the weekends and just not being fully me and a hundred percent Now that I've been alcohol-free 90 days. I have so much more clarity on what I want to be doing Personally and professionally I definitely am a better leader. I've noticed it myself I've had so many people say ask me what's different about me and that they've just noticed a different energy from me Like like sounds a bit woo-woo, but I'm not that woo-woo Quite a few people have said that to me And then just so much more time. I mean like the time just like for reading for learning Yeah catching up on stuff We're going out with the girls. Yeah, just you know up there like oh, we want to go to this place on a Saturday night Great, let's drive there and yeah, so you don't feel like you're depriving yourself of of anything when you when you're going out Not drinking the absolute opposite because I know like I know I can drive somewhere And I like I can get home or I can drive my mate somewhere else that we can go to a few places Yeah, and I'm not like how we're gonna get there. I'm gonna get home. Yeah amazing so for Have your daughters noticed as well. Yeah. Yeah, and like you know, I had a conversation with them early on You know, not that they thought their mom was an alcoholic, but they knew mom liked a glass of wine and I told them I was like I'm giving up. I'm not drinking anymore and they were like, oh, and I said, you know We're gonna it's I want to do that as partly for you I want to have you know be able to do more things with you and like yeah I think they really understood it and we had some friends over A few weeks ago and they my sister was over and she opened some champagne and she was there with her boyfriend And they were drinking champagne and they're like, oh The girls went to hand me one and I'm like, no, I'm not drinking. Oh, that's right. Yeah, you know And I was like, no, I didn't think I was drinking girls. They're like, no No, we just you know thought me because Arlene was here and I'm like, no amazing amazing What would you say to someone who's watching and who's thinking about getting on a call and maybe going alcohol-free? Because I'm pretty scared to talk to you on the phone Some of my team members are pretty scary as well. I think yeah, it's not so scary after all I just say get on the call like honestly that it's It was a huge step for me that it's not something that I do like I can talk to most people I can get on stage I can talk to people but just talking one-on-one on a call like in that kind of coaching or like that Personal environment like I was terrified but the James was like so nice Welcome in and I got real value at the call Just do it and don't think that it's that you have to have a serious drinking problem to to get on the call with I'm like it if you just feel that you're not operating like you're best at a hundred or at least 90% Honestly get on a call. If I can do it anyone can do it. I love it. Well, congratulations. Thank you I'm super pumped for you and May I give you a hug? Sure. All right Congratulations, I'm so happy for you that it's 90 days. Thank you I was pretty scary 90 days ago, right? It was on the phone call and 90 days later here We are you are in Australia. Yep. I was in I was in Venice Beach in California and now we're in Venice Beach, California at 90 days later Yeah, and for me. I've had a life with alcohol and I've had a life without Out and I can tell you that a life without feels so much better. What do you think? Yep, totally 100% hands down like 90 days in and I can't stop it here Wonderful. Thank you so much Angela I am one year alcohol-free today Amazing. Congratulations. This is Angela Pondsford I am James Swanik from Project 90 and Angela was one of the original gangsters of the 90 day Quit drinking program that we had. What does one year alcohol-free look like? Lots of beautiful Sunday mornings with no hangovers lots of nice Saturday evenings doing what I want Going to anywhere I want to driving what I want to and getting home to my own bed on any evening that I want to as well I love that How does it feel like? How does it feel being alcohol-free for one year? It feels so freeing. My body feels healthy. I have so much more time for my kids And just doing the things that I want to do instead of like thinking about where's my next drink What was your drink of choice or what were your drinking habits when you enrolled in Project 90 a year ago? today wine and beer at the weekend that was it wasn't a huge big heavy spirit drinker, but just like on a Saturday And then I would have And what impact was that having on your life? Sluggish and didn't want to go out and do things with the kids, you know, especially like Saturday nights of sundays. I was just like, I want to lie in bed or I want to lie in the cake. Do not do much. Yeah So none of that anymore And then you were telling me that about a year ago you started seeing my facebook ads for Project 90 And you were like, who is this guy? And you must have looked at my ads about 100 times before you actually booked a call tell that story He stalked me Yeah, I kind of like it started seeing your ads and then I was like, who is this joker? No, I wasn't and then I looked you up and realized you were Aussie living in Venice and I've been In Venice quite a bit. So we spent enough for a minute time there and I was like, oh This guy's okay and looked you up and then I think Saw that saw the ad on the friday Got about it over the weekend filled in an application got on a call with you on the monday and then joined on the tuesday and Had had my last drink on the sunday. Yeah Yeah, it was just time so Yeah, and it was december 2018 When you did that and you were you were about to go over to Scotland I think and you were scared that you were going to be able to If you were going to be able to get through the christmas and holiday period alcohol free But you did because I was in paris for new year and I was already had my site set for champagne in paris for new year and you know drinks in scotland with the family and No, didn't Pretty good And uh, you had to cough up some hard earned cash to do project 90 because you got personalized coaching You get group coaching you go one-on-one calls You've got a methodology for quitting but most importantly staying quit, right, which is what you've done. Yes. It's not just for the 90 days It's giving you tools for life Yeah, so Was the investment that you coughed up your cold hard cash? Was that was it was it worth it? 100 200 yes Like it's so worth it. Like I know it seems if you are thinking about it makes seem like a lot of money Right now, but like a year Boos free I think of the money I would have spent on not, you know, just thinking of that alone just the money I would have spent on booze like Not even, you know, what we're thinking about But like just the changes in the way that I look at things in life now like tools on how to cope with things when you Feel that you want to drink. Yeah And it's not just the money that you save on on alcohol It's the money that you make because you're clear headed And you're focused and you're productive, right? Yes. Yeah, definitely. Yeah Especially if you, you know, have your own business or do you have the ability to make choices around How much you earn which is I eat everyone Then yeah 100 it's worth it. Okay. And so what if and just finally what if friends and or family Noticed about you in this year of being alcohol-free whether they've known You would you were alcohol-free or not? um, I think in my eyes a lot people have like commented or like how Bright much brighter my eyes are and my skin Yeah, so people commenting on things like that and then just in general and like demeanor like, you know Especially the closer net know how less volatile I don't know if that's the word. Yeah, I don't know. Irritable irritable. That's the word. Yeah less irritable Yeah, I noticed that my kids noticed it for sure Uh, and your twin your twin daughters, they notice it. Yeah. Oh big time. Yeah. What have they said to you? We're and what circumstance what situations have there been where they've said something and you go, oh, that's interesting Like they noticed them on alcohol-free. Um, I think certainly. Yeah, the sunday mornings is the big one because it was like You know, it's usually a bit slow on a sunday morning. Um, and yes, so they're like, oh, I'm doing it You're up and do this thing and you know, sometimes I still can't be bothered because I'm doing other things But like, um, it's an option and yeah, I think just they're noticing on like doing things on Saturday evenings Oh, can we go to the movies or we'll do something whereas before it would have been like no Yeah, I want a class away. Yeah, amazing Uh, what would you say to someone who's thinking about joining project 90 and doing this but more than just joining project 90 but Taking the leap of quitting alcohol for at least 90 days Possibly more and beyond possibly forever. Yeah, um, just trust just trust that you Have it within you to do it if you're already thinking about it if it's already there If that desire is there, then you actually do have it within you to do it Uh, but just getting that support right at the beginning from james and kevin and the project 90 crew That's that's what makes the difference in that those early stages You believe in it yourself and then then give it reinforcing that belief that you can do it Thank you Angela I'm gonna give you another hug like we did last time. Congratulations. This is what one year alcohol-free looks like Yes Thank you so much for listening I have some free stuff for you if you go to james swanick.com forward slash guide I will send you my formula for reducing or quitting alcohol If you'd like to watch the video versions of these episodes Then you can watch them at my youtube channel, which is at james swanick If you'd like to send me a direct message on instagram, you can do so at james swanick If you would like to try a three day challenge a free three day challenge You can go to james swanick.com forward slash three day challenge If you would like to try the 30 day no alcohol challenge You can go to 30 day no alcohol challenge If you would like to schedule a 15 minute exploratory call with one of my coaches to see how we may be able to help you In your alcohol-free journey, you can go to james swanick.com forward slash schedule And my request is if indeed you enjoyed this episode or you have enjoyed the podcasts Would you please go ahead and rate the show in itunes? And would you please write a review a review might just be a sentence saying great listen? Hey, this was fantastic. Oh, I really enjoyed this whenever you give a rating whenever you write a review It surges our podcast up in the rankings enabling more people to see it and hear it and potentially Inspiring someone out there to reduce or quit alcohol and potentially transform their life So yes while it does help me to get ratings and to get reviews You will actually be directly contributing to helping someone's life by having them discover this podcast So if you are open to inspiring others and to helping me in the process Would you please go ahead and give this episode a ranking and would you please write a review? Thank you so much for listening and I will catch you on the next one