RE 571: From Passive to Active Recovery
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Veronica. She is 52 years old, lives in Alabama and she had her last drink on May 1st, 2000. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: – claim your $100 enrollment bonus Upcoming Events with Recovery Elevator February 21st – 28th we are traveling to . The event is full, but you can email to get on the waiting list. August 12th – 16th we will be having our annual retreat. Registration opens on April 1st at 9am Eastern Time. October 17th – 24th we will host our [03:07] Thoughts from Paul: Paul...
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RE 570: Your Mission is to Explore
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Savanna. She’s 32 years old from Minneapolis, MN and took her last drink on May 4th, 2023. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: – THE social app for sober people Every Sunday on , we post a roll call graphic and then you guys put your day count on there. It’s a space for members to be loud and proud about their recovery as well as being there to support others. [02:30] Thoughts from Paul: Last week, Paul talked about how we want to end our relationship with alcohol. This week, he addresses the question “what do I...
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RE 569: Change Your Relationship With Alcohol?
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Sean. He is 33 years old and lives in Phoenix, AZ. He took his last drink on January 22, 2022. This episode is brought to you by: – THE social app for sober people – 10% off of your first month #sponsored There is one spot left on our sober travel trip to . This journey is scheduled for February 21st – 28th. Email if you would like to join us. Join us on January 10th for the start of our . This course is sponsored by Kala brand ukelele and if you register, you get a code for 10% off an instrument. [03:00] Thoughts from Paul: ...
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RE 568: Showing Up
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Sarah. She is 49 years old and lives in San Diego, CA. Sarah took her last drink on August 6th, 2025. This episode is brought to you by: – 10% off of your first month #sponsored Pick up your copy of Paul’s newest book . You can get it on Amazon, listen to it on Audible or order it at your favorite bookstore today. Join us on January 10th for the start of our . This course is sponsored by Kala brand ukelele and if you register, you get a code for 10% off an instrument. [02:00] Thoughts from Paul: This is the first podcast of the new year and...
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RE 567: Dolce Vita: The Good Life
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Jenn. She is 52 years old, from Washington, DC and she took their last drink on September 3rd, 2023. This episode is brought to you by: – the social app for sober people Join us for our Dry January course at 8pm eastern time on January 1st. This is the first of 13 sessions throughout the month, and this course is all about accountability and connection. [01:13] Thoughts from Paul: Today Paul talks about the origin of the title to his new book which will be released on January 1st. What he has learned over the years in his own recovery and...
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RE 566: You're Not Too Far Gone
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Kristine. She is 34 years old from Toronto Canada, and she took her last drink on May 19th, 2025. This episode is brought to you by: – the social app for sober people Café RE is now a registered 501c3 nonprofit. Please visit the website or email if you are interested in making a yearend donation. Join us for our Dry January course at 8pm eastern time on January 1st. This is the first of 13 sessions throughout the month, and this course is all about accountability and having fun. Paul’s new book will be released in both in print and audiobook...
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RE 565: Everything
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Nathan. He is 45 years old from Harrisburg, VA and took his last drink on January 24th, 2023. This episode is brought to you by: – 10% off of your first month #sponsored – the social app for sober people Get your 2026 started off poison free and join us for our Dry January course at 8pm eastern time on January 1st. This is the first of 13 sessions throughout the month, and this course is all about accountability and having fun. January 1st, 2026 is the official release date for Paul’s new book both in print and audiobook. He would love to...
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RE 564: Hot and Cold
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Yeimy. She’s 30 years old, from Rhode Island and took her last drink of alcohol on January 19th, 2025. This episode is brought to you by: – the social app for sober people – 10% off of your first month #sponsored January 1st, 2026 is the official release date for Paul’s new book and he’d love to have you on the launch team. Email to join. Registration for Recovery Elevator’s Dry January course is open. We are meeting 13 times live in the month of January to give you the best chance of ditching the booze. [03:30] Thoughts from...
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RE 563: You’re Not Alone
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Jack. He’s 39 years old from Phoenix, AZ and took his last drink of alcohol on June 23rd, 2025. This episode is brought to you by: – 10% off of your first month #sponsored - sign up and claim your $100 enrollment bonus Registration for Recovery Elevator’s Dry January course opens today. We are meeting 13 times live in the month of January to give you the best chance of ditching the booze. now has its own coffee created with 25% of each bag sold will be donated to the nonprofit . January 1st, 2026 is the official release date for...
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RE 562: A Shooting Star
Recovery Elevator
Today we have Emily. She is 43 years old from Sacramento, CA and took her last drink on December 20th, 2024. This episode is brought to you by: – 10% off of your first month #sponsored – code RE20 saves 20% off your order Registration for Recovery Elevator’s Dry January course opens on December 1st. We are meeting 13 times live in the month of January to give you the best chance of ditching the booze. There are plenty of teachings throughout the month, but the best part of the course is that it’s community-based. It’s all about building connections over our...
info_outlineToday we have Justin. He is 40 years old and lives in Northern Ontario. He took his last drink on August 20th, 2023.
This episode brought to you by:
Better Help – 10% off of your first month #sponsored
Café RE – the social app for sober people
[04:03] Thoughts from Paul:
In our question for sobriety, we often ask ourselves why the drinking? Why can’t I stop? What’s the problem here?
Paul shares his experience with the 12 Steps of AA, more specifically, step 4 where you list all of your resentments. He filled an entire notebook for his fourth step and after reading this out loud to his sponsor, it became clear to him that he was at least 50% of every problem that he encountered or had been part of. The fourth step showed him the patterns, and the data was clear – he was the problem. The same is true for all of us.
It turns out, in a non-shaming way, you are the problem, and you are not the solution. This should be empowering because if you are the problem, you’re the only thing you can control. The solution is not a one and done thing. The big one here is to burn the ships and to start building community.
We used alcohol to numb the pains of living in a super challenging world, and the solution is that we have to find a better way to respond to the world and we have to come together to make this happen.
[08:39] Paul introduces Justin:
Justin is from Northern Ontario, has been married for 14 years and they have two dogs and cat. Formerly an electrician, Justin is now a part-time day trader. He enjoys hiking, yoga and meditation. Justin and his wife Danielle quit drinking together just over two years ago.
Justin had his first drink at age 15 with some friends. He didn’t see the point in drinking at first but was happy to have friends to drink with. Over time he not only enjoyed spending time with friends he also began to enjoy the drinking too.
At 18, Justin had a job with a sound and lighting company, and they would do a lot of concerts. He reflects that the amount of booze that was around and available to him for free was insane. Within the next two years he developed a habit of drinking 10 to 20 beers a day. In addition to the drinking, Justin had developed an addiction to harder drugs.
When Justin was around age 23, he quit the job and doing hard drugs but used alcohol to help him. This contributed to his intake increasing and he was still drinking daily. Because he wasn’t doing hard drugs anymore, he thought it was ok, and he was living clean. After Justin’s third DUI charge in 2015, he begins to realize that he might have a problem. He quit for five days and decided he didn’t have a problem, so he went back to drinking.
Living in a small town where many people drank more than them, Justin and Danielle had the illusion that they “weren’t that bad”. They enjoyed drinking together most of the time, but when they began fighting more often, they acknowledged that there might be an issue. They began trying moderation techniques, but eventually knew they just needed to stop altogether.
They drank one last time after losing their horse and Justin says he had the worst hangover the next day. They both had already been listening to the RE podcast and had joined Café RE. Justin is grateful to being doing this with his partner and they find strength in one another.
Justin was just diagnosed with a brain tumor, so they are planning a big move back to Southern Ontario to be closer to family. Being sober for these life changes is a gift, Justin says. When asked what his mantra has been for the last few months Justin says “go with the flow, keep on truckin’, be like water. You can’t fight life. Life is just going to push you as it pushes you and generally, you’ll get what you need”.
Justin’s parting piece of guidance: the only way out is through. You gotta go through it to move out of it.
Recovery Elevator
We took the elevator down. We gotta take the stairs back up.
I love you guys.