35. The Transformation From Comparison to Confidence with JR Butler

Welcome back to Warriors Unmasked! We think it safe to say that everyone has fallen into the comparison trap once or twice. Maybe you compared your outfits to the cool kids in school growing up, or maybe you compared your looks to people in magazines or social media, or maybe the thought “am I making enough money?” crossed your mind the last time your friend got a new car.

Whatever your comparison trap looked like we bet it left you feeling not good enough in one way or another. It was Theodore Roosevelt, who once said “comparison is the thief of joy.”  The truth in this quote probably rings true to our guest today more than most.

Welcome to the show, former division one hockey player, recovering addict, successful businessman, and mental health advocate JR Butler! After spending years seeking the attention of peers and leaders alike, comparing his skills gifts, and talents against others’ accomplishments JR decided to try hard, work more, and try to outperform everyone in his path.

These efforts seemly were going to waste as his friends, and even younger brothers started to skate by him in life and sports. It didn’t take long for this mentality to manifest as a substance abuse problem in his early twenties. 

Listen in today as JR shares his powerful story of breaking free from the opinions of others, how he went cold turkey and overcame his addictions with one decision, and how he became a high-performing professional (and healthy) despite the odds. 

This episode is going to leave you feeling completely inspired, totally empowered, and knowing that, regardless of what it is that you face in your life today, that you to have, what it takes inside of you to come out on the other side successfully, sit back, relax, and enjoy another amazing episode of warriors unmasked with Mr. Jr Butler. 

Always in your corner, 

Chuck and Clint

 

More Of What’s Inside:

• Learning how to slow down
• When addiction became too much
• Competing against siblings 
• Giving your parents grace at any age
• The M.A.V.R.I.C.K. morning routine
• How Clint and JR’s story relate
• The importance of exercise
• When your dads the coach
• Aligning yourself with the right people
• The power of reaching out for help
• And much more!

 

LINKS:

• malarchuk.com/book 
• malarchuk.com 
• www.thecompassionateconnection.com 
• www.warriorsunmasked.com 
• Follow us on Instagram
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• Subscribe To Our YouTube

 

Episode Minute By Minute:

• 0:02 - What we cover today
• 1:45  - Conversation starts
• 2:53 Get to know JR
• 6:53 - JR’s athletic journey 
• 11:45 - JR’s strong    relationship with his Father
• 18:53 - When JR knew he had a problem
• 21:29 - The road to recovery
• 32:45 - JR’s winning morning routine 
• 36:37 - Managing social anxiety without substance abuse
• 38:32 - What JR is doing today
• 44:15 - Final thoughts and advice

More About JR Butler:

JR Butler was born and raised in the center of Hockey in New England, a mile up the street from North America’s largest rink – the New England Sports Center.  The oldest of 3 boys, JR’s father was a hall of fame hockey coach at Marlboro High School.  After playing four years at Cushing Academy along with dozens of future NHL’ers, JR attended the College of the Holy Cross where he played hockey for the 2006 team that upset the top-seeded Minnesota gophers in the Midwest regional.  His Brother Alec played at UMASS Lowell and Salve Regina and his brother Bobby represented team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea after several NHL, AHL, KHL, and SEL stints over a 10-year pro career.  JR has been working in technology sales since graduation from Holy Cross, spending the majority of his career selling to large companies that are attempting to approach digital transformation and innovation leveraging cutting-edge automation and technology platforms.  He was formerly head of Sales Strategy and Execution for Turbonomic – helping grow the company from 200 to 3000 customers and 30 to 650 employees and a recent $2B Acquisition by IBM.  He now is the Chief Revenue Officer at an early-stage start-up based in Arizona. During his transition from lifelong “Hockey Player”, JR struggled to find his identity.  Even though he retired as a college player – his entire life was about hockey up to that point.  He struggled for many years, battling with addiction to alcohol and drugs.  It wasn’t until his late 20’s that JR was able to find a new path, and just celebrated his 9th sobriety anniversary this August.