Did Steve Jobs Drink Alcohol?

Posted by on May 20, 2012 No comments

Believe it or not, the question of whether or not Steve Jobs drank alcohol brings more traffic to my site that anything else. Why? Well my blog about Steve Jobs’ Stanford University graduation speech seems to bring a ton of traffic about it.

As to whether or not he actually drank or was an alcoholic I can’t say. I read Walter Isaacson’s biography on Jobs within a week of it coming out, there weren’t any signs about him being an alcoholic. He was a hero of mine from years back, so I was happy to at least read that he wasn’t a regular drunk, though he clearly experimented with drugs in his early years. Read more »

Is It Safe To Drink Non Alcoholic Wine After You Stop Drinking

Posted by on March 29, 2012 5 comments

Looking through my blog at some of the Google searches that brought people here, I came across a question that someone was looking for an answer. Is it safe to drink non-alcoholic wine after you stop drinking. Well in the 6 years now that I’ve not drunk, I can say that I’ve kept away from anything resembling alcohol. That includes wine and beer. I really have no idea what it would be like to drink a non-alcoholic beer now. Until today I’ve drunk an ocean of coffee, soda water and not had the urge to try anything non-alcoholic for one reason…what if I actually like it enough to find myself back to drinking alcohol again. For me the risk is too great. I’d much rather skip the non-alcoholic drinks and just enjoy drinking different things. Surely it would be just like trying to ride a Harley with a 50cc engine. I mean it looks like a Harley and feels like a Harley, but just doesn’t sound like a Harley and that’s the point, you’d want to then go find a real Harley to ride and my 6 years abstinence  re-sets to zero and I get to start over!? Read more »

Prayer of Saint Francis – Inspiration To Drive You To Succeed

Posted by on January 27, 2012 No comments

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Prayer Of St Francis

    Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
    Where there is injury, pardon.
    Where there is doubt, faith.
    Where there is despair, hope.
    Where there is darkness, light.
    Where there is sadness, joy.
    O Divine Master,
    grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
    to be understood, as to understand;
    to be loved, as to love.
    For it is in giving that we receive.
    It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
    and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
    Amen.

Read more »

New Years Resolutions – Drink Less Alcohol

Posted by on January 4, 2012 5 comments

5 years ago I was beginning my new year having given up drinking alcohol. For the first time I felt that the New Year was going to be really, really challenging. After all I enjoyed to drink with friends, so how on earth was I going to manage socialising without drink. How easy can that be? I was partly filled with dread, and partly filled with excitement. Excitement came from the fact that I had hoped I would give up drink for many years, but always found a way to put it off. Denial was always in the way. This particular year would be different.

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If – By Rudyard Kipling

Posted by on December 21, 2011 No comments

I was driving home tonight in heavy pre-Christmas traffic. Folk rushing about doing last minute shopping, whilst others were heading out to office parties and drinks. While I sat traffic lights waiting for them to go green, the following came on the radio; the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling. It’s years since I heard this, and somehow it felt as if I was supposed to hear it. It was as if I was being directed. Since the poem is so profound I thought I’d Google it. I did, and it is here for all to enjoy. Read more »

5 Years Ago Today I Drank My Last Drink

Posted by on December 21, 2011 2 comments

Feeling just about as serene as the picture above, this is how I feel this morning on waking to realise that it is now 5 years since I gave up drinking. If you’d asked me 6 years ago how I would feel about giving up drinking, I’d have told you that for me it would never be possible, it was too entwined in my life, my friends and how I relaxed. Now I’m completely changed and for the better too. Giving it up let me throw away things in my life that weren’t important, and at the same time it let me attract things that were, like a wife and child.

5 years without a single hangover has been wonderful. No more lost mornings or days feeling completely wrecked, languishing around on the sofa because, quite frankly nothing else was possible. Since then my productivity rate has greatly increased. I get so much done now, at home and in work. Because this monkey is now firmly off my back I’m able to relax and do the things I want to, when I want to.

So by giving up drinking I ended up gaining so much more than I’d have ever thought was possible. The genie is definitely out of the lamp now, no chance it could ever go back. I don’t think about missing drinking, don’t harbour any reservations about going back to it, have just been fortunate to be able to walk away from it. I now believe the whole experience has made me so much stronger in myself, how I approach life and what I get back from it.

So roll on the next 5 years, and many more after that as well. I’m enjoying watching my daughter grow, and to do so through sober eyes is a gift from God.

Christmas Mulled Wine (Without the Wine!)

Posted by on November 19, 2011 No comments

Here is a great recipe for Mulled Wine, just about the best drink you can have on a cold winter evening. Years ago I went skiing to Austria and just about every bar we went to had an urn full of Mulled Wine. After a day’s skiing I was hooked with the flavour and taste. Since giving up drinking I missed it, but then realised that instead of putting wine and brandy into the recipe all you need do is put Ribena, a blackcurrant drink. Read more »

GivingUpDrink Channel Now Showing at YouTube

Posted by on November 3, 2011 No comments

I’ve just launched a new channel on YouTube to highlight my ‘Favourited’ videos on the effects of alcohol and on obtaining help and advice.

Please visit and leave your comments. I hope in time to add my own video diaries of my journey this far. The link to GivingUpDrink on YouTube is: http://www.youtube.com/user/givingupdrink

Overcoming Fear Helped Me Quit Drinking

Posted by on November 1, 2011 No comments

For the best part of 10 years I knew that I was on a self destruct course and that if I didn’t quit drinking soon, I’d end up losing just about everything I valued. I knew more or less at the end of my University days that I was a poor drinker. I.e. someone who didn’t take a lot to get drunk, who had a tendency to make a fool of himself and when drunk act a person that had a different set of morals and beliefs that his sober self had.

Fear was at the heart of my decision to continue drinking. I was terrified of losing friends, my position within my group, girlfriends and most of all I was terrified of looking and feeling un-cool. For all those reasons, I continued to drink, safe in the knowledge that I was part of the gang and had friends I could rely on because I was one of them. Read more »

My Top 5 Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Posted by on October 10, 2011 No comments

 

  1. Coffee – Black & strong, the fresher & stronger, the better
  2. Black Earl Grey Tea – straight, not with lemon, save that for the Tonic Water
  3. Pellegrino Sparkling Water – served straight from the fridge
  4. Diet Tonic Water with plenty of ice & lemon
  5. Guaraná

There aren’t much in the way of non-alcoholic drinks when you go out for the night. I found that drinking water is the only way to last the night. Here is tip, make sure you have plenty of ice and lemon and most people think you are drinking Gin Tonic, which is great because you then do

n’t have to worry about making up an excuse about why you aren’t drinking. Not that you need to of course, but it is a pain in the arse way to start the evening, having to give your elevator speech about why you don’t drink. Read more »