April 27, 2024

How Alcohol Made Fools of us All! - with Ken M Middleton

55 minutes

Today’s guest is Ken Middleton

If you’re a regular listener then you’ll already know Ken and many of you have read his fabulous book which is called Bamboozled – How Alcohol Makes Fools of us all!"

Kenis an interesting case because he didn’t embark on this journey because he was worried about his alcohol dependence… he did it because he realised that alcohol was preventing him from reaching his potential

As he says “even if alcohol doesn’t destroy you it will prevent you from reaching your potential”

How true!

This is my actually my third podcast episode with Ken – You can listen to the other podcast episodes here and here

In this episode:-

Ken started his sobriety journey by educating himself on the scientific effects of alcohol. There is such power in knowledge – the more we understand about the damage alcohol does the less we feel like drinking it!

His drinking career was pretty typical – starting at college where he used it to fit in and socialize. His drinking then intensified during his sales career

It was when he decided to become an entrepreneur that Ken realized the detrimental impact of alcohol on his productivity.

He decided to take a 90-day break from drinking with his wife, to his surprise this period of sobriety led to a significant increase in his productivity and income.

Two weeks into his sobriety, Ken read Annie Grace's "This Naked Mind" which changed his perspective on alcohol.

This book helped him to recognize the spectrum of alcohol's effects,

We agreed that society stigmatises the alcoholic to such an extent that we imagine an alcoholic to be a homeless man in the park – this gives us a reason to decide we are not “that bad” so we can carry on drinking!

This suits the alcohol industry very well of course!

Inspired by his journey, Ken wrote "Bamboozled" to share his experiences and educate others on the hidden dangers of alcohol.

One of the things I love about his book is the stories he includes - alcohol parables like "Scott and Mitchell," illustrating how drinking choices in college can impact future success.

Ken emphasizes the cognitive and emotional impairment caused by alcohol, affecting decision-making, learning, and long-term success – of course its especially harmful for young brains which are still developing

Ken encourages his readers to consider the long-term effects on their lives and potential.

He believes in running towards personal growth rather than away from alcohol, recognizing the multitude of benefits gained through sobriety. I love this approach and see our members getting more and more motivated as the benefits of sobriety keep coming!

Societal views on drinking are changing, with more and more young people abstaining - For example the latest stats from the UK tell us that 39% of 18-24 people just don’t drink

Another of Kens alcohol parables focuses on Sarah and Susan

Susan's excessive drinking hinders her career growth, while Sarah's more moderate approach leads to promotion.

Hollywood's portrayal of alcohol influences societal perceptions and behaviors – Ken has a whole chapter on this and its fascinating

If you haven't yet read Bamboozled then you’re missing out – it’s a really great read, you can buy it from Amazon or you can get it directly from Ken on TheBamboozledBook.com

Do check out his 90 day challenge that he mentioned – he’s set up a website for that which is called https://www.dry90.com/ - I’ll put the links in the shownotes

You can also follow Ken on Instagram @kenmmiddleton and of course his regular newsletter is called

Alcohol is Not Your Friend.

More Info

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