Transformations

Articles, Personal

I’ve talked about this a bit before and … here I go again. By nature, I am extremely private but I feel the need to share some things if, for nothing else, to give folks who may be struggling with addiction, a little hope. I write this with gratitude.

I was always a very good salesperson and, I think, a good manager. This was despite my 20 plus years as a functioning alcoholic. Mind you, during these times, I never reached my full potential.

At first, I was a “highly functioning” alcoholic. Then I became “functioning”, then “barely functioning” and, finally, “non-functioning”. When I hit bottom,  I was faced with a probable early death following a dissolution of my marriage. 

Honestly, there was a part of me that welcomed those possibilities. I would be able to put the pain behind me. I did come close. Alcohol withdrawal can kill you and I did have a seizure while attempting to detox myself (not recommended!). What did my alcoholic brain tell me? “Seizure … bad. Don’t stop drinking.”

They say that alcoholics have no fear of hell since they have already been there. Very true. I have been a recovering alcoholic for 18 plus years now thanks to my higher power, who I call God, and AA. I have had, gratefully, zero slips and zero relapses. One day at a time.

One of the promises of AA is that the compulsion to drink will be removed. Also very true. The thought of a drink, or even the hankering for one, is completely gone. I can’t imagine a life without total sobriety. I have no desire for one.

What I had not anticipated was a complete 180 degree turn from many, if not most, of my working habits. Of course, these also carry through to my personal life.

  • Driven – I’d never really felt an urgency to get things done, to stay ahead. I’m now consumed by it.
  • Confidence – Well I think that I have always been confident, now it is even more so. Of course, not worrying about people finding out about my addiction … helps.
  • Not avoiding the uncomfortable – I ALWAYS avoided the uncomfortable conversations and particularly with clients. This led to even more uncomfortable conversations. Now … doesn’t happen.
  • Selling style and success – My selling style has changed dramatically which has led to much higher levels of success.
  • Details – It used to be … good enough. Not anymore. The devil is in the details.
  • Procrastination – Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? See “Driven”.
  • Organization – My desk is clean. I am a compulsive list maker and particularly for to-do items. It is how I stay ahead and it allows be to be prepared for the unexpected.
  • Decision making – I always struggled with making decisions. Now they come quickly and easily.
  • A need to exceed the expectations of others – This is a big one. The only acceptable result of a client engagement is to have exceeded their expectations. Previously it was only to meet them and on whatever level.
  • Highly competitive – I’ve always been competitive but not like this. Failure is never an option unless I have done everything in my power to secure the win.

All is not perfect. I can still be anxious and grumpy. I tend to have unrealistic expectations of others. Things continue to piss me off. My temper, while greatly improved, can be reactive. I’m impatient. Very impatient. I guess this means that I am still human:)

Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!
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