#364: How To Make The Ultimate Comeback w/ TJ Bradfield
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
sober, people, drugs, man, started, drinking, podcast, feeling, life, moved, pandemic, grow, canada, pretty, listening, smallest, years, aaa, stacking, guests
SPEAKERS
Speaker 2 (60%), Law (35%), Eric (4%)
Law Smith
0:00
What about my sweat equity? Sweat equity. Sweat equity, sweat equity my sweat equity. So we just got in the habit of asking the guest to throw their plugs out there at the beginning. You have your podcast, underground reach. Is there anything else people can find you on social websites?
2
Speaker 2
0:36
Yeah, man. I mean, really, the only thing I like to plug is my podcast because I'm not really big on social media. You don't mean but the one that I would say I do, you know, try to regularly post on Instagram that's at TJ Bradfield.
Law Smith
0:50
Okay. So you've got an interesting story. I guess, drug addicted alcoholic, you know, to kind of self improvement this business kind of advisor, what what would you tell yourself?
2
Speaker 2
1:11
Well, actually, right now, I'm actually working with people to help them with their podcasts and stuff like that, to help them grow them, launch them, you know, stuff like that. Yeah, that's pretty much all I'm doing. My podcast, though, is all about just kind of sharing my experience in in and helping my audience, you know, smash any limiting beliefs that they may have, and stuff like that. So they can get out of their comfort zone and get out there and go and find what it is they want to do with their life, you know?
Law Smith
1:36
And so you felt like you, you have kind of a good perspective on this going from? It sounds like the lowest of low to figure it out. What can you tell us about that?
2
Speaker 2
1:51
Yeah, man. So like, you know, I had my first drink, you know, when it's back when I was like, 12 years old. And from there, it was pretty much just downhill. You know, what I mean? I fell in love with it immediately, unfortunately. And, yeah, 15, I started drinking more frequently, it was like, every weekend kind of a thing. And then it was, whenever I had the money, and then it was, you know, if I had the money it was every day, you know what I mean? And then that eventually led into, you know, hard drugs and stuff like that, hey, just hanging around with the wrong people, you know, eventually got into street gangs at one point. And then I, you know, had the blessing of meeting, you know, who was now still my life partner back when I was, well, we met when I was when I was 15, but didn't officially get together till we were 18. And she took me away from all of that. And yeah, long story short, you know, tried to I got clean eventually, after going to jail for three months and missing the birth of my daughter. And, yeah, man, so I like it so
Law Smith
2:53
much. It's not that exciting. It's pretty gross. Yeah, it's a lot of waiting around. And you can't really do anything as a guy. You feel helpless. So you know, just trying to play Mr. Brightside? Sure. Wait, you kind of I don't want to just skim over that whole timeline from 12 years old to what were we at in your timeline.
2
Speaker 2
3:17
18 is when I you know, got away from the drugs and alcohol and stuff like that. So I moved to my my old lady's hometown, which was about six hours away from where I was living at the time. But I couldn't really kick that the drug habit, you know what I mean? Like, I did my best, but I was just kind of replacing it with other things. So then, when we moved back to my hometown, I ended up getting back into it. And then that's when I you know, got arrested. Because I was actually on the most wanted list of my hometown, you know, for drug related stuff. And yeah, landed myself in jail just for like, three months. It was nothing crazy. You know, I was fortunate enough to not, you know, like, like, some people landed myself in prison or anything like that. Yeah. And that was ultimately what what got me sober was missing the birth of my daughter, even though it was a very short period of time. Just looking at her baby, her newborn baby face, and hers is not knowing who the hell I am, you know what I mean? That's ultimately what got me sober from the drugs, but the alcohol you know, sort of continued after just not as bad, but you know, progressively started getting worse over the years, and then, you know, 2020 hit, because everything was fairly normal from getting out of jail till about 2020. Like the drinking was, it was there, but it wasn't like a huge problem. You know what I mean? But then 2020 came, obviously, we couldn't go anywhere, couldn't do anything. You know what I mean? So I was playing a lot of video games and stuff. And then the end of 2020, my best friend actually passed away from drinking. And then both 30 days later, my older brother passed away from a fentanyl overdose. So yeah, so then that's kind of where everything went really downhill. And that was probably the darkest time of my life over like even I'm worse than the drugs, man. And that's when I really started drinking every single day, man. And it was. Yeah, it was pretty. It was pretty bad man, it was pretty much life or death for me, man.
Law Smith
5:10
Yeah, it sounds that way. And it kids will make you step up your game in a weird way. Or it's kind of fight or flight. I feel like for a lot of guys like, absolutely a lot of guys are scenario they pride peace out. Unfortunately, you know, it's good that you stepped around and had that as motivation.
Eric Readinger
5:29
What kind of what, what was the drug problem that we're talking about
2
Speaker 2
5:32
here? Like specific drug? Yeah. Are all of them just whatever is in front end? Well, the main main, the main one was crystal meth, you know, but then, eventually just was just whatever, whatever I could get my hands on at some point. You know what I mean?
Eric Readinger
5:47
Yeah, that one that one? Kind of ticks all the boxes.
Law Smith
5:53
Yeah, did you were was this you know, a lot of people you know, believe that alcoholism is kind of hereditary in a lot of ways. Did you come from a family that dealt with this issue? A lot.
2
Speaker 2
6:09
Yeah, man. See, like, that's the thing is, like, in my family, it was normal. Unfortunately, you know what I mean? Like, obviously, not having a big, you know, drinking problem was normal, but it was everybody like drank you know what I mean? Like, at family gatherings and stuff like that. Everybody had a beer in your hand, you and me. And so it was, it was fairly, it was fairly normal. In my family growing up, so yeah, like, I have had other family members, you know, including my father who I've only met I think once or twice who have had, you know, big, you know, drinking problems and drug problems and stuff like that.
Law Smith
6:43
How did you get sober?
2
Speaker 2
6:46
From the alcohol man, it was actually Christmas of 2020 21. Yeah, cuz it's just over a year now. This memory, man, it'll it'll haunt me forever, man. But Christmas of 2021. I was completely wasted. And just a memory of it. Like just remembering helping my kids trying to open their gifts and put toys together. And I'm completely wasted. You know what I mean? And, like after that, like, obviously, they don't know what's going on. You know what I mean? To them, it was probably normal. But the next day, you know, I sobered up. I was hungover and feeling sorry for myself and all that and just remembering that. And I was just like, man, like, What the hell is my life come to like, what am I doing, man? And like, honestly, it was such a low point for me where it was either, I'm either gonna get sober now, or my kids aren't gonna have a dad because I'm not letting my kids grow up with a dad that just drinks and like all the time, and he's like a raging alcoholic. You know what I mean? So that's, that's what I meant when I said it was it was life or death for me. So, and I grew up like I said, I grew up with no father. So I know what that's like. And I do not want that for my kids. So I made the decision. May 3, it was a little bit after Christmas, but anyways, I messed up the timeline. But anyway, after Christmas, I made the decision. You know, I'm sober enough. And if I don't if I'm not successful with this, then you know, that's it. And, you know, I've been successful with it. So it's
Eric Readinger
8:15
gratulations
Law Smith
8:16
every year sober. You don't program?
2
Speaker 2
8:19
Nah, man. That's the thing is I tried to do the AAA thing in the past because I've been trying to get sober for like, 15 years, man, and the AAA thing.
Eric Readinger
8:28
Just at the time, I'm just trying to put it all together and I'd be 2228
2
Speaker 2
8:32
Man, I'm 2008. Okay. Yeah, but yeah, the AAA thing. You know, Alcoholics Anonymous. Na, it just, it just wasn't for me, man. Like, I just didn't feel like the first step. You know, they say, to give away your power or something. I can't remember what it was. But I was just like, no, like, what the hell? So like, I just didn't agree with it. You know what I mean? So when I officially became sober the last time I tried, it was just pure. Just will, you know, will to just do better for my kids, man.
Eric Readinger
9:09
What's coming from you? Like that? You know, AAA is not the only answer. For sure. Like, you know, it works for a small percentage of people, but most people think, you know, it's not gonna last it always comes from within we
Law Smith
9:22
we admit we're powerless over alcohol, that our lives are manageable.
2
Speaker 2
9:27
Yeah, see, like the powerless thing like, in my opinion, if you're gonna become sober, like you need to have that power within, you know what I mean? And like, like, I don't have anything against AAA or NA, you know, I mean, like, it works for some people, but it just was not for me, you know. So,
Eric Readinger
9:41
yeah, that statement is it's, it's a lot. It's a lot of admittance.
Law Smith
9:45
Well, how do you keep yourself regulated because part of the thing was a is having that routine that and like that, that place, you know, you're going every week to talk to people about what's going on. on do you do is the podcast you're doing? Kind of a little bit that way, because we've talked about on this show, we haven't had major drug issues or booze issues. But we have said like this, this podcast was the only consistent thing when both of our lives respectively we're going to share different times. Is that what you're finding through your podcasts?
2
Speaker 2
10:23
Yeah, most definitely, man. That's actually part of the reason why I created like started doing it was because I just wanted, you know, to have something that no matter what I just had to be there for, you know what I mean? And like, because at the end of the day, like, if I thought about starting it, but I didn't, nobody would ever know. You. I mean, only I wouldn't know. But if I'm, you know, if, like, if I'm actually have people listening to me, and saying, Damn, this dude is actually doing pretty good. And then I fall off the wagon. You know what I mean? Like, and yes, like, the reason why I do it is because as humans, the way our brains work is we're just naturally selfish, you know what I mean? So like, we always have that need to where we need to, you know, for lack of a better term, yeah, like, just look good in front of people, for lack of a better term, you know, and so that's kind of why I did it, man, just kind of using that little bit of psychology and stuff to just, you know, just keep myself sober, keep myself busy, and at the same time helping people because that's also what they say in AAA is, you know, what keeps me sober is help keeping other people sober, you know what I mean? So like, and I don't talk, but I don't talk a lot about you know, like, drugs and stuff like that, but I do make sure that it's known, you know, to, to new listeners and stuff. And, and just kind of show them where I'm going now and how they can get to where I'm at. You know,
Eric Readinger
11:39
one of the things that one person here that what maybe one person from our podcast, you know, where that
11:48
Absolutely, man, what?
Law Smith
11:50
So what? Since May? May, was it 2021? What, what is the what is your life been? Like? Have you had that? I always find it interesting, my friends that gets sober. They have that realization with all the feelings. They're feeling all the feelings. Yeah. The drying out process of just like, oh, I can't. Now I can't just time travel these, this, this feeling away. So can you talk to us about that?
2
Speaker 2
12:23
Yeah, it's been, it's been pretty brutal, man, cuz I forgot to mention, but back in 2020, before, my friend and my brother passed away, actually got back into drugs for like a week or two overdose, went to the hospital and like, almost died from it. But after that, I had just extremely bad anxiety, man, like, I was like, I used to always state I was having a heart attack. You know what I mean? And just like, freaking out all the time. And but yeah, when I got sober. That was my biggest fear man was, you know, actually feeling everything for the first time. And pretty much since I was 15 years old man. And it was pretty damn brutal, but because like, I told myself, man, like once I get sober. I mean, like, I made the commitment, like, hey, now it's time to just try to become the best version of myself, you know, but first, I gave myself a 30 day period to just kind of get used to it, you know what I mean? And just get a feel for not being you know, under the influence of anything, you know, what feels like for the first time in my life, you know, so, at first Yeah, it was, it was pretty terrifying, man, like, my anxiety was through the roof. And I was angry, you know, I was I was pretty, like, it was just like, I was snapping at the, like, simplest the smallest things and like, getting emotional at the smallest thing. You know what I mean? I felt like, like, I don't know, like, I just took some kind of hormone pillars. You know what I mean? And it just, I was emotional. I was angry. I was happy. I was saying on him. He was like, an emotional roller coaster. But um, you know, eventually I kind of got used to it, man. And then I just started like, well, I want to start working out and going to the gym and all that but when I tried that in the past, but because I'm so you know, overweight or whatever, I need to start smaller because my feet were like, so bad. I could barely walk. So I just go for walks every day. And then 45 minutes first thing in the morning. At first it was for exercise, but now it's more just for mental health, man. And that's ultimately what keeps me you know, keeps me grounded and keeps me sane. Really. I endorse it.
Law Smith
14:28
Yeah, yeah. I'm the same way you kind of have to work out or get like mild depression, for weight. So you were overweight. You're the rare rare guy doing math that was overweight or is it is actually
2
Speaker 2
14:43
actually all this all this weight came from 2020 man just like I said, I was playing video games drinking and take, again, like a
Law Smith
14:51
comedy show. I mean, I'm trying to throw some some humor in there. But alright, so. So you had that thing with the pandemic, the lockdown? You know, that's the biggest concern a lot of people had is, you know, the devil makes work for idle hands kind of thing. And like, Yeah, and you can vote members do that. You can. A lot of people went two ways. I mean, it could get, everybody can kind of deteriorate and kind of not, you know,
Eric Readinger
15:23
you're either growing or you're
Law Smith
15:27
or you're maintaining, you're trying to figure out how to make like a dumbbell with five, five gallon buckets at Lowe's and putting concrete in it. Like, there was a commercial for it. I mean, there's a lot of people that just looked around their house were like, I'm gonna fix this shit up, or they looked around. It was like, a hate of this or in this place. Yeah. And it sounded like he had anxiety about having anxiety of being sober, like, a pre dread of sorts. But you kind of buried the lede tell us can you tell us the story of overdosing?
2
Speaker 2
16:03
Yeah, man, that actually started. It started a little bit before the pandemic started. And then, you know, I was like, Yeah, I'm never doing that again. Screw that. You know, I've been down that road already. I don't want to go there again. Then the pandemic hit. And then I was like, damn. And then like you said, man, what was it the idle hands make for the devil's playground? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So then, like, I think I just got extremely bored, man. And just, you know, I live in a new city now, man. And I don't know anybody here. But there was one person here from my past, who, you know, who was around for a little while and started doing it again with him and us. I was drinking two men and like, when I used to drink back then like, I would just get so depressed, like, for no reason. So then one night, I was like, Screw it, man. Let's go get high, whatever, and then started smoking, you know, crack and stuff. And then we ran out of that. So then we went and found meth. And it was like, fucking the smoke that and then, I don't know, later that night, like, my, my chest was just feeling weird, man. And, like, I just felt like I couldn't stop moving, or my heart was going to stop. But if I move too much, it'll explode kind of a thing. It was really weird. And then God was just out of it, man. And then. So I went to my sister's house, man, I was down in the basement and then, like, there wasn't any pain. But for some reason, that guy just kept freaking out about my heart, even though there was no pain. I don't know. It was really weird. So I called an EMS, they called an ambulance. And then they took me there. And they're like, What did you take, man, tell us everything you took. And like, it was weird, because I was kind of able to remember everything that I was taking. And I told him, how much I smoked. And like, you know what I mean? Just kind of the best I could. And then they were doing tests and stuff. And they came back and they're like, stop lying to us, man, tell us how much you took. And like, the doctor is like freaking out, looking at my heart scan and stuff. And I was just like, am I gonna die. And then I remember I was laying there looking up at the ceiling of the hospital, you know, like those hospital lights. It was off. And I was kind of just looking into it, because they were pumping me with all kinds of like medicine and like other stuff. And I know all of a sudden I seen like this, like this thing moving in the light. And then it turned around, and it was like a devil face looking down. I mean, it was startling laughing and shit. And it was just like, Holy fuck. So yeah. And then I've fell asleep, woke up and went home, or No, I went to detox first for a while and then tried to go to rehab, but they didn't have room for me plus COVID was new. So everything was shut down. And it was you know, it was a bad time to get into rehab.
Law Smith
18:36
Yeah. That's kind of why I'm asking a little bit more because I was wondering about that. When, when there was a lockdown going on. And what what state were you in? Like, what? In the United States?
2
Speaker 2
18:51
I'm actually from Canada, and I lived central Canada in a province called Saskatchewan,
Law Smith
18:56
or your Canada? Yeah. I don't hear any of it. Do you do kindness? Do you say boo.
Eric Readinger
19:06
The soothing voice.
Law Smith
19:10
Nice disposition, I guess. Yeah, you guys were way more
Eric Readinger
19:16
officers and moves by them. Okay. Yeah, we're
Law Smith
19:19
for those. Not, you know, for those listening on audio. He's wearing a Mountie hat.
Eric Readinger
19:24
Right. And there's a moose. That is
Law Smith
19:27
a hack candidate candidate. Oh, we got Mike Myers is there? No. So AKI is part of the I'm to understand. So you had Canada with a lot of restrictions on COVID. Even recently, you know. So that plays into that. Yeah, that timing of all of that is is kind of crazy. And then you also deal with someone was telling me this the other day, like being in a cold place. You kind of you're kind of locked down half the year, whatever. Yeah, it's even noticed in sort of way, so great five hours ago anywhere, so that kind of can create that, that kind of like, well, I got going on, you know, like, Is that does that play into anything? Just being just being in a cold weather kind of area?
2
Speaker 2
20:24
Yeah, and Yeah, cuz like I mean, you can't really go anywhere. You know what I mean? Like, especially in a winter, like, there's like four feet of snow right outside my door. You know what I mean? So like, yeah, man, I mean, and that's I was going to a liquor store or something like that. I would, I would probably make it, you know, but, uh, but yeah, it's pretty brutal over here, especially with the restrictions. And, you know, we're still kind of facing restrictions to this day, a little bit, not as much. But um, yeah, we're kind of, it's kind of screwed over here. So how remote are you? I'm
Eric Readinger
20:55
just now I'm thinking about access to drugs. In Canada, I would imagine
2
Speaker 2
20:59
is art. Yeah, no, I'm gonna I'm in a fairly big city. So okay, it's not too hard. There's a couple of dealers down the road for me still, but All right, yeah. Everybody
Eric Readinger
21:09
in a log cabin five miles away from each other.
Law Smith
21:14
He's not in the Yukon. So what do you what's? What's the story now? So for about May 2021. On what did you get up to?
2
Speaker 2
21:27
Yeah, now I'm just working on, you know, getting the best guests, I can find my podcasts and stuff like that. I'm trying to kind of try to get away from the podcast coaching a little bit, because I'm going to be launching a company here pretty quick. I can't really say anything yet, because I got to finalize some stuff with some partners. But uh, yeah, so I'm gonna be, you know, focusing on running my podcast and running my company, man and just try to, at the same time, be the best version of myself that I can. And that's, that's the mission for now.
Law Smith
21:59
You can be is like Eric was saying, you can be instrumental, you don't know if you're affecting one person or a bunch of people. But the thing that's cool about podcasting is, you know, the ones I listened to I listened to, continually and part of the, the long game of listening to a lot of them is what the host is doing with their life, right, getting to know them personally, their own way, like Bobby Lee's a comic that follow and he just relapsed. And he's talking about that whole episode, and how that kind of ruined a lot of stuff going on for him, and how it affected everybody around him and all that stuff.
Eric Readinger
22:39
But yeah, crazy stories.
Law Smith
22:40
What Yeah, I mean, on drugs, well, he was also like, molested when he was 12. And that, I think that kind of that said, of course, a different course. But it's still one of the funniest comments ever on stage. But it's one of those things where I think your podcast, it sounds like you're trying to reach out and you haven't asked us on but no big deal. But you know, it's it looks like you're trying to get a lot of like self improvement people marketing entrepreneurship. On the podcast, you know, that you could be a good kind of person to follow if someone is in your same position you were a few years ago.
2
Speaker 2
23:20
Yeah, that's the plan, man, like see, originally my podcast started, because I didn't really think it through starting and I was like, you know, what, screw it. Just start, you know, just jump off the cliff and
Eric Readinger
23:29
grow. That's actually the way I endorsed doing it. Yeah, that's the way to do it.
2
Speaker 2
23:34
Yeah, for sure, man. So like, now my main focus for guests is just anybody really, who has a good story and either a type of business, they could teach my audience how to start, or just, you know, some tips they could give them to be, you know, the best version of themselves, you know, something along those lines, or just help them like Smash limiting beliefs. That's the main, you know, the main idea for the show, man,
Law Smith
23:58
what, what are some of the things you've learned from from your guests,
2
Speaker 2
24:02
and I've learned a lot man my favorite one though, is habit stacking man where you, you combine little tiny wins every single day. Like, say, for example, you wake up in the morning, you make your bed, there's one win for the day, you know, just small, incremental, little steps that lead up to you know, big change over time.
Law Smith
24:20
And that one example, actually is one I do have been doing the last couple of years, and I've got little kids and they've absorbed that and they make their bed in the morning and I've never asked him to really do it. But you forget, it's a thing of like, not only is that a good way to get things going in the morning, but it's also like oh yeah, these two things are little sponges that follow me around and see all my behavior whether I'd realized it or not. Yeah, and so you know that motivation like you're saying for your daughter, I'm sure works in that way. Any what other tips have you gotten from your your show? habit stacking. I haven't heard that term.
2
Speaker 2
25:02
Yeah, habit stacking. And there's lots I kind of learned how, basically to start all kinds of companies man, like I had a dude on there who started a company with $800 Man, a fitness Empire man, like, he just started off with one gym now, to this day, this day. Now, I think he has like, 12. He's building his 12 One or something like that. And he started away 800 bucks. And he kind of went through the whole process, like, the legal stuff, because nobody went there teaching business, they never talked about the legal side of things, which for some reason, I was interested me because, you know, I want to learn how to make sure I paid him taxes, you know, but
Eric Readinger
25:41
well, you can listen to our previous episode that. Just about that.
Law Smith
25:47
We just had Scott rebond talk. What are they talking about all that stuff? And how people entrepreneurs make mistakes that way? Yeah. So all right. Well, I, we got one question for everybody that comes on. First time. What advice I might change the number on this because we asked what advice would you give your 13 year old self? Yeah, maybe not. But I might go back seven years old in your timeline.
Eric Readinger
26:16
earliest you can remember sober?
Law Smith
26:19
What advice would you give your 11 year old self?
2
Speaker 2
26:22
The advice I would give to my 11 year old self is not to not worry about what other people think of you. Don't try to fit in with people just focus on yourself. Get your damn schoolwork done. And just know that as long as you focus on yourself and set goals for yourself and achieve those goals, you'll be alright.
Law Smith
26:46
That's what I mean. That's, that's more or less get to popular. What we hear a lot of the time good one. Yeah, it's good. Yeah. Well, thanks for coming on. Appreciate underground reach podcasts on everywhere you find podcasts. Thanks for coming on to Jay.
27:03
Yeah. Awesome. Thank you guys for the time, man. Appreciate it. Thank you.
