In Episode 77 of Far From Finished, Michael talks about the importance of being open minded to change to achieve something different in your life. For Michael, you have to be open minded to the fact that there’s a possibility.

American Addiction Centers (AAC) presents “Far From Finished,” a weekly podcast that shares the real-life stories of people who survived substance use to thrive in recovery.

Michael likes to say that his first addiction was to violence and anger because he was an angry kid. It didn’t take much to get him to fight someone or to do something in a violent manner. He found a way to channel that rage into MMA, but an injury led Michael to prescription drugs and a life on the the streets constantly looking for more. Almost instantly, it seemed, his life became incredibly chaotic.  His life became unmanageable once he started injecting heroin.

Within a two month period Michael sold everything he had.  He felt like a wild dog in the woods. He did anything to survive. He did anything to get heroin even if it meant selling a friend’s car for drugs. Dope sick and crying, Michael prayed that he could manipulate somebody to get their money. It was a TV show (Judge Mathis), however that would change Michael’s life and lead him to the gift of treatment.

Michael recalls being in a group and someone was talking about the statistics of how many people stay clean — out of 32 guys in the house only two would stay clean. This caught Michael’s attention. It’s something that’s stayed with him till this day.  He made a decision that he wanted to be one of those two guys. He participated in his recovery and through the 12 step program he finally felt a sense of belonging, a sense of someone loving him.

Today Michael lives a life entirely different than it was before. He co-owns two recovery houses and is working on a third. He has so much gratitude for being able to just live today instead of merely surviving.

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