Is Drinking Getting In The Way Of Your Life?

Let me preface this article by acknowledging that I quit drinking a while ago because I felt that drinking was getting in the way of my life. Is drinking getting in the way of yours? Who knows, but I figure by relaying my story, it may help someone else. I decided about a year ago that I was letting drinking get in the way of my life. Actually, in the time since I've been out, I've realized that I let drinking get in the way of my life for quite a long time.
Actually that's probably one of the biggest realizations that I've arrived at in my life. The realization that while I was drinking, I wasn't really thinking clearly, although I thought I was. One of my biggest excuses was that I liked the 'taste' of beer. The taste of beer? What the hell does that even mean? I haven't had a beer in over a year and I haven't missed the taste at all. I've realized that it was never about the taste, I just told myself it was. The bottom line is when I was drinking everyday, I wasn't thinking clearly.
Was I an alcoholic? I don't make distinctions like that, but I know I drank everyday. On average it had to be a twelve pack of beer a day. If that's an alcoholic, then I guess I'm in the club. I was in love with beer, and thought that I needed it. At the end of the day I realized I liked the way it made me "feel". I liked the buzz. Once I came to grips with that little fact, I realized that I needed to make some changes. I was searching for something, and found it, artificially mind you, in beer.
It's funny, I feel as id I woke up a year ago and realized that fifteen years had passed without me accomplishing much of anything other than drinking a ton of alcohol. The way I see it, I tried drinking for fifteen years and didn't accomplish much, I'll tfry not drinking foir the next fifteen years and see what happens. If the second fifteen years isn't better, screw it, I'll start drinking again! The point is that I felt that drinking was getting in the way of my life, and maybe you should evaluate your life, and see if it's getting in the way of yours. Remember what Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "It is not length of life, but depth of life." When I was drinking, there was no depth, that's about all I know.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing and founder of yourmoneyconnection.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Drinking As A Way Of Life

For many years drinking alcohol, especially beer was a way of life for me. Did I realize it at the time? Nope. Did it make a damn bit of difference to me at the time whether of not drinking was a way of life for me? Nope. Did I really care one way or the other whether? Nope. Not one little bit. And what did this get me. Nothing, not one little thing, unless you consider a decent amount of debt and a dead end job "something".
For many years drinking was a way of life of me, and I never realized it. Through the act of stopping drinking, I came to the realization that I had been sleepwalking through life for the better part of 15 years! I suppose this is what happens when drinking becomes a way of life. Was I an alcoholic, that is to say addicted to drinking? I don't know, all I know id that I drank everyday. When I tired to think of a day that I didn't drink, I couldn't. How much did I drink? Again, I didn't keep a running tally, but I would assume an average of a 12-pack a day. Some days less and on good days (as I used to refer to them) more.
The bottom line was that I drank entirely too much and was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I've heard addiction describes as never getting enough of what you don't want in the first place, and if that's the definition, then I was addicted, because that's how it felt. It was as if I could never get enough. More beer always sounded good and then the next day I would wonder why I actually had more. But again, that's what happens when drinking becomes a way of life.
So, what made me come to these realizations and stop drinking? For me, the final straw was my daughter incarnating into this world, then coming to live with Dad. It's why I see her as being "sent" to save me. I simply refuse to be a bad influence on her or disappoint her in any way. I'm thankful for the perspective that my drinking gave me and I'm equally thankful for my daughter showing up when she did to help me realize all of this.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Do You Want To Stop A Bad Habit?

For the better part of 15 years I got in the shower every morning and wondered to myself if I drank too much. I smoked as well and knew it was terrible for me, but every morning I wondered whether I drank too much. After all, I drank virtually every day. As a matter of fact, when I tried to think of a day in which I didn't have a beer or three, I couldn't. And this little ritual of asking myself the question if I drank too much went of for years. Then one day something interesting happened.
I discovered that my 2 year old daughter was coming to live with Dad full time. I was very excited and intrigued by the prospect of raising my little girl. It made me think though. Did I want her to be exposed to the practices of drinking and smoking? I mean she's young and probably wouldn't even realize what Dad was doing, right? And besides, it wasn't as if I were getting "falling down" drunk every night. I just liked to have a beer or twelve. After mulling these questions over for a month or so, I came to my decision.
I wasn't going to be a bad influence on my daughter in any way. I couldn't be the guy that laments the dangers of smoking while I choked down a heater. Other guys can do what they want, but I simply wasn't going to go along. And I wasn't going to be the guy that tells his daughter not to drink, while I drank a beer. No, not me, I simply wasn't going to be that guy.
So, I walked away from both practices. No meetings, gum, patches, or pills. I just walked away from a pack of cigarettes and an average of 6 or 8 beers a day. Through the process of doing this I realized a very important point. It wasn't about the fact that I smoked cigarettes or drank beer. It was about what I thought about the two things. I realize this may sound strange, but it's true. What I realized was that what I thought about the practices was the important thing.
In other words, if I thought quitting smoking was going to be difficult, guess what? It was going to be difficult. But if I thought it was going to be easy, guess what? The same principle holds true. The same thing was true with drinking. If I thought not having a beer was going to suck, guess what? It sucked! But I also began to realize that the opposite held true. It was all about what I thought! My bottom line is quite simple. If you have a habit (that's what I believe these two practices are), and want to stop it, then change you thinking, it's as simple as that!

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Getting Off Of Nicotine, It's Really Not That Bad

The entire fifteen years that I choked down heater after heater, all anyone ever told me was how I needed to quit and how terribly difficult quitting smoking was going to be. In the back of my mind, I never really bought into that line of logic. I always figured it was going to be as difficult to stop as I made it. I never bought into the fact that everyone else said it was going to be hard. And do you know what happened? After fifteen years of smoking, I walked away from cigarettes once and for All and it really wasn't all that hard. It was exactly as I thought it would be.
After finally quitting, I realized that the entire idea of quitting smoking is a huge business. And you trying, but not quite quitting means more money to the companies selling the products to help you quit. Not only that, but it's also in their best interest for you to believe that quitting is going to be all but impossible. You see, I found that what you believe about quitting is the most important thing. Not what drug you might take to help you quit. The power of belief is not only the major factor in quitting smoking, it's a major factor in your whole life. It's exactly as Muhammad Ali said of the power of belief, "It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen."
When your quitting smoking all you want is for things to begin to happen. You need to break the cycle of normalcy. You see for me it wasn't about being addicted to anything, it was about the fact that I had engaged in a practice every 45 minutes or so for fifteen consecutive years. Smoking cigarettes had become "normal" to me. So much so that I had a difficult time remembering what it was like to not be a smoker. I had to think back and remember that I wasn't always a smoker and in fact was in great shape at one time in my life. I had to think about how I liked being in shape, and never really liked smoking in the first place.
Quitting was about what I thought about quitting, and I thought it wasn't going to be that difficult. And as I said it wasn't. Were there times I wanted a cigarette? Of course there were (and still are), but I don't smoke any longer and simply tell myself that. I would want a cigarette (more so right after stopping) because it was normal to me to have a cigarette. That's all. Once I came to this realization, it was easier and easier everyday.
The bottom line is that you can do exactly what I did and be free of nicotine for the rest of your life. Don't buy into all of the hype surrounding quitting smoking. You don't need drugs or gum or patches, all you need to do is believe and change the way you think about smoking.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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Are You Serious About Quitting Smoking?

Why is it that every article you read, every commercial that you see, almost everything supposedly designed to help you quit smoking comes with a price attached? It seems like 99% of the articles I read on quitting smoking are written by someone trying to sell you something to help you quit. Why is this? Why can't everyone be honest about the whole idea of quitting smoking and just tell you that by the nature of being born you were given everything that you need to stop smoking. If you are serious about quitting smoking, you can do it without spending a dime.
Before you begin to think that I'm completely full of crap, here me out. I smoked at least a pack a day for close to fifteen years and walked away from smoking once and for all. And I did it without spending one red cent, and there were no with drawls or any other negative effects. I simply stopped smoking. Were there times that I wanted a cigarette? Of course there were, but I simply wouldn't have one. I realized, during the stopping process, that it was normal for me to want a cigarette. I mean my body was used to having one for God's sake! A person will get used to anything after engaging in it for 15 years. The bottom line is that I stopped and I know you can as well. Below you will find a list of the things I found to be important in the process of quitting smoking :
Changing Your Thinking - That's right, you need to change the way you think about smoking and quitting smoking. Everyone tells you how difficult it will be. Don't buy into that stuff. Tell yourself that it's going to be as easy to quit as it was to start. Remember this quote, "Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change."
Change your surroundings - It was important for me to stay away from smoking (especially in the beginning). I stopped going to places where everyone smoked. I stopped hanging around smokers for long periods of time. I stayed as far away from smokers as I could. I even changed my job ( a job in which many people smoked).
Don't Believe The Hype - There is a ton of hype surrounding the act of quitting smoking. Everyone wants to convince you of the fact that quitting is a difficult proposition. I'm telling you from experience that it's not that difficult. Quitting smoking will be as difficult as you "believe" it will be, it's as simple as that. The hype is all designed to sell you something to supposedly make quitting easier. All of the hype is nothing but a big sales machine.
Hopefully these tips help you kick the cancer sticks once and for all. It really was that simple for me, and I know it will be for you as well. What you believe is the key factor. Remember what Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said of belief, "Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is." Just believe that you've got this smoking thing licked and you do.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Do You Really Want To Quit Smoking? Then You Must Read This Article

I want to preface this article by stating a few things: #1 I smoked a pack a day (on average) for 15 years and walked away from cigarettes forever, so I have experience with quitting smoking. #2 I'm not going to attempt to sell you anything in order to help you quit. Most people who write these articles have an ulterior motive, I don't (unless of course you're an angler). I simply want to tell you how I quit smoking in the hopes that it may help you quit smoking
If you're really interested in quitting smoking, the first thing that you have to do is change the way you think about quitting smoking. I realize that this may sound weird, but it true. Everything that you think about smoking and quitting smoking is wrong. Everything that you hear about quitting smoking is hype designed to sell you something to help you quit. It seems to me it's in everyone's best interest that you believe quitting smoking is difficult.
And then you have all of your friends and colleagues that reiterate the fact that quitting is so very hard because they've bought into and believe the hype as well. What I'm telling you, as someone who's been there and done it, is that it's not that hard. The next time one of your friends, colleagues, or commercial tells you how difficult quitting smoking is, simply tell yourself the opposite. Literally say to yourself, "Quitting smoking is not going to be hard, it's no problem." While I was smoking I would also look at my cigarette and say, "I've got this, this is no problem." I would suggest you only do that if you're alone so people don't think that your totally nuts.
That's what I did and one day I went into my pack to grab a smoke and there was only one left. I took that cigarette out and said, "This is it. I'm done." I smoked that cigarette and haven't had one since. That was a long time ago and I can promise you that I'll never smoke again.
Now were there times after I quit that I wanted a cigarette? Of course, but I didn't have one. When I thought about it, it had to be expected that I would crave something from time to time seeing as how I had been doing it for 15 years! But I just didn't have one. It got easier and easier not to have one every single day. As your confidence grows, it becomes so easy not to smoke it seems silly. You'll soon wonder why you ever started in the first place. I promise you that this is how I quit smoking and I know that you can too. You don't need gum, patches, hypnosis, or pills. You were born with everything you need. Remember what Marcus Aurelius said, "Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig."

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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Change The Freakin' Habit!

For many years I battled with supposed addiction and finally walked away from both drinking and smoking once and for all. I use the word 'supposed' in reference to addiction, because of what I learned through the process of quitting both practices. I learned that it wasn't about addiction, but rather the habits that I had of drinking and smoking everyday. Both practices had become so normal to me (or so much of a habit) that I had a hard time even imagining my life without either one of them. So I simply changed the freakin' habit, and now don't engage in either practice.
Before you begin to think that I'm crazy or that I must not have really been a smoker or drinker, consider this. For the better part of 15 years my average daily consumption of both products was a pack of cigarettes and a twelve pack of beer! Without bragging, I would have to say that those numbers were strong, to moderately strong. I smoked every day for that entire span and drank most of those days. I tell you this simply to qualify myself as someone who actually did the things that I'm now writing about.
I stopped both practices by simply changing my habits and this started with what I thought about those habits. For the entire time I engaged in these habits I listened to everything everyone told me about the practices. Things like: Drinking is fun. You're addicted to nicotine. Smoking relaxes you. Having a beer after work is how I unwind. And on and on the list goes. I changed the way I thought about all of that and started asking myself if these questions were true. I found out that they were all lies I was telling myself to justify doing what I was doing.
So I started being honest with myself and saying things like: Smoking makes me smell terrible. I hate being so winded from simple activities. I hate waking up hung over. How much money do I spend on beer? I also began being honest about the fact that I really never liked either practice. Soon the day came, when I said to myself, "I think I'm done."
And I walked away. I didn't go to meetings or take drugs of any kind. I got no help from gum, patches, or pills of any kind. I simply walked away and haven't looked back. I heard a great quote once that said "Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change." I simply changed the way I looked at smoking and drinking, and before long the act of both smoking and drinking changed. If you want to quit any destructive behavior, just change the freakin' habit!

Trevor Kugler is Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country....Montana.
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Drinking As A Pastime

There was a time in my life that I drank beer as my favorite pastime. Really, it's true. I of course only realized this after finally walking away from drinking, but the point is that drinking was literally what I did for fun. I always figured drinking was just kind of "along for the ride" , if you will, but finally realized that the act of drinking was my pastime. The interesting thing about this little Christopher Columbus like discovery I made was the fact that almost everyone I knew was just like me!
I've heard it said before that you become just like the people that you spend time with, but never gave it any credence. That was until I came to these realizations for myself. It's so perplexing to me, but most everything that I did at that time in my life, revolved around drinking beer. Well, maybe revolved isn't the correct term, but involved drinking beer. Going over to a friend's house to have a BBQ? Who's bringing the beer? Going to the lake fishing? Did you remember the beer? Playing cards in your buddies' basement? How much beer do you have? These are all the types of questions that were always asked. None of these so called "things to do" were about whatever it was that was being done, they were about the drinking!
Once my daughter incarnated into this world (which is another story) and I decided to walk away from drinking, I also walked away from all of these so called "things to do". Not as a conscience effort, but just naturally. I didn't see the "friends" or "buddies" anymore either. Once I stopped drinking they all faded away as well, again not consciously, but it just seemed to "happen". This is when I came to the realization that drinking was my pastime, none of the so called things to do or friends mattered.
Once I really started to analyze it, I also realized that this had been going on for 15 years! Drinking had been my favorite pastime for 15 years, and do you know what else was ironic? I was in about the same position, personally, as I was when it all started. It's almost as if those 15 years was a dream! A dream we would all rather not have by the way. The point is that by the grace of God my daughter came into my life and all of that came to an end. I've heard it said that everything happens for a reason, well now I know that statement to be true.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!

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Hey! Do You Really Want To Quit Smoking? Then Read This

I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for the better part if 15 years and walked away from them without the aide of any gum, patches, hypnosis, pills, or anything else and I want to share how I did it with you in order to help you do exactly the same thing. And here's the beautiful thing about my story: I'm not going to try to sell you anything that will supposedly "help" you stop smoking. I'm just going to give you my story and that's not going to cost you a penny.
The first thing to realize about all of this smoking business is that there is a lot of money in it. Not only for the tobacco companies, but for all of the companies that have "quit smoking" products. The industry is HUGE, on both sides of the transaction. What you've probably found, as I did, is that all of the articles that you read and news stories that you hear, drill into your head how difficult quitting smoking is. Therefore, we've all begun to believe exactly that, that quitting is going to be hard. You see, it's in all of the interested parties' best interest that you believe this fact. That way you're much more prone to spending your money in order to get their help.
The biggest part of me quitting smoking was to change what I believed about smoking and quitting smoking. This is what Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said of belief, "Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is." This is a very important quote to remember as we move forward towards a smoke free life. I had to change my belief about smoking. What was it that I believed? I believed that it was going to be difficult to stop smoking. I believed that a cigarette was a stress reliever. I believed that I liked smoking, after all that's what I told myself all the time. I believed that it wasn't going to kill me, otherwise why would I play Russian roulette with cancer sticks? I believed that I was powerless or close to it over the addiction to nicotine.
Those are all of the things that I believed while I smoked. I came to the conclusion that I had to change all of that. Because, after all a belief is simply a thought that we repeat over and over to ourselves. So I figured if I changed my thoughts about smoking, I could change the act of smoking, and do you know what? I was right, because as Wayne Dyer says, "You become what you think about, all day long"
So I decided to change the way I thought about smoking, figuring that if I did that, the beliefs that I had would change. When I heard people around me talk about quitting smoking, I just refrained from the conversation. I began to tell myself how easy quitting was going to be. How I had these cigarettes on the run, and they didn't control me. When I was smoking alone, I would actually hold the cigarette up, look at it, and say out loud, "I've got this. It won't be long".
This sounds corny, I know, but it's what I did while I continued to smoke. About six months passed and one day I reached into my pack to grab a cigarette, only to realize that it was my last one. I took out that cigarette, looked at it and knew that it was my last one. I smoked it and haven't had one since. I had successfully changed my thinking about cigarettes and smoking and now I'm a non-smoker. It was literally as simple as that. You see quitting smoking doesn't have to be difficult, it's simply as difficult as you think or believe it will be.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Is Smoking Really An Addiction?

As a fifteen year smoker who walked away from smoking forever, without the help of gum, patches, hypnosis, or drugs of any kind, I can't help but pose this question. Now that I'm officially nicotine free after fifteen years, I have to tell you, although everyone and their brother told me that smoking was in fact an addiction, which is to say something that my body couldn't do without, I have to say that's all a bunch of BS.
I'm still walking around, playing with my daughter, writing articles, working, and the like, so obviously my body can do without nicotine. Not only can it do without nicotine, but it does just fine. I've truly come to the conclusion that all of the hype surrounding smoking and NOT smoking is designed to make it harder for people to quit. The biggest reason that I smoked for so long was the fact that I "thought" it was going to be hard to stop.
That's right, now that I'm a non-smoker once again; I've realized that smoking was all in my head. Smoking was a mental barrier, not a physical one. Now I realize that there are probably many of you out there who are saying, "This guy is so full of crap, his eyes are brown!" All I'm telling you here is what's true for me. And the fact that smoking was mental was absolutely true for me.
Did I experience withdrawals when I stopped? Of course I did. But I found that the withdrawals were because I was so used to smoking that not smoking felt strange to me. Smoking had simply become "normal" to me. Once I realized that all I had to do was change what I thought was "normal", I realized that I was no longer going to be a smoker.
I also changed my environment. I stopped hanging around people who smoked and un-knowingly reinforced the fact smoking was "normal". You know when you sit down and think about it, this type of thinking is insanity. Because in reality how could smoking ever be seen as normal? I thought it was "normal" for fifteen years, which is insane thinking. Smoking is not at all normal!
My bottom line is that smoking isn't an addiction. It's a way of thinking. And the beautiful thing about being a human being is the fact that we can change our thinking. Never forget the statement from A Course In Miracles, "Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change." Change the way you think about smoking and your smoking will change.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing and founder of yourmoneyconnection.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Is Drinking Actually An Addiction?

I stopped drinking quite a while ago and I can't help but ask this question to myself anytime I hear someone saying that drinking is an addiction. Or should I say, becomes an addiction, because of course nothing is an addiction in the beginning. My father was an alcoholic and for most of my adult life I heard that because he was an alcoholic, there was a better than average chance I was going to be one also. I never bought into this line of logic. I know, you can cite many studies that will prove otherwise, but let me remind you, I can find a study somewhere that will 'prove' that Elvis is still alive, so chill out for a moment.
I started drinking when I was eighteen years old. Before I was eighteen I had no interest in drinking, because I was an athlete with college sports aspirations. And contrary to popular belief, drinking doesn't usually work well with athletics. So I just didn't do it. Then my division one college aspirations came to a screeching halt, and drinking became what I thought was a great way to pass the time.
This trend, of drinking being a great way to pass the time, continued for the next TWELVE years. I capitalized the word twelve because it seems as if it took about an hour and a half for twelve years to pass! Now that I'm sober again and look back, that's how it feels. Did I ever drink all day, or have a drink when I woke up in the morning? No, but I did drink on most days. And for the last seven or eight of those twelve years I drank at least six beers on most days. The average was probably more like eight to twelve, but who's counting?
Then my daughter was born and it all changed. I didn't want to drink anymore. Sure, it started with the thought of just cutting down to the consumption of a "normal person", but after stopping for a couple of weeks I realized that I had been self medicating myself with alcohol for most of my adult life. The biggest reason that I wanted to stop was that I knew deep down in the core of my being that drinking alcohol wasn't at all cool, and I simply couldn't be the guy who tells their daughter not to drink when that's exactly what I did. I wanted to be the guy who could tell stories about how he used to drink, and most importantly WHY he chooses not to anymore.
So I stopped drinking. A guy who drank six to twelve beers a day, and even more if I was really "feeling it", stopped. I didn't have any withdrawals or anything. The only thing I had were realizations about how I was and what I used to do. So now I have to ask the question, "Is drinking really an addiction?", because is sure doesn't seem like it to me. And I most certainly drank enough and for long enough to become 'addicted'. The biggest thing that I've realized, for me, is that drinking was about behaviors. I got so used to the behaviors that they seemed normal. Drinking had become "normal" to me.
To me it's a funny thing, because now the idea of going into a bar just sounds stupid. What am I going to do? Sit around with a couple of other people and pontificate about the affairs of the day or my perceived problems? No, not any more, I spent twelve years doing just that and have realized that such activities accomplished absolutely nothing.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Fighting Addiction

Many people fight with addictions of all kinds, and through my own battle with addictions I learned a few things that I thought I would pass along in this article. And the ironic thing about me doing this is the fact that I'm in no way affiliated with any products that will supposedly help you fight addiction. Unless of course, fishing products will help you fight addiction somehow? No, my goal is to help you out a little bit. If just one person takes something from my experience to aid them in their own, then it was worth it.
For more than fifteen years I drank beer and smoked cigarettes everyday. At least a pack of cigarettes a day and probably an average of a twelve pack of beer a day. I didn't keep tabs on how much beer I drank, but a 12-pack had to be the average,. You know how it is. Some days only four or five beers, and on the good days eighteen to twenty four beers (yes, if I really got a good early start, I could power through a case by myself). In any case the point is I drank a lot of beer and choked down a lot of heaters.
Then I finally came to a point that I knew I had to walk away from both practices. They simply weren't working for me anymore. I woke up one day and realized I was right where I started 15 years before, and the only difference was that I had more debt! So I decided to walk away from both practices. No meetings. No pills or patches. Nothing but myself and a bunch of books. In the months leading up to this decision I had immersed myself in various spiritual texts such as the Bhagavad-Gita, and during the quitting process that trend continued.
The most important thing I learned from the Bhagavad-Gita was that fighting addiction wasn't going to work. I was going to have to love my addictions and be thankful for them. This was very important in my personal healing. I stopped being pissed at myself for being so weak, and began realizing that the entire process was something that I needed to go through, no matter what I thought about it. This is what I would suggest you do. Rather than getting upset with yourself, love yourself, as corny as that sounds.
Just remember, fighting addiction isn't going to help. I'm a fisherman, so I'll give you a fishing metaphor. When I caught the largest trout that I've ever caught, I had to remember that I couldn't force the fish to come in. I literally couldn't "fight" the fish like you can with smaller fish. I had to let the large trout tire itself out. I had to let it use it's strength against itself, rather than trying to overpower the fish. Eventually, after an hour long struggle, I landed my trophy trout that I had been trying to catch for 5 years! The point is I didn't land that trout by "fighting" it. I landed that trout by relaxing and letting the fish "fight" itself. I would suggest that you apply this principle to your addictions. Fighting them will only cause you to lose the trophy trout.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Do You Want To Quit Smoking? Don't Believe The Hype

I quit smoking about a year ago, and I want to expose some of the things that I've learned about quitting smoking, now that I'm free from cigarettes forever. There's a ton of hype out there surrounding smoking and quitting smoking that I now know is complete BS. My thinking is that if it's BS, I should make other people who want to quit aware of these things as well. The biggest thing to remember is to not but into all of the hype.
What do I mean by hype? The hype is provided by all of the people trying to sell you the best way to quit. The hype is all of the information that explains to you how difficult quitting is going to be. All of the information telling you that you need help to quit. I realized, through quitting myself, that this was all BS. I didn't need help to quit and the difficulty was directly proportionate to what I thought about quitting.
I realize that that may sound unbelievable, but it's absolutely true. Once I stopped buying into all of the hype about how hard stopping smoking was going to be and changed the way I 'thought' about stopping, the next thing I knew I was a non-smoker. How did I change the way I 'thought' about quitting? I simply began telling myself how easy quitting was going to be. While I was smoking, I would look at the cigarette and say out loud, "I've got this. This is going to be no problem." Within a couple of weeks smoking had become really annoying to me. It was such a chore. Having to go outside, and then after smoking I had that disgusting smell all over me. I was getting really tired of the entire process.
Then one day it happened. I looked at my pack and there was 1 cigarette left, and I said, "this is it, I'm done." And I haven't smoked since. No problem, no gum, no patches, no pills, I just stopped. Were there times I wanted a cigarette? Of course, especially in the beginning, but I just didn't have one. I had changed the cycle because I stopped buying into the hype about how difficult quitting was going to be and I changed my thinking. There is no doubt in my mind that everyone reading this article can do exactly what I did.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana!
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Do I Drink Too Much?

For the better part of ten years this is the exact question that I would ask myself every morning in the shower. I would stand there with the water washing over me and wonder if I drank too much. In hindsight, now that I don't drink any more, I realize that if I was asking myself the question, "Do I drink too much" everyday, I quite obviously drank too much. But this begs the question, how much is too much?
The answer to this question would probably vary for each individual, but I know the bottom line was that I came to the conclusion that I drank too much. My average had to be a twelve pack of beer a day. Not a twelve pack every single day, some days on the four or five. But then I would have a "good run" a couple of times a week where I would polish off an 18-pack, or even give a case of beer a run for it's money. So my average had to be around 12 beers a day.
Then one day something happened…….my daughter incarnated into this world and all of the sudden drinking simply didn't make as much sense to me. I simply couldn't see myself being a bad example to her. How could I tell her not to drink, when I myself drank? I couldn't reconcile this, so I stopped. That's right, I walked away from drinking. Now I don't drink. Not even a beer with dinner, because what would be the point of that? Because of the taste? That's what I told myself for years, that I drank beer because I liked the taste. It's a funny thing though, when you walk away from something after being so deeply entrenched for so long, you come to some realizations.
For me, one of those realizations was that I didn't drink beer for the taste. I drank beer because of the way it made me "feel". I refused to admit this when I drank, but after stepping away, I realized that it was true. Why do we as humans spend so much time trying to avoid the truth? Because that's exactly what I did for a little over fifteen years, I avoided that which was true through drinking. I think Marcus Aurelius said it quite poignantly when he said," Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." My perspectives had all become clouded.
So did I go to meetings to come to these realizations? Or did I find religion? No, none of those things. The only thing I can point to is my daughter incarnating into this world to, in my new found perspective, save me. I have a very strong knowing that my daughter was literally sent here to save me. Or was it that she was summoned from somewhere deep within myself?

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country… Montana!
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Beating Addiction

Many people are interested in beating some sort of addiction. There are more "addictions" than can be listed here. The point is that there are literally hundreds of substances and practices that people find themselves addicted to. The subject of addiction and beating addiction is quite literally a billion dollar industry. I myself smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol heavily for the better part of 20 years, so I suppose I have some experience with the subject of "being addicted". I also have some experience with beating addiction, seeing as how I walked away from both practices.
The single biggest thing I learned through the process of beating my addictions was to not buy into all the hype. What do I mean by this? What I mean is that it seems like everywhere you turn you see or hear someone telling you how difficult beating addictions is going to be. I found out that this was all hype, usually designed to sell me something. Rather than listening and buying into all of this hype, I simply went in a different direction.
I chose to tell myself how easy stopping both practices was going to be rather than how difficult it was going to be. I did this for at least six months before I actually stopped. There were no timetables in place, I just tell you that for reference. I simply stopped buying into all of the hype.
Soon the allure of both practices began to fade. I started noticing how stinky cigarettes were, and how much they made my clothes stink. I started hating waking up with a hangover. I started liking the fact that I drank so much, less and less. With me not buying into or believing all the hype about how difficult beating my addictions was going to be, the act of actually engaging in the addictions was becoming more and more of a struggle.
Soon the day came when I said to myself, "I'm done", and with that, there was no longer a battle. I've heard it said that addiction is defined as never getting enough of what you don't want in the first place. This is exactly what my addictions were to me. I never really wanted to drink or smoke in the first place, then one day I woke up and the better part of 20 years were gone (or at least that's how it seemed). My entire point to this article is to let everyone know that beating addiction isn't nearly as difficult as it's sometimes made out to be. If I did it, anyone can do it.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Are You Really Addicted To Nicotine?

I'm a person who walked away from smoking forever about eight months ago and now I can't help but ask this question. I realize that everyone on the television, radio, and internet claims that nicotine is addictive, but is this really true or are they simply trying to get you to buy into the hype so they can get your money? I have to tell you, as a person who smoked for fifteen years and walked away without the aid of any gum, patches, pills, or anything else, I have to tell you that I honestly believe it's all hype!
Really, if it were true and there are actually withdrawals and the like associated with quitting smoking, wouldn't I have experienced some of them? Were there times I wanted a cigarette? Of course, but my conclusion is that it was because I was used to sticking cancer sticks into my pie hole for fifteen years, not because I was addicted to anything. I was just used to smoking. I mean anything that you engage in for 15 years is bound to feel like "normal", right?
The conclusion that I came to is that I wasn't actually addicted to anything and that it was all hype. So I decided not to buy into the hype any longer. Anytime I heard about being addicted or how hard quitting smoking was going to be, I simply said to myself, "I don't believe that, it's going to bee easy to stop." I did this while I was still smoking. When I was by myself smoking, I would look at the cigarette and say the same basic thing directly to the cigarette.
And do you know what. Within a couple of months of doing that, I went in my pack to grab a smoke only to find out that it was my last one. I looked at that cigarette and said, "this is it, I'm done." I proceeded to smoke that cigarette and haven't touched one since that day.
It was literally as simple as that. I've realized that quitting smoking is what you think about quitting and not about being addicted to nicotine. You're addicted to nicotine if you believe that you're addicted to nicotine. It's as simple as that, and if you buy into the hype, you'll believe that you're addicted to nicotine. I'm simply telling you that you're not really addicted to anything you just think you are. You can do exactly what I did and be free of cigarettes and nicotine forever. Unless of course you believe that you can't.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Are You Having Trouble Quitting Smoking?

About six months ago I finally stopped choking down cancer sticks once and for all, after being a smoker for more than fifteen years. I learned a few things in the process of quitting that I know can help other people quit as well. And the best part is that I'm going to give you what I learned for nothing! I am in no way affiliated with any e- book, "program", or newsletter to help you stop smoking. I'm just a guy who quit and would love to help other people do the same thing that I did.
I had tried both patches and gum in the past to quit, and they never worked. They would seem to work for a while, and then the next thing I knew, I was smoking again. During those experiences I realized something…….I was going to have to change the way I thought about quitting smoking. Simply changing the way nicotine got into my body obviously wasn't going to change anything. So that's exactly what I did. I changed the way I thought about both smoking and quitting smoking.
I began telling myself how easy it was going to be to stop smoking. Everyone always tells you how horrible quitting smoking is. I simply started telling myself that it wasn't going to be that bad. When I was smoking, I would hold the cigarette up and say to it, "I've got this. This is going to be no problem." I also stopped listening to all of the people around me that said how hard it would be. I would just extract myself from any of their conversations about smoking or quitting smoking.
Then, one day I opened my pack of cigarettes to take one out and there was only one left. I looked at the cigarette, and said to myself, "Okay, this is it. I'm done." I went outside, smoked that cigarette, and haven't touched one since. If you change the way you think about smoking (even while the act continues), eventually you won't want to smoke any more. For me the process of changing my thinking about smoking took about six months.
Someone once said, "Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change." That's exactly what happened with me and smoking. I changed the way I looked at smoking, and the act of smoking changed. It's truly as simple as that. Were there times that I felt like smoking, after I had quit? Of course. The difference was that I didn't smoke anymore, so I didn't. I also stopped hanging around people who smoked, which helped as well. And it got easier and easier everyday. Then the next thing I knew, I smelled a cigarette while walking in a parking lot and couldn't believe how gross it smelled. Yep, it was over for good. I was a non-smoker once again, just like God intended. Just remember that quitting smoking, like most things in life, is more about how you think about it than anything else.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Are You An Alcoholic?

This is a question that I used to ask myself all the time. I would have to guess that it happened once a day. I was well aware of the fact that I drank everyday, some more than others, but the point was that I drank everyday, therefore I always wondered if I was an alcoholic. But then I would realize that I was never late for work, did a good job at work, and all around "handled my bossiness", so I would simply dismiss the question and go on about my life.
But still, the question was always there. I basically went by the definition of an alcoholic that Dylan Thomas offered us, " An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do." Then one day I woke up and had had enough. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I stopped drinking. Did I attend meetings or make a big deal out of it? No, I just stopped, and some very interesting things began to happen. I began to come to realizations that I had never considered.
I always thought of drinking as something anyone who was halfway cool, just did. Questions like do you want to go have a beer? Or there's going to be beer there, right? , had become so common to me that they were completely normal and in order. People, who didn't drink, somehow scared me. How could someone not drink? The entire idea of not drinking perplexed me.
Then after a couple of weeks of not drinking, it felt as if my head was suddenly clear. As if I was waking up from a nap in many ways and what I've realized since is that I was waking up from a nap. Through the act of stopping, I realized that I had spent the better part of 15 years drinking. 15 years! And the funniest and most perplexing thing about this realization was the fact that after 15 years of time I hadn't progressed much. Monetarily I was in the same place that I was 15 years prior, if not worse off and emotionally I was much the same as well. This initial realization scared me a little bit, for God's sake, I had completely wasted 15 years all for the sake of having a few beers.
Then I realized the truth. My drinking was something that I had to go through to learn these lessons. There was no other way for me to learn them. But it still kind of upsets me that it took me 15 years! It seems like I could have learned them in 5 or 6. But that's not the way this wonderful life works. It's a marathon, not a sprint and for me, I had to spend 15 years of my marathon learning these lessons.
So was I an alcoholic? Are you an alcoholic? Who knows, at the end of the day I don't like to make distinctions like that anyway. The bottom line is that if your asking yourself the question a lot (as I was), you mat want to consider a change? I'm sure glad I did. I can attest to the fact that life is a ton more enjoyable and fulfilling when your not sleepwalking.

Trevor Kugler is Co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com
Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country....Montana.
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Are You Actually Addicted To Cigarettes?

There are a lot of people who will have you believe that you're addicted to cigarettes. That smoking is a habit that's more difficult to get rid of than breathing oxygen. That killing your first born would be easier than quitting smoking. What I find funny about this little fact is that all the people saying these things have one thing in common. They want to sell you something to make quitting cigarettes easier. That's right, the want to make money off of you. So it's in their best interest that you believe that you can't break the addiction without the help of whatever they may be selling.
I came to this conclusion after I personally walked away from cigarettes after sucking them down for the better part of fifteen years. And I walked away from cigarettes without the aid of anything but myself. Throughout my fifteen years of smoking I had tried to quit with the aid of gum and patches with no success. It wasn't until I did it without the aid of anything other than myself that I came to the realizations I'm going to speak about in this article.
The biggest realization that I came to was the fact that I was never really addicted to anything. I had simply engaged in an activity for so long that it had become "normal" to me. Smoking cigarettes had become a habit. That's it. I realized that smoking cigarettes was mental. It was more important what I thought about smoking cigarettes than the actual act of smoking them. I came to the realization that I wasn't addicted to anything!
This realization changed my entire perspective, and I quickly walked away from cigarettes forever. Honestly, isn't smoking disgusting? It really is, and this is coming from someone who engaged in the practice for more than 15 years. I think about it now and it's just disgusting. IU was walking through the grocery store the other day and someone walked by me reeking of cigarettes. It was disgusting, and then I thought to myself, "That was you just a little while ago you idiot!" It's amazing how when you're involved in things, your perspective gets all screwed up.
The bottom line is that if you want to quit smoking cigarettes, you can. You're not actually addicted to anything. You've just become so used to smoking that you think it's going to be difficult to stop. That's it. And I'm telling you, it's not that hard to stop smoking. Just believe that you can, and that can be enough. Remember when you used to not smoke. Remember when you could run up a flight of stairs and not feel like you were going to die. Remember all of those things, because it wasn't that long ago that you didn't even know what a cigarette was, let alone how to smoke it! And believe in yourself. It's amazing what a human being can accomplish when he/she believes in themselves.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Do You Want To Go Have A Beer Or Three? Me Too

I find it perplexing how a person's thinking can become... well clouded. I quit drinking quite a while ago and it seems to me that things become clearer almost by the day. I was having a discussion with a friend about my drinking, back when I drank. People used to say, "come on over and have a beer" all of the time. And, of course, I would oblige them. The funny thing was it was never, and I mean never A beer. It always ended up being at least three beers and most times many more than that.
Was I an alcoholic? I don't know, but I do know I drank a lot. In my estimation, it became too much, so I stopped. It took me the better part of fifteen years to come to this conclusion, but I finally came to the realization that I was drinking too much. The bottom line was that I drank quite a lot of beer. I more or less stayed away from the hard stuff, mostly because I liked the way beer 'tasted', or at least that's what I told myself.
Then recently I found myself with an old friend, reminiscing about the days when I used to drink with him, and something came to me. I said to him how I find it funny that for the most part I drank a 12-pack on most nights. Some nights more and some less, but the average had to be about twelve. Then I said to him, "Bob, I bought a twelve pack of Coke the other day and I can't even imagine sitting down and drinking it all in one sitting! It amazes me that I used to do that exact thing with beer." After that conversation I realized that at the time in my life when I did slam a 12-pack in one sitting, I wasn't thinking clearly at all. Not even close.
Just like it being perplexing about how clouded your thinking can become, it's equally perplexing how clear your thinking can become when you sober up. I'm not at all a religious person, but have to assume there was a higher power involved in this process. All of these thoughts and realizations just fit together too perfectly for any other explanation that I'm aware of. All I know is that there was a time when going out and "having a beer" actually meant going out and having at least three.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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Are Bad Habits Really That Hard To Stop?

The dictionary describes addiction as: the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. Okay, now we know exactly what an addiction is. And I think that we would all agree that people think of being addicted to both alcohol and cigarettes. I also want everyone to understand that the question posed in this article isn't coming from someone who has only an academic view of addiction. I've personally quit both drinking and smoking after engaging in both proudly for the better part of 15 years. Was I an alcoholic? I don't make distinctions like that, but I know that I drank a twelve pack of beer a day, on average. I also smoked a pack a day on average for the entire time I drank alcohol. It's perplexing how the two coincided. Once I quit drinking, I then no longer wanted to smoke anymore either. So I stopped smoking as well.
My point to all of this is that I quit both of them and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I was led to believe. At the time I smoked, everyday I heard from some well meaning person how difficult it was going to be to quit smoking. And the same rule was true for drinking, although most people don't talk about stopping drinking. I think that's because drinking alcohol isn't looked upon as a "bad" thing in our culture. Smoking is looked upon as being almost as bad as carrying a loaded gun around and firing it indiscriminately, while drinking is accepted as being fine in moderation. Rather than quitting drinking, people talk about cutting down. So people say things like, "I like to have a beer or two, what's the problem?" Or "I'm not an alcoholic; those people have to go to meetings." In reality, they're both bad for you and everything you hear either justifies the action or explains how difficult stopping the action will be.
What I realized as I was quitting both bad habits was the fact that stopping them was in my mind, rather than some physical addiction that we all hear so much about. Let's take smoking for example. I tried to quit smoking three times before I actually made it. I tried the gum (which seemed to help) and quitting cold turkey. The problem was I didn't change my thinking. I still thought it was going to be difficult, so it was and never stuck. Then I changed the way I thought about quitting smoking. I said things to myself like, "this isn't going to be hard, I'm just not going to smoke" or "It's all in my head, I'm just used to smoking a cigarette, it's become normal to me and that is an illusion". I did the exact same thing with drinking. Doing these things and not putting myself in the vicinity of people who did, made it easy to stop both behaviors.
My point is that once I was free and clear of both behaviors I realized that it was more about what I thought about the substances than the substances themselves. If I was "addicted", it sure wasn't that hard to stop either of them. My great realization in the process was that it was all mental.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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Addiction - A 1-Step Program

Before I explain the 1-step program to help you with addiction, let me explain that I was personally involved in both drinking and smoking for the better part of 15 years. I was a smoker to the tune of a pack of cigarettes a day and drinker to the tune of at least 8 beers a day. I didn't keep a running tally of my drinking, but 8 beers a day had to be the average. Some days more, some days less, but my average had to be eight. Having explained how deeply involved I was in both practices, now let me explain how it was that I walked away from them forever.
I heard a great quote that stated, "Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change." This might sound incredibly obvious, but as you let it sink in, and think about it for a while, that quote id quite profound. So profound, as a matter of fact, that it's basically all I did to walk away from both smoking and drinking forever. That's right, I changed the way I thought about both practices, and the act of engaging in both practices changed. It's true, and I did it without 12 step programs, pills, patches, meetings, or drugs.
I simply changed my thinking, or "what I thought" about both drinking and smoking, and very quickly the act of doing them changed. By very quickly, I'm talking about a six to twelve month process. I began thinking about how easy stopping was going to be, even while I was still engaging in both practices. Rather than telling myself how difficult stopping was going to be (which is what most people do), I told myself how easy it was going to be. Rather than telling myself how horrible the nicotine withdrawals were going to be, I did the opposite and told myself that I would have no problem.
As I said, I did this for six months to a year and during that time both practices became a complete and utter hassle. The way I felt after waking up hung over started to seem like it wasn't worth it. Being out of breath after very minor physical activity seemed terrible. I was beginning to tire of the entire process. Soon the day came when I looked in my pack of cigarettes and realized that there was only one left. Rather than going to get a new pack, I looked at that cigarette and said, "This is it, I'm done." I proceeded to smoke that cigarette and haven't smoked again.
Drinking followed closely behind, with a very similar circumstance occurring. The stopping of both of these "addictions" was as easy as changing my thinking. I realize that this may sound crazy and unrealistic, but it's what I did. These things don't have to be difficult, unless of course you believe they do, in which case they are and I surely can't help you out.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Are Addictions All In Your Head?

I realize a question like the one posed as the title of this article may ruffle a few feathers, but I have to explore it anyway. Why? Mainly because I battled addictions to both alcohol and cigarettes for more than fifteen years, and walked away from both of them a little over a year ago, and have realized some very important points in the process. Not the least of which is the fact that I realized that being addicted to these substances was all in my head.
Before I continue, let me qualify myself by letting you know just how much I drank and smoked. On a given day I would smoke at least a pack of cigarettes and drink at least a twelve pack of beer. Did I keep track of these numbers during that time of my life? No, but those have to be the averages. I know I was constantly buying either beer or cigarettes, and neither one was far away from me at all times. So you can make the determination for yourself of whether or not I was addicted to these two substances.
The point of the matter is that I walked away from both substances the moment I started believing it was possible. For many years I didn't believe that It was possible or necessary to quit, but as soon as I changed what I believed, the actions changed. I always knew deep, down in my soul, that I didn't like drinking or smoking. I mean really, who likes waking up with a hangover or getting winded from walking up a flight of stairs? While I was still drinking and smoking I began telling myself how easy how easy it was going to be to walk away, rather than telling myself how difficult it was going to be. You see, most people talk about how difficult these things are going to be, and what happens? They are difficult. So I did just the opposite.
After about six months, both practices had become more of a pain in the butt than I wanted to deal with. I didn’t want to smell like an ashtray anymore. I didn't want to wake up hung over. I wanted to start getting up like the birds do…in the morning. One day I had only one cigarette left in my pack and rather than planning to buy another pack, something inside of me said, "Your done". And I quit. I cheated a few times over the next few weeks, but knew I had it. I didn't want to be a smoker anymore.
The same thing happened with drinking. Now I don't do either one. Do you know what else happened as a result of this shift in thinking? I stopped hanging around people and places that thought these things were cool and okay. None of this was a conscious choice, but rather something I felt I had to do. And I've never been happier. All because of the fact that I realized it was all mental and simply changed my thoughts.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Am I An Alcoholic?

For much of my adult life, about 15 years, I asked myself this question a lot. Almost every morning, when I was taking a shower, this question would cross my mind. Then I would quickly dismiss it, because I was sure that drinking didn't really interfere with my life. After all, I never missed or was even late for work, and as far as the world was concerned, I handled my business and was fairly successful. Yet almost every morning the question would cross my mind, "Am I an alcoholic?"
I'm still not sure what an alcoholic actually is, and really don't care. All I was aware of was that I woke up almost everyday with some manifestation of a hangover. In fact this happened so often that it became completely normal to me. All I knew for sure was that I drank too much. Even though I went to work everyday and did a good job, but I also knew that I drank too much. How much is too much? I didn't keep a running tally of my consumption, but it had to average a 12-pack of beer a day. Some days more, some days less, but the average had to be 12 a day.
My life had gotten to the point that it more or less revolved around beer. Did I wake up in the morning and pop the top? No, but after work was done, I drank. On my days off, I drank. My free time was spent drinking beer and BSing with friends. I mean, why not? It's what everyone did right? Then I woke up one day and I was 15 years older. How did this happen, I thought to myself.
So I stopped drinking. I don't even know if I was an alcoholic, and don't really care. The truth was that I drank entirely too much and I felt like I needed to take my life in a different direction. It has ended up being the best decision that I've ever made. So, if you ever ask yourself the question, "Am I an alcoholic?", answer it sooner rather than later, so that you don't wake up one day and realize like I did that 15 years have passed.

Trevor Kugler is Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country....Montana.
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Am I A Drunk?

For years and years, I used to ask this question to myself. I wondered if I was a drunk. Every morning, I would get in the shower, and during the course of that shower I wondered to myself if I drank too much. After all, I drank everyday, and waking up in the morning, I normally felt as if I had been hit by a truck. So was I a drunk? I don't know, probably, but I did come to the conclusion that I most certainly drank too much.
I've heard addiction described as: never getting enough of that which you don't want in the first place. It's probably the best definition that I've ever heard of addiction, and it fit me to a tee. At the end of the day, I didn't really want to drink and I surely didn't want to wake up most days feeling as if I had been hit by a truck. In my case, I was most certainly caught in the vicious cycle of that definition. I was never getting enough of that which I didn't want in the first place. So I began to "cut down".
Through doing this I soon realized how stupid this was. Cutting down? My philosophy has always been that you either do something or you don't, but whatever you choose, just do it. Don't complain, don't bitch, just do it. So I did what I wanted to do for quite a long time…..I walked away from alcohol forever. Did I go to meetings? Or substitute some other form of "medication"? Nope. I just walked away and it was the single best decision that I've ever made. The world seems so much clearer now, imagine that! I'm able to get so much more accomplished in a twenty four hour period that it seems kind of sickening that I haven't accomplished more in my life. It literally feels as if I've been given a new life.
So how much did I actually drink and for how long? I drank for the better part of 15 years. The last 10 of those years drinking was an every day occurrence. And as to the question o how much I drank, I obviously didn't keep a running count, but I could buy an 18-pack of beer and drink it by myself without a problem. The average had to be a 12-pack a day.
So if you ask yourself the question posed in this article, as I did for so long, it's probably worth answering. And if you're asking yourself the question, the answer is probably yes, as it was with me. Don't be like me and assume that it's not possible, because you're on time for work everyday and a responsible citizen. All this denial does is waste time that you could actually be enjoying your life, which incidentally is the path I chose….To waste 15 years before coming to these conclusions.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com
Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Alcoholic? Do I Drink Too Much?

For many years I used to throw around the old joke referring to being an alcoholic that goes something like, "I drink a lot, but I'm not an alcoholic, because I don't like all of those meetings", or some such crap. Then I realized one day that I surely did drink a lot and wasn't happy at all. I suddenly began asking myself questions about how I was living and what I was doing. About the kinds of people I associated with and the kind of example I was setting for my daughter. These kinds of questions were foreign to a 34 year old man who was always under the impression that he couldn't necessarily "control" the circumstances of his life.
Was I actually an alcoholic? I don't know, all I know is that I most certainly drank too much. I drank beer everyday, I know that. I've heard addiction described as never getting enough of what you don't want, and I'm sure of the fact that it seemed as if I could never get enough beer. And guess what? I really didn't want to be drinking anyway, but hey everyone else drank and besides I had been doing it for the better part of 15 years. Not only had I been doing it for 15 years, I liked it! I liked drinking beer.
Once I began looking within myself and asking the questions mentioned earlier, sand suddenly didn't want to drink anymore. So I stopped. No meetings, no drugs, no nothing. I simply stopped drinking. Drinking simply didn't make sense any longer. I knew that I'd wasted more than enough time and energy drinking. And do you know how this has turned out?
I can't believe that I wasted so much time self medicating myself, when all of the answers I thought alcohol gave me were right here all along. Now I live my life as the good lord intended, without the aid of unnatural substances. My point to writing this article is simply to explain that it is possible to live without such things as alcohol in your life, and is actually much better. If a guy who used to drink an average of 12 beers a day for the better part of 15 years can walk away, without the aid of anything outside of himself and some faith, anyone can.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Addictions Are Our Greatest Teachers

There are many people in this world that would have you believe that addictions are a horrible thing that happen to us. As a person who smoked cigarettes and drank an average of a twelve pack of beer a day for the better part of 15 years and walked away form both practices, I think I have some expertise on the subject of addictions. I don't look at either of these addictions as negative. I look at them as my greatest teachers. Although I was caught in the haze of drinking and smoking for all of that time, I now realize why it happened. I've learned that both practices taught me more than they took from me, although on the surface that may seem hard to believe.
At first the idea of addictions being your greatest teachers sounds weird, but if you begin to think about it, you will realize that its true. Without being "addicted" to beer and cigarettes as I was, how could I really explain to my daughter why she shouldn't engage in such things? I couldn't. To me there is nothing worse than someone telling someone that they shouldn't do something simply because that thing "isn't good for them" or "isn't right". To me that was always the definition of hypocrisy. Telling someone not to do something that you yourself have no experience with. For example, I couldn't tell my daughter that she shouldn't rock climb, why? Because I have no experience with rock climbing, so what the hell do I know about it? I would imagine that it's dangerous, but in actuality I have no idea. The bottom line is that I can tell my daughter all about both drinking and smoking when the time comes. They both taught me a lot and I have the direct experience of knowing how they can effect a person.
This very fact is one of my major problems with politics. Politicians want to tell everyone what to do, while having no direct experience with many of these things themselves. It's just a terrible way to deal with things in my humble opinion. So my addictions were my greatest teachers and I will always be thankful for the fact that I came to this realization. Maybe, in the divine plan of the universe, that is the very reason that I started drinking and smoking in the first place. To come to that realization.
Remember, anything that you might find yourself addicted to isn't bigger than you are. As much as people might want you to believe that your addictions are bigger than you, they're not. Your addictions are just trying to teach you something. Something that you couldn't realize in any other way. You have within you, everything that you need to conquer any addiction.

Trevor Kugler Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience and currently raises his 3-year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country......Montana.
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They Seem To Fit Together Like Pieces In A Puzzle

I'm a person who walked away from both drinking and smoking, after engaging in both activities for more than 15 years, and I've always been perplexed at how so called "addictions" seem to fit together. Smoking cigarettes and drinking go together like Peas and carrots. It was always amazing to me how one seemed to go with the other. Smoking was never quite as satisfying as when alcohol was being consumed. And so to alcohol seemed to elicit the need to spark up a heater. The amount of cigarettes I could choke down while drinking a lot of alcohol was obnoxious! The two activities, or addictions as it were, just seemed to fit together so perfectly.
It's also interesting how the beginning of both practices coincide so perfectly. It wasn't too long after I had my first alcoholic beverage that the stinky lung darts wound up in my mouth. That must be why that I told people for all of those years that if I quit one of these activities, the other would soon follow. And I was right. I ended up finally kicking both of them to the curb at the same time.
I've simply always found it incredibly interesting how addiction such as these seem to fit together. The other one that I used to "enjoy", was feeding gambling machines. You know, the old video poker and keno machines? These little bastards can suck up your money like a freakin' vacuum cleaner! And when you play these video slot machines what do the attendants offer you? Drinks! Specifically alcoholic drinks. Yet another way that these "addictions" seem to fit together like a puzzle.
The other very interesting thing about these addictions fitting together like a puzzle for me, was the fact that when I walked away from drinking and smoking, I no longer wanted to even enter a casino. This wasn't at all a conscious act, it simply followed suit naturally. Which I suppose is a good thing. And now I do none of it and am as happy as I've ever been. The bottom line is that these addictions seem to fit together like a puzzle, but the good thing is that once you decide to remove them from your life, they fit together in exactly the same way. That is once you stop drinking, you don't like smoking as much and vice versa.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com
Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Addiction - Learning To Live Again

About a year ago I walked away from alcohol and cigarettes, after engaging in both practices for more than 15 years. Was I addicted to drinking and smoking? I would have to say that I was, seeing as how I did both things everyday. I would have to say that, on average, for the last ten of the fifteen total years I drank a twelve pack of beer and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. I was obviously addicted to both practices because now that I'm done with them I feel as if I were walking around in a haze for those 10 years. It's a strange feeling, to be sure, and in many ways I feel as if I must learn to live again.
So what happened to make me change my life? Did the courts make me? Did a wife or lover make me? Did a parent make me? Did I hit "rock bottom" in some way? Nope, none of these things happened. The thing that happened was my daughter coming into this world. She is my only child, and I simply couldn't see being a bad example for her. That's it. I couldn't see myself telling her not to smoke, while I choked down a cigarette. And I couldn't see telling her the dangers of drinking, when Dad went out and had drinks with his buddies. I simply didn't want to be a bad example, so I stopped doing both things. Besides, I really was tired of both practices. I mean neither one had gotten me anywhere that could be considered "good".
Now I'm clean and sober, loving every minute of it, and learning to live again. It's funny, because when I walked away from drinking and smoking I no longer wanted to hang out with people who are doing those things. I can tolerate it for an hour or so, but then I just want to be away from it. This was an interesting transition for me, because I didn't know what to do if I wasn't drinking or taking a cigarette break every hour or so. It's amazing how you can get caught up in something to such a degree, that it seems "normal". Having a drink after work or hanging out with people and drinking had become normal to me. Almost as if it were a hobby, albeit a very self destructive hobby.
The bottom line is that learning to live again can be a bit of a challenge, especially in the beginning, because the drinking and smoking can really become things that feel so normal. This is probably the reason individuals attend groups to help them with this transition, a path which I chose not to take. In all seriousness, learning to live again is a fun and challenging process and I wouldn't trade it for a twelve pack and a pack of lung darts if you offered me all the money in the world. I think George Bernard Shaw said it best when he said, "Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain, surround us on every hand: life itself is the miracle of miracles."

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com
Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.
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Addiction - Is It Real?

I have to pose this question from the things that I've learned through my own battles with addiction. For the better part of 15 years I drank and smoked. Not casually, but really drank and smoked. I smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day, and drank at least six beers a day. I more than likely drank more than that, but didn't keep a running tally. The point is that I engaged in both practices for a long enough period time and in enough quantities to be addicted. For that entire fifteen years nary a day went by when I didn't use both alcohol and cigarettes.
Then about a year ago, I walked away from both drinking and smoking without the help of pills, patches, meetings, hypnosis, or twelve step programs. Through doming this, I must pose the question, Addiction, is it real or just a figment of our collective imagination? It would seem top me that addiction might be a figment of our collective imagination. I didn't have any withdrawals or anything. We're there times that I wanted to have a beer or a smoke? Most certainly, but I didn't.
Before I actually stopped both practices, I thought about stopping quite a bit. I thought about quitting to the point that I effectively changed the way I thought about both practices. I began to see the negative effects of both drinking and smoking to a much greater degree than I ever had before. I began to realize how terrible I felt when hung over and also began to notice how bad my clothes smelled.
I heard it said once that if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Well I had effectively changed the way I looked at both drinking and smoking, and the act of actually drinking and smoking changed. Through my experience I came to the conclusion that, for me, the acts of drinking and smoking were all mental! For me they were simply habits that I had engaged in for the better part of 15 years rather than addictions. I realize that this may sound crazy, but it's nonetheless true. The biggest aspect of my addictions was the mental aspect, rather than some perceived physical aspect.
The bottom line for me is that if you think I'm crazy or lying, you're right. If you get something out of what I've written, you're also right. The things written in this article are simply what I learned in my own personal battles, and hopefully you can take something from what I learned to help you with your own battles.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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