This is turning into a marathon session of interview practise! I’ve been working on a longer audio, and I have finished recording Sober Podcast Episode #171 for my weekly sober podcast series.
This audio is a bit tighter that parts 1 and 2. There are fewer stories, and my answers are more ‘informative’ — i think therefore this audio is ‘dull’ but that’s just me 🙂 I guess if you’ve never heard of me before, you’d be curious about these questions … and perhaps less interested in being ‘entertained’ by my hilariousness.
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Questions answered:Â
Do I think I’d still be sober if I hadn’t started the blog?
Can I pick one quality that makes someone more likely to be successful at being sober…
And finally, what advice do I give the most often, and what do I say that makes the difference to the most people.
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Usually i only put up an extract of the podcast and then tell you to go buy the whole thing and/or to sign up for the monthly podcast subscription.
But today I’d like you to listen to this audio in its entirety.
i am posting the whole audio (15+ minutes long) and I’ll continue to make it available for you for 48 hrs so that you can hear the entire audio even if you’re not a podcast subscriber. So please listen now. right now. My only request is that you leave a comment. Feedback is crucial 🙂
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The tone of your voice and the pace of your delivery is perfect. I like it shorter – and tighter and don’t find that it is less entertaining. What has clicked for me was the elevator. I picture it cloudy with cigarette smoke and loud drunk smelly passengers. So, so, so happy to have gotten off. And this was the first time that it sunk in that it doesn’t open on every floor. Good stuff. Thank you for you.
Good podcast and I like the repetition. Thanks for working so hard at this for us and yourself. Using your advice, I’m reaching out trying something new. I am an old-timer with a relatively (several years) new binging problem and can’t find someone to talk me out of them. I’ve had almost 30 years of mostly being sober, with 13 years the longest stretch. My latest trigger is I’m a busy empty-nester, but when my hubby goes out of town on a trip, my crazy brain gets excited. I cancel all commitments during that time and drink. I sober up for his homecoming, but my detoxing is excruciating. Logic and reading blogs doesn’t work – I need someone to talk to who can get me out of this cycle!! I’m in San Diego. Atheist; not AA-material.
Hi Belle,
I don’t think this is dull at all. What I hear in your voice is conviction and clarity, and a knowing that only a drinker can understand and identify with. I know you think that it doesn’t reflect your personality ( as not entertaining) but I get more certainty from your answers.
I also can resonate with how much harder it is to keep restarting and getting off the elevator- I have found that the elevator doors don’t open quite as wide each time and the door closes more quickly, maybe even hitting your ass on the way out. ( if you get are lucky enough to get out).
I am 21 days sober now and will not be getting back on- I do realize the risk of losing momentum is far too great and i now have new appreciation for my escape.
Sometimes we don’t need to be entertained, we need to hear the reality of doing something totally illogical (drinking) and yes the need to do things a bit differently instead of continuing to rationalize or beating ourselves for continuing in the addiction cycle. As we know the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same things but expecting different results. And we just can’t be sane while continuing to drink- it’s not possible. Great info and advice on this podcast 🙂
Thank you
Xx
Joanne
I think it does have a different tone than your audios, but I think it is the correct tone for a radio interview. The answer length seems a little long to me still on the last question, but it also depends on what kind of interview you are having…there could be time for a more in depth answer. I think the answers themselves are more directed and to the point and you are doing great!
HI Belle,
I think this interview has just the right balance of information and charm. Answers were just the right length. I like the sober car analogy a lot, and also the idea of changing the default setting in your brain. You also have a very nice voice for radio!
Merci!
Great audio wherein you have ‘authority’ because you have become an ‘authority’ of this way of life, the sober road. I am unsure what you allude to in ‘elevator’ sentences, but I will backtrack audio messages and eventually figure this out. Again, great authority and I especially like your final ‘goodbye’ song! Sweet.
I wouldn’t change a thing. Not boring at all. You hit so many good points in your message.
I on the other hand love the message of not being broken. I think most people that has come to the realisation that they can not continue drinking the way they have been have tried and failed a number of times and do feel broken in some way. The one advice that really clicked for me was ‘Don’t try harder, try different.’ It really is the best advice and it resonated with something deep inside and is in part the reason I now have 103 days. Thank you for this, very informative – less personal. I do like your personality so I kind of missed that. Great work, thank you!
Very good Belle, however don’t like the continual references to “not being broken”. Not everyone who drinks actually feels broken – they just drink. How much is too much is the question that needs to be answered. It can be very little in fact, but still too much so the subjective experience is what determines the too much. A bottle of wine would kill me, literally, so for me too much is less than half a bottle – some would say that medically that is healthy. I think not putting everyone in the same pot would reach a wider audience. However i have followed you for over two years and you have changed my life. Thank you for that
i really liked the idea of a “default setting” from question two
like the long answer for question one
Really great listen. So interesting. Not listening to your brain – about drinking – when that’s what we rely on to survive is such an important point. Reminds me I don’t want a Day 1 anytime soon.
I think the key phrases and analogies work – the messages are simple yet powerful- I think you are ready for prime time!
I think it was very honest and blunt. Entertaining is nice but sometimes a good blunt sack upside the head is good too. Maybe a bit more picking on Wolfie, he’s an asshat;)
Belle, I think the tone on this one is just right. You’re engaging and informative and you sound like you know what you’re talking about — just right for a radio interview! I loved it! And listening to it was a helpful tool to support my sobriety 1000+ days along. Getting here was SO HARD in the beginning, but gaining sober momentum helped enormously, and it’s a million times better over here than it was back there in the land of drunken regret. Bravo!
This was great. Very informative, which is maybe what a newly sober person needs. I enjoyed listening.
Loved it !! Very powerful especially around not waiting to hit bottom. Trying different makes so much sense. ???BG
Nailed it! Both informative and entertaining. You used lots of good examples and repeated key points.
You nailed it this ttime Belle. Your response to the last question was to the point and not “sugar coated”. It made you actually visualize what your future could be if you don’t step off the elevator now. Your phrase “you are not broken” is inspiring.
Thank you for this podcast!
I agree with Freedom’s comment, the last five minutes sunk in deep for me also. When I heard you say, “You are not broken”, it went right to my heart. For so long, I have believed I was broken and weak. I now hear that I just needed new tools and to do things differently. So glad I found your blog and rather than living a mediocre life, I am entertaining the idea of living a great life. Thank you for being one of us and mirroring a new way of being. Much love, Imagine (Day 81)
This was fabulous – some of the very best stuff I’ve ever heard from you. Forget entertaining – the information is what’s desperately needed. If we want entertainment we can watch TV. Your responses were very powerful and will stick with me – this will make a difference to a lot of us.
Perfect reminder for me at this very moment. My brain has been trying to divert me from ‘different’ – this brought home to me that I need to be vigilant in making sure my supports are firstly there, secondly that I take action and not just think about them being there if and when I need them! Wolfie has been lurking, listening to this just made me blow his sorry ass back into the elevator and down to the floor from hell. Awesome stuff here Belle, thanks as always.
NoMoreDonuts
Oh woops and feedback on the interview is that I don’t think it’s boring at all, a mix of stories, funnies, analogies and lengthy details is very engaging.
I haven’t listened to any others so I have no basis of comparison but I liked this. I like your voice and your pacing. I like how everything tied together and the repetition of the message to ‘do something different’ if what you have tried before hasn’t worked is very effective.
HI Belle,
I disagree that it is a bit dry or long. I enjoyed the more in depth answers to your questions. I ask myself the question if I was earlier on in my not drinking would I have felt the same and I think yes – I like information and reasons for what I am doing. So I think that this broadens your podcasts to have shorter and more lengthier in depth.
Good job. I think your analogies (the car broken down) are very effective. Continue to use them in your answers.