Thanks for the lovers, fuck you haters
2020 has been a bastard year for so many people I know – friends have lost parents to Covid 19, people have lost jobs and the economy has ground to a halt with the virus, with Brexit about to throw more shit at the fan in 2021.
Personally, I’ve had an excellent 2020 (and 2017 – 2019). Not showing off, not arrogance, not the Big I Am.
Trust me.
I’ve been broken mentally in recent years and know rock bottom.
Drinking every single day to oblivion, being threatened with divorce and losing the home and family, having no money, sipping rum, wine, beer with a cocktail of beta blockers, sleeping tablets and Prozac.
I’ve worked fucking hard with this business.
My head was a shed up to four years ago and I just lived for the next addictive hit of alcohol.
I was dragged (drunk) to the doctors and watched in shame as my wife cried about the pissed up man I’d become. I went to AA that night.
Alcohol hasn’t touched my lips for 4 years now.
18th December 2016 was my last drink.
To be honest, though I miss drinking, stopping saved me, my marriage and resurrected my career.
I had to laugh then this week when I posted a self-congratulatory status on LinkedIn that it went viral.
It’s had nearly 4000 likes, 300 comments and engagement of over 300,000 and still rising.
It triggered a lot of connection requests – some from people wanting money, many wanting work, others wanting advice or to simply say they’ve been through similar.
The response was, to be honest, somewhat overwhelming.
It made me both emotional and proud.
Out of those many thousands of happy people though, there were a handful of bellends (exclusively men) calling me a big head, a braggart, a show off. They resented my earning and the fact that I’m now buying a property as an investment to let, locally.
Many years ago, the negativity from 5 people, 5 mood hoovers, would have had me obsessively thinking about it.
Now, on the cusp of a 4th year milestone of sobriety, I say “fuck you” and to those many thousands of people who’ve applauded and supported my journey – “thank you”.
Get Pro Copy turned 5 this year and it’s been built from a £7 domain purchase to a business with tremendous revenue. There’s three people in the company now – me, my wife and son. I don’t want others to manage. I’m alright Jack.
2021 will be another good year, I hope, and with a vaccine and hopefully Boris Johnson ousted, it should be for many of my friends.
Have a great Christmas.
I will have a great one, and I won’t be leaving sherry for Santa.
He can have a mince pie and a glass of San Pellegrino and hopefully he’ll be as happy as I am with that.
