Find new friends. Move. Change schools. Do whatever you need to or nothing will change. You’re a small tribe that has defined yourselves through a drinking life

Find new friends. Move. Change schools. Do whatever you need to or nothing will change. You’re a small tribe that has defined yourselves through a drinking lifestyle. You’re reinforcing each other’s behavior and that will continue indefinitely unless you break away from the tribe. Trust me I’ve been there in Cape Town (was in a grunge band) and London (hard working hard partying tech crowd). I had ambitions to sit in a room and code and couldn’t do that because I was surrounded by party animals all the time and could not get away from them. I eventually met a girl who was intensely cerebral, smart and hard working, and she inspired and enables me to focus on being a geek. We left London together, moved to the States and built several startups together. We run a 40 person cybersecurity company these days that’s quite well known. I’m ceo and she’s COO and CFO and still smarter and harder working than me. We’re also married and still very much in love. I’m still in touch with many of my old buddies and some of them also made something of their lives. One who I chatted to this morning runs a big software business and is also a very famous musician. Others went off the rails, ended up in rehab and in some cases found religion which seems to have helped. What I’ve discovered is that life is very short, if you are smart and capable and apply yourself it can provide amazing experiences far beyond what alcohol or drugs can provide, and if you blink you’ll miss out on those opportunities. There are many other people out there living lives with their eyes wide open who you’ll have incredible experiences with if you break your current cycle. Find new friends.