🌱 The Biggest Mistake I Made in Business

How Recovery Helped Me Redefine Success and Find Freedom

From: Just West of Otay Lakes

Hey – It’s Luis.

Welcome to Day 10 of the 30-Day Writing Challenge!

Like most beginners, I made plenty of mistakes when I first started building my business.

But this was the biggest one by far:

I didn’t get help for my substance abuse problem soon enough.

Here’s what happened:

“Code and media are permissionless leverage. They’re the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep.” –Naval Ravikant, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness

In 2003, we launched a digital platform.

By 2007, our startup had become a recognized brand with over 100,000 registered business users, generating six figures.

“We were living the dream.” Working hard and playing hard became my mantra.

By all outward appearances, we were winning. But inside, I was falling apart.

A growing fear of being a fraud fed my self-doubt and eroded my confidence. My identity became entangled with the brand—its successes and failures felt personal.

And I was silently battling undiagnosed imposter syndrome, numbing it all with alcohol.

My passion for business, copywriting, and marketing gave way to an obsession: controlling and enjoying my drinking.

Eventually, my alcoholic life became my “normal.”

At first, I only drank on weekends. Then, it became daily. Every morning, I woke up from a blackout, swearing I’d stop. By evening, I’d pick up the bottle again.

I drank to celebrate, to cope, to work, to escape. I drank because I was lonely—surrounded by people who loved me.

The only days I didn’t drink were the days I was too sick to drink.

“We believe that alcoholism is a sickness, and it affects all of the people in our lives. When someone has cancer, people feel sorry for them, but no one is angry or hurt about the fact that they have cancer. This is not how it is with alcoholism. People do get angry at us. This is because alcoholism causes pain and destruction for everyone who knows and loves us. It causes misunderstandings, bitterness, and money problems. It makes our friends and employers feel frustrated and disappointed in us. It hurts our children, our partners, and our parents. Everyone we know is affected.” –Plain Language Big Book

I tried everything—self-help books, yoga, cycling, running, success gurus—but I was looking for answers in all the wrong places.

By the end, I wasn’t at media parties, conferences or VIP events anymore. My nights started at 9 PM, alone, chasing the next drink. By 11 PM, I was out of my mind, trying to figure out how to score more.

I hit rock bottom on November 22, 2014—the day after my sister-in-law’s wedding. Three days later, I walked into my first recovery meeting, weighed down by guilt, shame, and remorse.

But here’s the thing about mistakes: they teach us more than our victories ever could.

Recovery didn’t just save my life—it transformed it.

I learned that even our darkest failures can become necessary steps along the path to new freedom, happiness, and success.

There is always a lesson waiting to be uncovered. You just have to be willing to look for it.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If you’re struggling with alcohol, you’re not alone. I found hope and freedom at AA.