When I was 18, I was lifeguarding at a waterpark in Omaha after having graduated from high school. That's when first started using drugs and alcohol.

In the fall of 1994, I started at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and pledged a fraternity. But my Phi Kappa Alpha days didnt last long. I was caught selling drugs to older members. Then I was caught drinking by the police and got six months probation. Then I failed a pee test and received another year of probation.

This is how it was for the next 20 yearsa drug-addled blur of parties, having a daughter, drug trafficking, an arrest, having another daughter, an overdose, a Vegas marriage, an annulment 28 days later, having a son, another marriage, another divorce, lots of oxy, and two rehab stints.

The Breaking Point

Back to 2015, when I was withdrawing in bed, unable to eat or even drink water. My son, who was 8-years-old at the time, started to recognize that something was seriously wrong with me because I was in bed all day long and not able to play with him or even make him breakfast.

I had become completely hooked on pain meds after a two-decade struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. I was near death. I had alienated myself from almost everyone in my life. I had ruined my finances and had pretty much lost all hope of ever getting sober.

Then my mom arrived.

The Catalyst for Change

My mom came to my house on March 6, 2015, and told me to get up, because I was going to rehab. This was my third attempt, but my first attempt at a holistic, non-12 step, rehab approach. I was nervous, but hopeful.

While in rehab, I read the book Zen And The Art Of Happiness by Chris Prentiss, and a particular quote from it became a life-changing statement for me: "Everything that happens to me is the best possible thing that can happen to me."

I decided to set the quote to go off each morning as a calendar event, a daily reminder to reflect on my reactions to the days events.

During that time, I also tried new meditative experiences, like a sound bathing, where you end up in deep meditative state by being enveloped in ambient sound.

In my old life, I used to ignorantly judge this type of thing, but when I allowed myself to try new things that had the potential to help heal me is when my spiritual growth began to happen.

I realized that in addition to changing my mental health, I needed to attack my physical health as well. I joined a personal training gym. After all the isolation I had created, the gym helped me reverse that.

Its said that the opposite of addiction is connection. That is why the one-on-one personal connections Ive made by working out with a personal trainer has been really important for my journey.

The Rewards

Two years into my sobriety, with the support of my rehab counselor, I have become a sober coach and companion . That means, when needed, I'll live in a clients home 24/7 to help them create a maintainable lifestyle. I'll also assist with interventions or rehab placement.

I'm still hitting the gym, now seven days a week. I've gone from 250 pounds to 210 pounds, and have less than 5 percent body fat.

Five years later, that Prentiss quote still pops up every morning on my phone . Its an incredibly powerful way to change my reaction to the events that happen throughout my day. It's sort of like looking at the events throughout my day as though they are happening for me and not to me.