Episode 285: High Achievers Don't Drink and If They Do, This Is What It's Costing Them with James Swanwick

Jul 17

Alcohol is draining more than your energy: it’s also draining your potential and your revenue.

Today’s guest James Swanwick breaks it down like this: If you’re making $1 million a year… but only operating at 60%, how much are you actually leaving on the table?

James is an alcohol-free trailblazer, entrepreneur, and author of the new book, CLEAR. He’s living proof that ditching alcohol is the ultimate power move for high achievers, espousing the philosophy that successful people do not drink.

In our conversation, he talks about the decision to go alcohol-free 15 years ago, which at the time, had serious stigma attached to it. We also discuss the tidal wave of change happening, from sober raves to the fact that Gen Z is drinking less than ANY previous generation.

If you’re curious what really separates breakthrough performers from the rest, this episode is a must-listen. Will you be one of the leaders who chooses the alcohol-free edge?

IN THIS EPISODE:

How James went from feeling “blah” and “mediocre” as a Hollywood journalist drinking nightly to an entrepreneur and ESPN anchor via a 30-day break from alcohol
Eye-opening stories of high achievers James has worked with who went alcohol-free: one man saved a child’s life, another sailed the ocean for his late wife
The REAL cost of drinking for entrepreneurs: how “just one drink a night” can literally be draining you of hundreds of thousands of dollars in opportunities, focus, and legacy
The “tidal wave” alcohol-free revolution we’re heading toward, led by Gen Z, from sunrise sober raves to new cancer warning labels
Powerful people who don’t drink, from JLo to Warren Buffet, and reframing ditching alcohol as the gateway to fulfillment, peak performance, and genuine joy

REFLECTION QUESTION

Reflect on the deeper impacts alcohol may have had on your energy, relationships, sense of purpose, and personal growth. Consider moments when drinking held you back or dulled your spirit, even in subtle ways.

“I looked in the mirror and I just felt blah. And by blah, I mean average, mediocre. I was about 30 pounds overweight, my skin was weathered. I was envious of others. I was irritable, distracted. And I identified that alcohol was, if not the main culprit, one of the biggest culprits. And I just committed, in that moment, to trying to go 30 days without alcohol just to sleep better, feel better, get some clarity back. I had no idea that I would go 15 years alcohol free. Now I haven't drunk a single drop since that morning in March of 2010.”

“About three months into it, I had an opportunity to audition to become a sports center anchor on ESPN. And to my utter bewilderment, I got the job. And this is arguably the most iconic sports TV news show in America. And I remember just thinking, wow, there's no way I would have got this job if I was drinking and tired and irritable. But because I was alcoholfree, I had clarity and strategy and focus, and I went for the job, and I got it, and I was on television two weeks later and hosting this iconic sports TV news show, realizing a childhood dream of mine to be on television one day. So that was when I kind of really started to go, this is a superpower. This is like a secret weapon.”

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Read James Swanwick’s new book, CLEAR: The Only Neuroscience-Based Method for High Achievers to Quit Drinking Without Willpower, Rehab or AA.

Visit James’s website, follow him on Instagram, and read the books he recommended, including Outwitting the Devil and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Awarded the most empowering book in the sober curious genre, be sure to get your copy of Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You today and leave your review.

Follow @euphoric.af on Instagram. And as always, rate, review, and subscribe so we can continue spreading our message far and wide.