In 1995, a group of friends and family came to Dave in what's commonly called an intervention. In other words, they confronted him about his drinking. Dave had started drinking in college, as many people do. But he didn't leave it behind when he moved into the business world. When the people who loved him called him on the carpet, he was secretly pleased because he knew he needed to change. He went into treatment for alcoholism, and he's been sober ever since.

"The key to making it through treatment and succeeding is accepting that you have a problem— that you drink too much— accepting where you are, and moving on from there," Dave asserts. "The people who go through treatment and don't stay sober fail because they believe they're right. They won't take responsibility for themselves. The key to change is surrender." Dave knew he needed to change, and in the years since he turned his life around, he has seen lots of change in himself. Now continual learning and growth are the hallmarks of his life.

(Step 12: Learn from a bad experience and make it a good experience.) "I realized that I couldn't hang around with my drinking friends and change," he says. "If I went back to the bar where I used to drink, I know the same people would still be there sitting in the same places. They wouldn't have changed a bit. But I've changed a lot in four years."


As I write this, Dave owns twenty-four restaurants in five states. And the business is still growing. But to succeed, he has had to overcome a lot of obstacles— and a lot of doubters.
Maxwell, John C. (2007-04-01). Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success