Brandon Novak
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I had the opportunity to meet with Brandon at one of his homes in Wilmington and ever since then he has been open with me (everyone) about his work and he agreed to do a quick sit down for this interview.
Find out more about his work at https://brandonnovak.com/
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Transcript by otter.ai
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Intro Guy 0:00
Your journey has been an interesting one up to hear you\'ve questioned so much more than those around you. You\'ve even questioned yourself as to how you could have grown into these thoughts. Am I crazy? When did I begin to think differently? Why do people in general appear so limited in their thought process? Rest assured, you are not alone, the world is slowly waking up to what you already know inside yet can\'t quite verbalize. Welcome to the spiritual dough podcast, the show that answers the question you never even knew to ask, but knew the answers to questions about you this world, the people in it? Most importantly, how do I proceed? Now moving forward? We don\'t claim to have all the answers, but we sure do love living in the question. Time for another hit of spiritual Joe with your host, Brandon Handley. Let\'s get right into today\'s episode.
Brandon Handley 0:42
Right now, when you come to mind, I did a series that was called like, sinners in the saints. Right? And I can\'t think of a better person, really that, you know, is that a sinner? Like missing the mark on life? Kind of right, you know, and that now you\'ve turned it around and into something else. But let\'s share your journey. And for the people that don\'t do my kids don\'t even know what MTV is. First of all, right? Like, how mind boggling is that?
Brandon Novak 1:09
Yeah, yeah, it\'s it\'s literally two different worlds, you know, their kids will, will grow up not even knowing or couldn\'t even imagine what it\'s like to not have a cell phone, right? Like we went for that. That juxtaposition from no cell phones, like nothing, you know, wireless internet, to literally anything in the blink of an eye at the touch of our fingertips. So it\'s this, there\'s quite a transition. That\'s crazy. But I think we\'re blessed to have experienced both of those worlds.
Brandon Handley 1:47
Well, yeah, I love it. I love where we are, right, having had not had all this technology and stuff where we can just reach out to what we\'re doing right now to having it like, because we I would say we appreciate it that much more. Right?
Brandon Novak 2:01
Absolutely. And you know, we have the ability to shut things off and slow things down, because we remember what it was like to not have these resources so readily available that the 1314 1618 year old kid today couldn\'t even fathom not living without. That\'s right. That\'s right. Well,
Brandon Handley 2:24
let\'s uh, let\'s jump into it. Man, let\'s jump into like, I just kind of the addiction part, right, like jumping straight into there. Like, when did you kind of first get involved with any drugs? And when did you realize that you had a problem? Or when did it start taking over your life?
Brandon Novak 2:48
I believe I was my story is my story. And we all have our own stories and our own journeys. And although the specifics may vary of each person\'s story, I think the endings remain the same. And my story is that my mother is not an addict or an alcoholic, my brother or sister who from our by a different man are not an addict or an alcoholic. But my father was an addict. His father was an addict. So I believed that I was genetically predisposed. I didn\'t really have much of a say so in the matter. And my story I don\'t think is much different than any others to be honest with you. I was groomed I was raised in the world of a fast life. My father never held a job a day in his life, he taught me one thing if and when I go to prison, how to conduct myself or the Hells Angels, he was a rather unsavory kind of fellow, he is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with a disease of addiction and and ran with it untreated for many years until, you know, I always talk to people when I say this, the issue will be addressed like the issue 100% will be addressed and either you choose to address the issue, you go to treatment, get your life back things that you have no idea that exists in life, or the issue addresses you and I get a phone call from your people saying thanks for trying to help him. But he didn\'t make it. And my father\'s issue was addressed, but not on his terms. And he\'s dead and he\'s no longer with us. But my mother was very successful. She was a nuclear physicist on the board of Mercy Hospital. My brother\'s an attorney in the White House practices, benefits. You know, so that\'s where I believe my, you know, I was groomed I was raised for that world. My father and his biker buddies would come to the house and grow a lot of herbs, smoke, a lot of drugs, sell a lot of drugs, fast play fast women. You know, I kind of absorb that coming up
Brandon Handley 4:59
with Yeah, well, I mean, you\'re a product of your environment. Right? All right. It\'s really hard to escape that. Being a father and just seeing how much of an impact what I do rubs off on my children. It\'s like it\'s mind blowing just the small things that you don\'t think that their pickup they\'re picking up every detail all of it. And so, yeah, being being caught up in that and seeing that as you\'re growing up. That\'s that\'s pretty, pretty insane. Do you think? Like, you know, parlaying some of that nuclear physicist some of that success? Like was that like, your skateboarding success? Do you think? Like,
Brandon Novak 5:38
Well, I think, you know, thank God for skateboarding, skateboarding raised me and skateboarding made me who I am today, all year in all areas of my life, including recovery? I have because I know then that I know now is that skateboarding weeds out the quitters? Or is that really the kind of guys that will, will go dry, try a trick. And if they don\'t make it, just say, I didn\'t really want it anyways. Right? Like, I will try a trick for for hours for days for weeks for months, occasionally years if need be until that one, you know, stroke of, of ingenious alignment, and everything makes sense. And I make the trek and that instant gratification. I\'m on to the next. For sure. For sure. And that\'s where my recovery came from. You know, I refuse to accept failure, no is not an option. And so I was just I believe we all have these God given talents. You the best ping pong player in the world, but God might not see fit to put a paddle in your hand. I was blessed with the ability to have a skateboard, put my hand at the age of seven. And then that boards has my hand. I knew I was going to be a professional skateboarder. Alright, that\'s awesome.
Brandon Handley 6:53
Yeah. That\'s awesome. I\'m still trying to figure out how to get a kickflip to land Brandon. After all these years actually, my son wanted to pick up skateboard. And so we went out and got a board and we went out to the local park. So love that story. You\'re right, like your you\'ll never quit that. You know, trying to get that trick and then just keep going for it. And you never quit trying to get sober. Right? Like 13 tries.
Brandon Novak 7:21
Yeah, right away many more tries, but 13 attempts at checking myself until facility. But I remember, like, during the era of filming, Viva la bam, right? Like we\'d be filming all day. And after we were wrapped the cast and the crew would go to the bar in town and pour I\'d go meet them at the pub, I would go to an AAA meeting. And I would end up meeting them at the bar to get fucking annihilated by the band was like, What is wrong with you, you go to these meetings and then you come get loaded with us. Like it makes no sense. But to me, it made a lot of sense because I knew that one day it was going to end one of two ways. Either I was gonna get sober, or I was gonna die in the process of trying. But I was never the kind of guy that that accepted the the outcome to be a forever thing of my addiction that I like, fuck that.
Brandon Handley 8:17
What do you mean by that? Like,
Brandon Novak 8:19
like, I never was the guy that was like, I\'m gonna die with a needle in my arm I inactive addiction. Just leave me be this. All that I want.
Brandon Handley 8:28
Yeah, yeah. You always see yourself getting beyond it or getting, that wasn\'t going to be your story.
Brandon Novak 8:36
I didn\'t know what my story was going to be. I will my story was going to end one of two ways. Either I got sober or I died in the process of trying. Right?
Brandon Handley 8:46
And, you know, your journey wasn\'t like you know, just kind of a backyard addiction. Like I mean, you are you breaking the houses stealing stuff getting caught. I was listening to a podcast earlier about like, people literally putting hits out on you. Right. It\'s been pretty crazy. What was like, share a story or two about the, you know, your addicted life. Something that gives a glimpse into the seediness of it.
Brandon Novak 9:17
Yeah, well, my mother, you know, in the beginning of my alcoholism, she used to pray to god please God, don\'t let tonight be that night that I received that call that my son has sir came to his addiction and he\'s no longer with us. She used to pray not to get that call to the end of my addiction praying to God, please let tonight be the night that I find Steve that call just so I can know he\'s safe once and for all. You know that\'s kind of depravity in the depth that my addiction took me to my mother who is my number one supporter and would do anything for me the job was to die went from praying to please never receive a call that I had died to at the end. Praying to God pleased Let me get this call already, you know that that I think sums it up in itself man, like, that\'s the nature of my disease. The progression is fast. It\'s rapid. And it\'s very drastic.
Brandon Handley 10:15
Would you say like, was that the end her misery or yours?
Brandon Novak 10:19
Fuck both. Yeah, as in, you know, after, you know, 22 years of active addiction 13 inpatient treatment centers, lost count of our patients in detox, as my mother had already bought me a plot. People were taking life insurance policies out on me, okay, you have to be in a life support for seven days, at the same hospital on mother\'s a nuclear physicist at, she sold three homes to pay for two different treatment centers. I was kind of that guy that was deemed unhelpful and uncaring incapable of ever getting sober. Right. Right. So I\'m sure both my misery and hers.
Brandon Handley 10:54
Oh, no doubt, no doubt, you know, I was able to join you with your sober house and how to say hello to her for a quick moment. And she just mentioned that right now. She\'s just so happy that you\'re able to be around for the holidays, right? That you\'re actually a welcome guest for the holidays. And I thought that that was a pretty cool thing to hear.
Brandon Novak 11:19
Give me one second my my iPad was about to charge and Ubers. Well, yeah, that\'s the end as the funny thing about sobriety is that like, and I tell all the guys that live in Novak\'s house, and anyone else does early in sobriety for that matter. Be careful what you ask for, cuz sometimes you just might get it. For sure. And now I\'m a sober guy, and I\'m Coming up on eight years, and that I have a lot of responsibilities. And a lot of people depend and rely on me and, and, and some of those people are my family members. So my mother, God bless her soul is my favorite person in this world. She probably calls me 10 times a day. Here, and, you know, that\'s, it\'s a blessing. And sometimes I can perceive it to be a curse. Or sir, but that\'s, that\'s all I ever wanted, in the beginning was like to just feel humanized and normalized again. Like a member of society, not an outcast, not a not, you know, not something or someone to be discarded because I had a, I had a deeper seated issue. Because before for a lot of years, when people saw me they would like cross the street, and that they didn\'t see me or walk the other way, rightfully so. Or if, because if you told me you love me, then I had you. If you told me, you love me, then I equated that to $10. So people had to love me from a distance. So now it\'s, it\'s it\'s really a beautiful thing to be part of my family\'s life. You know, I wasn\'t for a long time. And nothing to do with them. It was all me. Right? And I had even when I was around physically, mentally, I had been checked out for so many years. So, you know, it\'s it\'s nice, man. It\'s, I could go on for hours. But
Brandon Handley 13:35
yeah, no doubt. Right. Well, let\'s, let\'s hop into the one part that I think is a little key to the Novak house and you doing what you\'re doing right now, let\'s just tell a quick story of the 13th check in, right, I guess we\'ll call it when you when you, you know, you go in pocket tripped out, you tell the story.
Brandon Novak 13:57
Oh, well, you know, I may 25 2015, I found myself in a position where for the first time in my life, the pain had become so unbearable that I was willing to do anything in order to finally get myself out of the position I had created for myself, right. So all of a sudden I started becoming accountable for my actions, and realizing that my very best thing in place me here, and that I am the common denominator in my problems. And if I get the fuck out of my way, everything was i i And I can no longer deny the severity of my disease, the depravity that it takes me to and every attempt at every one of those 13 facilities prior to or 12 prior to they didn\'t tell me anything different than the other one missed out on, you know, like 13 was no different than 1211 10 98765432. The only difference was The pain had become so great that I was willing to finally become open minded just long enough to ask for help, and and more importantly, be able to follow through with the suggestions that people like yourself and others gave me and you know. So my thoughts are always ingrained in me and I\'m very, I\'m not the one people call for sympathy or a lighter, softer way. Because my sponsor always told me you never get between an alcoholic and their bottom. And I don\'t. And I will not, I believe there has to be repercussions from our actions. By the repercussions from my actions became great enough that again, I was willing to do anything that was suggested I went to that facility number 13. And, and literally, as a sponge absorbed anything that anyone told me to do, you know, I was tired, I was just hired, I was tired, I was bored. All these seeds had been planted unbeknownst to me it each one of those attempts at each facility and, and facility number 13. It\'s like the skies parted and I walked across the sea and everything just made sense from all previous attempts. You know, not to say things won\'t change. But to this point today, coming up on a year sober, my sobriety has been fairly simple. Because I\'ve stuck to the basics, they told me the basics, you never have to go back to the basics. Yes, I\'ve had heart aches, I\'ve had deaths, I\'ve had troubled times. But knowing where I came from, and the pain that I felt as a direct result of active addiction, like there\'s, to me, the allure and the illusion of a drink or a drug being a great time has wore off so fucking long ago. And I adhere to, to the suggestions that my mentors and my sponsors and, and the 12 steps and Alcoholics Anonymous have given to me, you know, and I can honestly say today right now, it is it is physically impossible for me to have a drink. Now,
Brandon Handley 17:22
somebody put a drink in front of you just couldn\'t do it.
Brandon Novak 17:24
Oh, it\'s impossible for me to even put up a ball of heroin in my hand right now. And my very first thought would be like, I need to flush this before my cats get to it. Because I\'ve had that psychic change. Yeah, let\'s talk about that. Right? Like the definition of a spiritual experience is simply a psychic change. Meaning I\'ve read no back today no longer think how I thought walking into treatment center number 13. Eight years almost. You\'re able to see things differently. Now. I\'m a completely different man. I\'m rewired. Yeah, and that but that\'s because you know I\'m not people might listen to this and be like oh that egotistical Fuck no, I have a very very very healthy respect for my disease is I\'m well armed with the facts I finally understand the opponent that I\'m up against. And and most importantly, I suffer with a disease called alcoholism. Not alcohol wasn\'t meeting so well yesterday sobriety? Sure.
Brandon Handley 18:27
I love that. I love that. Um, so you know, you go in to 13th Place your hot mess. You finally get flipped around. I think what\'s kind of funny about your story too. You didn\'t share it here but like I\'ve listened to listen to it plenty of times so like where you go in and they tell you you gotta get a job even though you\'ve got like money coming in right in one way or another. You\'ve got to go you\'re bussing tables waiting tables here you are Brandon Novak guys got, you know, celebrity. He\'s got endorsements and all that all this good stick on for him. And you\'re in there bussing tables and waiting, waiting on tables to make your money. pay your own way out of your pocket. And this was the path that kind of opened up for you. And since you found a way that worked for you, you decided to find a way to share almost that exact same path with others sued Novak house right? Absolutely.
Brandon Novak 19:23
You know, it\'s funny. Yeah, totally. But the funny thing is, is I didn\'t understand any of the any of the journey that I was on, I never realized along that journey that I was discovering these paths that were on lead to a much broader fucking scope or a grand scheme, you know, or big picture. I simply was just beaten so bad that I got out of my way follow suggestions of people that actually knew what they were talking about. And I always say this thing works when I don\'t work it right as long as I stay out of it mentally sure your suggestions fit physically, you know, if you continue to bring the body, the mind will follow. Right? If I found myself in a position where the pain was so great that I was just willing to do anything. It\'s physically it defies logic that I can use that very same brain that thought me into that terrible place to then think me out of it. If I could have done that I wouldn\'t be in a fucking 12 Step Program wouldn\'t have ended up in AAA, that\'s not my lifelong dream or goal, believe it or not. But so I\'m a firm believer now because again, I was beaten so bad, I knew that my way no longer worked. I got out of my way, had some great mentors followed their suggestions. They said, Go, I said, Sure. They said, when I said what time, you know. And I just brought the body I brought the body, I brought the body and one day, the mind just followed
Brandon Handley 20:51
some of that, would you? Was there ever, like a light clicking on for you a moment that like, I don\'t know, kind of like when you\'re first riding a bike, or like, oh, look, I\'m doing it.
Brandon Novak 21:00
Yeah, like put, but everything I\'ve learned in my life is all in retrospect, my life is it forward and learn backwards. So the very first moment that that took place, when I was in my treatment center for my 90 days, and I had in 90 days, I had made it to my eight step, and not one step made any difference, or any more or less sense than the last one to two, two to three, three to four, four to five, five to six, six to 778. Nothing, I felt nothing, I had no clue what was going on. But I just again, follow suggestions, bringing the body mind will follow. Right. All of a sudden, I have my parole officer who promised to violate me if I lied to him, then as the truth and I lied again, because he just told me violate me while I\'m in treatment, I knew things are different. And I, he asked for some evidence about this lie that I had presented. And, and it was impossible to gather evidence about this lie. And I call my sponsor, he said, Well, you\'ve you\'ve worked, you\'ve experienced the third step, right? And I said, yeah, it was the first step for people that don\'t know, came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us turn our will and our life over to the care of God as we understand it. And, and I said, Yeah, and he goes, Well, here you go, God is everything or is nothing. And he said, Look at it this way. Let\'s say he does violate you. That means that you\'re simply meant to take the message inside the walls to someone who can\'t get out to hear from you directly. For some reason, I just believed him and I got on the phone I called and I let it was, it was on a Friday at like 3:30pm and I left a message on his voicemail admitting that I had lied. And that that was not true. What I told him I had to wait until Tuesday for him to call me back. I meant like 86 days sober, right by and usually would be racing. Sure, I\'m going to get violated. I\'m going back to prison. After I left that message, I went back down to my my room, and I fell asleep and I slept like a baby. It was a craziest thing ever. And it was right there that I accepted my fate. And, and in telling the truth there. It was like, one through eight hit me like a ton of bricks, like a blink of an eye. It all made sense. It was crazy. And I didn\'t get violated. School led me you know, like, he promised me that he violate me. And he was a guy that was very serious about that.
Brandon Handley 23:34
I\'ve yet to meet a parole officer that\'s not serious about their job.
Brandon Novak 23:38
Well, my other ones, he was my probation officer Michelle ward. God bless her soul, Chester County. She was the one that like, saved my life. nearly enough when she should have violated me by every sense of the word.
Unknown Speaker 23:52
Yeah.
Brandon Novak 23:54
What happened there? I went in there and she was supposed to violate me. She was. She said, I don\'t know why I\'m not going to violate you. But I\'m going to give you one more chance and she sent me back to the rehab that actually works. She called and got them on the phone.
Brandon Handley 24:10
Okay. Okay. That\'s crazy. So, you\'re taking you\'re taking this right. And, again, I\'m not a stepper Brandon. And this is this. This program isn\'t about, you know, spiritual dopes kind of its own thing, but it follows. Oddly enough, the 12 step pattern, right, where you get to the 12 step and the 12 step is what for the people that don\'t know Brandon.
Brandon Novak 24:39
Oh, fuck, you make me
Brandon Handley 24:42
look there\'s another there\'s gonna be a test.
Brandon Novak 24:45
He carries a message to addict or alcoholic who still suffers.
Brandon Handley 24:48
Right, but you carry the message forward, right? Yeah, yeah. So that\'s what you\'re doing right with this with the Novak house. Let\'s talk about, you know, so let\'s talk about the Nova Cows, what it is that you\'re doing, how long it\'s been an action and what\'s going on there?
Brandon Novak 25:04
Well, I so as I completed that 90 day treatment center, from there, I went to a sober living house, where I live for one year. And the reason why I went there because my sponsor at the time who had 11 years suggested that I go, because he did, and still stayed sober. Right. I wasn\'t trying to reinvent the wheel here, I knew that my way no longer works in my best thinking place me here, I was getting out of my way. Bringing the body just bringing the body mind has no idea but the body\'s showing up. And I found a suggestion. Oddly enough, I too, am Coming up on eight years. So like weird, not really. But while I was in that house, me and my best friend George, who is also still sober to this day, we had literally some of the best times of our life in this house. And I\'ve had some amazing times in my life, and I\'ve done really rad shit. I kidding you. I think my favorite Christmas ever was in that house. And we understood the importance and the effect that it had on us. And we always talked and we said that one day when we were in a position that we were financially capable, we were going to recreate that very same house. And also you people from the sober community kept telling me in order for me to keep what I have, I have to give it away. So five years into my journey and his Well, we decided we were going to replicate that Sober Living house. And we did we opened up our very first Novak\'s house in Wilmington, Delaware with 10 beds, and unfortunately, there was quite a need for those services. And I wish there wasn\'t in my houses didn\'t exist, but there are and they do and and we started with one house with 10 beds and today we have four houses with 40 beds. And I run around the nation like an insane maniac. Raising funds charitable donations to provide scholarships for any man seeking a sober living home. What I\'ve found out that my why one of my why\'s today is I refuse to let funds be a deterrent as to why someone can\'t find a safe, adequate home to continue their journey and upon completion of a treatment center.
Brandon Handley 27:38
I think that\'s awesome. Right? I think when you give your speech you\'re taking like at your event you took the this is the place where the misfits fit in right you\'re taking the people and
Brandon Novak 27:53
we take the bottom of the barrel right like our place is not the place that like you come because you want just a weekend getaway now there are beautiful homes, they\'re amazing, but they\'re the people that have burned the resources and and kind of the discard it, you know, as I once was for sure.
Brandon Handley 28:15
What was it? You know about that house? Can you can you pinpoint anything about that place that you guys wanted to replicate? Just the process?
Brandon Novak 28:25
It was the process did you know right that there\'s a million treatment centers out there there\'s a million sober houses out there. I\'m a firm believer the perfect treatment center or the perfect sober house that you guys sober it is the perfect treatment center is the one that you got sober in, right whichever one that is. I know that what we are intent on doing is creating an environment and to to make it a home not a house and we pride and attention into the homes that we create. Because we want the individuals that reside in them to take pride in their home and where they reside a little bit more than they might find a drink or a drug appealing kind of hoping that the ends justify the means
Brandon Handley 29:15
for sure. I was talking who\'s your carpenter um if you want give him a shout out we Yeah,
Brandon Novak 29:21
well we have where I was.
Brandon Handley 29:23
So here\'s the dread hair guy that I met there he did yeah
Brandon Novak 29:31
he\'s the painter
Brandon Handley 29:32
is so so so he said you know and i Your sober house is the only one I\'ve ever stopped and right. He said though that your houses are like no. So nice. Yeah, compared to some other places. Do you think that that gives these guys like kind of a feeling of hope as well being like, wow, I can have something like this for my life if I just keep my shit together.
Brandon Novak 29:56
That\'s our hopes. Right? Like there\'s a lot of different little layers to it. But that\'s one of them. And it absolutely is it you know that paired with accountability paired with structure? Paired with cleanliness, like it all plays a part. Sure. Kind of like a, you know, one strand isn\'t more or less important than the other.
Brandon Handley 30:18
That\'s right. That\'s right. The and one of the things I think we talked in brief at your event, but you\'d mentioned like that there is structure, but it\'s not overly structured. So that gives them enough freedom and space to, I think, be themselves and do what they\'ve got to do without feeling like they\'re on lockdown.
Brandon Novak 30:37
Yeah, because they\'re not and my house is, aren\'t that they\'re not one of which, where, you know, you lose your freedom. Quite the contrary, actually. But the good thing is we do a really good process with assessments. And by beings so blessed with that. We don\'t run into people coming there and getting high smoke so much as we run into people coming there and don\'t want to follow all the rules. So we really let people know. Like, if you\'re not serious about staying sober, this isn\'t the house for you. You can\'t get lost in it. There\'s cheaper houses you can go with with less rules, right? Like, we\'ll give you an address. So it\'s
Brandon Handley 31:21
a no, has anybody ever take you up on that? Brandon? Does anybody be like, You know what, thanks for that. And they roll down the street?
Brandon Novak 31:27
Maybe they won\'t tell us? You know what I mean? Do maybe they don\'t? Everyone\'s process is their process, and we\'re all entitled to our process. If somebody would have robbed me of my process along my way, I wouldn\'t be here today. So like, I\'m a big fan of that.
Brandon Handley 31:45
Do you ever this crosses my mind, given everything that I\'ve consumed to put in my body over the years, which is, I\'m gonna guess less than you. But you know, I\'ll be like, I got to a point where, like, you know, what, I put so much shit in my bio does so many things that, like, if I\'m still alive, right now, there\'s gotta be a reason for and like, leaning into that, right? Like, and just being like, discover the purpose. Like, like, I get down to your place and, and do the breath work with the guys that feel like that\'s a piece of something I\'m able to do. Does that ever occur to you? Or are you just driving with the headlights? Oh,
Brandon Novak 32:23
no. Yeah, I I mean, in the first couple years. I\'m not religious, but I\'m very spiritual. And I didn\'t really think much about it. The first couple years of my sobriety, I just continued to bring the body or the body. And then around two and a half years, it totally transitioned to, to completely spiritual and everything is, is of a much bigger, broader plan that I\'m clearly a grain of sand in. And I play no part of. So it\'s like, I\'m, I don\'t I don\'t I don\'t take credit for any of this. None of this is by my doing. I\'m simply just playing the part that I was assigned today. And now everything is spiritual, you know, like everything, maybe too much. So sometimes, I just kind of give up to the unit.
Brandon Handley 33:26
Well, yeah, so tell me a little bit about that. I love that right? Obviously so spiritual dope came from you know, just recognizing like this connection with source and like having that high from like, whatever you call that right connection to God source universe. What\'s that story look like for you? Now? I hear you talk a lot about synchronicities. I think there was a I caught like a man I caught like an Instagram review tote and some crystals around. You know, what\'s that look like? You know, you\'ve got this work that you\'re doing right now, I\'m sure that that\'s part of your spirituality. But what does your own spiritual practice look like? Well, you
Brandon Novak 34:03
know, I, every day I start my day on my knees, and every day I end my day on my knees, and I know that without a constant contact and have a very healthy connection with my higher power, none of this is possible. None of this and I never get that confused or think that I, I created this. I\'m very big with that. I just try to remain as useful as I can to my God\'s children, which are my brothers and sisters. And you know, the more I do for others, the better my life is.
Brandon Handley 34:44
Do you feel like the more that you\'re able to do for others, the more that kind of flows through you?
Brandon Novak 34:50
Well, with what flows
Brandon Handley 34:52
like, you know, just like I would say, You know what, I\'m here what I feel like you\'re saying is like you\'re an instrument of God, right and like divine source flows. through you and you\'re able to, you know, connect with others. I don\'t really think
Brandon Novak 35:05
of it like that. I don\'t think what flows through me. I just think like, uh, you know, because again, I am too smart for my own fucking good. Now I\'ll, I\'ll twist this narrative to make me think that I\'ve done this. So I sure I tried out the, you know, I just, I just kind of tricky slope, right? Yeah, I just kind of it works when I don\'t work it. You know, it\'s crazy. But I don\'t think much about a lot of the stuff that I do. Just because I\'m so busy with so many projects that I don\'t really have time to sit back and connect the dots of like, Oh, I did this for this person. And this person achieved this. And now they\'re here with them. And the fact you know, I don\'t even I just get so caught up in the day to day. Yeah, this is probably for the best,
Brandon Handley 35:53
sir, sir. So he\'s just staying out of your own way. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Brandon Novak 36:00
That\'s what I\'ve learned is, the longer I stay sober, the less that I know, because I see how amazing my spirituality is, and how powerful it is. So like, I\'ve never be so arrogant. Personally, this is just me, I would never be so arrogant to think that I understand what my God\'s will is. That\'s, that\'s completely insane. Because it\'s so fucking big and vast. And,
Brandon Handley 36:25
but no, I\'m with you. Right. Like, if I think I know what to do, and I can do it all by myself. And your point, like I wouldn\'t be in this situation I\'m in now. Right? Oh, one of the things that I was actually touched by, and it was a bit of a challenge, and I\'m curious to hear how you deal with it. You\'re one of your residents. He was probably one of the first guys I connected with coming down to the Novak house. Tim Wright recently passed, and you know, his passing impacted me in a way that most don\'t, you know, it\'s all over on TV, and I haven\'t been close to somebody pass on for for quite some time. How does that impact you? Like, what do you you know,
Brandon Novak 37:11
I wish I could say it impact me more, but I\'ve kind of become numb to it.
Brandon Handley 37:17
Well, I mean, you know, is that because it\'s you\'re surrounded by and you\'re only doing what you can do you No, no, let go and let God type of thing or,
Brandon Novak 37:28
well, I believe that everyone has a message to carry, right, I believe maybe the I believe, I believe my God is everything I don\'t believe God is, is what I think he should or shouldn\'t be. I believe God is everything. And I might get scolded for this. But I believe God is heroin, I believe God is crack, I believe God fucking out of all because without those substances, it would not have brought me to the child of God that I am today. But that\'s just me not imposing my will on anything or anyone else. But I believe that, unfortunately, some have to die for others to live.
Brandon Handley 38:09
I get it right. That\'s the example. And you\'ve got a bunch of people that are close to that. And they see what can happen if they think that they can go back
Brandon Novak 38:19
and it didn\'t need it doesn\'t have to be that way.
Brandon Handley 38:24
But yeah, so what if I\'m in the Novak house, what are some of the things I got to do? What\'s some of the structure
Brandon Novak 38:34
so you have to have a job, you have to have a sponsor, you have to be working the steps you have to go to five meetings a week you have to make curfews, you have to pass random your analysis you have to go continue and successfully complete IOP and then there\'s a gradual step down pace to that will tie up intensive outpatient so it\'s just a continuum of your aftercare of whatever program you came to
Brandon Handley 39:01
from. Got it. Got it. What\'s the long term vision or where do you see where do you see this going for for you the the Novak house?
Brandon Novak 39:12
When will this air?
Brandon Handley 39:14
Probably not to like next year?
Brandon Novak 39:16
Okay, so
Brandon Handley 39:18
2020 23
Brandon Novak 39:20
Well, by the time that you beautiful ladies and gentlemen are watching this, you\'ll see that were my goals and dreams had taken me to because the day that we aired this was Thursday, November 17 2022, or that we filmed this. I\'m opening a rehab, I\'m opening a center that treatment center opened by the time your viewers see this. Wow. And it\'s going to be called redemption Addiction Treatment Center in Wilmington, Delaware.
Brandon Handley 39:52
Oh, wow. Congratulations, man. That\'s my end game that at least I think who knows. Okay. That\'s your next step in the process. Right.
Brandon Novak 40:00
So I always wanted my end game to be. And through the grace of God, it\'s happening. And then we\'re hoping to projected opening is mid January no later than February.
Brandon Handley 40:15
Awesome, man. Congratulations. Is that in association with? I know you\'ve done a lot of work with a companion and some others is that in association with them or is this on your own?
Brandon Novak 40:25
This is all my own This is my own adventure. Wow okay yeah parted ways with Banyan amazing program. But I think simultaneously we just outgrew each other. And I didn\'t get sober to just get stagnant, I believe sobriety and tells us the life of choices and options. And I Why would I not take advantage of it?
Brandon Handley 40:51
Makes sense? What do you how do you feel like yours will be different from any others? Or how will be the same as others curious on how that\'s
Brandon Novak 40:59
gonna? Same as my house is right? Like the personal connection. And honestly, bread and Novak will not be at the other 10,000 50,000 treatment centers that exist out there. That will be at redemption, where I\'ll be working with clients day in and day out. You know,
Brandon Handley 41:23
focus energy there. Yeah, that\'s awesome. You\'re gonna be a skatepark? They said no.
Brandon Novak 41:34
To which I will absolutely take the clients to 100% but I don\'t think so. Got it.
Brandon Handley 41:40
Got it. Got it. Well, Brandon, Look, man, I just wanted to have you on share your story centers in the saints, man, I really think that it\'s important. One of the things that you\'ve definitely said before is like, you know, who you were isn\'t who you have to be going forward and what the work that you\'re doing now illustrates that, right? He, the guy that was robbing everybody, you know, years ago, is now out here, you know, basically getting money to give to other people to so they can achieve sobriety and live a decent life.
Brandon Novak 42:14
I\'m grateful man. And I\'d like to end this kind of alluding to the point you just made if anyone out there needs help getting into treatment, they can call me directly, personally, at 610-314-6747 Thanks, Brian. Love you, brother. Thanks so much.
Intro Guy 42:35
And I really hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dove podcast. Stay connected with us directly through spiritual dove Dotco. You can also join the discussion on Facebook, spiritual dough, and Instagram at spiritual underscore Joe. If you would like to speak with us, send us an email through Brandon at spiritual dove.co And as always, thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This includes the most thought provoking part of your day. Don\'t forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date. Until next time, be kind to yourself and trust your intuition.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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