It’s no secret that addiction has spread rampantly across the US, especially over the last few decades. Stigmas attached to recovering addicts made it nearly impossible for these individuals to find employment. Recent studies have shifted the idea that substance abuse is an issue of morality, and identified it as a mental disorder. This discovery has opened up opportunities for rehabilitated individuals pursuing success and cultivates motivation in recovery. Many addicts take their experiences in recovery and apply them to starting their own business.

Overcome adversity: Whether it’s committing to abstinence or starting a business from the ground up, both processes come with major challenges. From financial insecurities to painstaking hurdles, neither of these are foreign to a new business owner. Recovering addicts can utilize their perseverance to grind through the adversity presented in starting a new business. When one door closes, find another and open it. Blake Denman, a recovering addict, applied this principle to his digital marketing company. He lost his biggest client, one that accounted for 70% of his income. Blake didn’t take “no” for an answer, he continued to chase after his passion and is still successfully expanding his business.

Be present: It’s so easy to regret past decisions and stress over future outcomes, but this can be a complete distraction when building a successful business. Practicing the art of “staying in the moment” can be one of the most strategic tactics used by new business owners. It’s imperative that you focus on what tasks can be tackled today. This idea eliminates chaos and promotes organized time management. It wasn’t until Seth Leaf Pruzansky let go of his old ideas, that his business for Tourmaline Spring (one of the lead spring water companies in Maine) came to fruition. This mindset opens space for innovative and creative thinking that can be applied to new business ideas and opportunities.

Turn your defects into assets: We all know the redundant “What are your strengths, what are your weaknesses? What can you do to improve those?” questions asked on an application or during the grueling interview process. Individually, we have all utilized our talents for either the greater good or selfish gain. Akshay Nanavati is a retired Marine Corps Veteran, diagnosed with PTSD, and a recovering heroin addict. Starting his new business Fearvana, Akshay uses his painful experiences and provides resources to empower other people struggling with the same vices. Appearing on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes, Huffington Post, Military Times, Psychology Today, CNN, USA Today, and Runners WorldMerging, this business owner’s defects have been cultivated into major assets helping others nationwide. Challenging the areas that need improvement and capitalizing on your strengths as an employer, will help in all aspects of expanding your business and maintaining a successful workplace.

Recovery is an all-encompassing lifestyle change: mind, body, and soul. It is quintessential for addicts to plug into their local sober support and maintain fellowship with other addicts as well. Most importantly, the addict must take care of self first. Investing in starting a career that will secure a happy, healthy future for an addict is crucial. Developing new and healthy habits replace detrimental habits and help shift old thinking and behaviors. In order to achieve long-term sobriety, it is important for an addict to completely abandon themselves to an entirely new way of thinking and living.