Michael Brody-Waite – Turn to Your Trusted Network for Support

At the age of 23,https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbrodywaite/ ( Michael Brody-Waite) was a full-blown drug addict. Every day he drank a fifth of vodka and a twelve-pack of beer, he smoked two packs of cigarettes and more weed than any human should, and he did whatever other drugs he could get his hands on. He had been kicked out of college, fired from his job, and evicted from his apartment. He had no money and no home. He was throwing up blood and believed he would be dead before his thirtieth birthday. Then, on September 1, 2002, after running out of options and fearing death, he checked into rehab, entered recovery, and has been transforming himself every day since. Michael’s TEDx Nashville YouTube video,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUnRKf2CemA ( Great Leaders Do What Drug Addicts Do), is the number one talk in TEDx Nashville’s history. It has been seen by 1,000,000+ people in 25+ countries and provides insight into his seventeen-year journey from addiction and near homelessness to successful entrepreneurship. This talk sparked the #MaskFreeMovement that brought awareness to Michael’s Mask-Free Program, built on three principles inspired by his recovery, showing leaders how to achieve balance, reclaim energy, and thrive in work and life. Michael is an acclaimed speaker, Inc. 500 entrepreneur, award-winning, three-time CEO, a leadership coach, and author ofhttps://www.amazon.com/Great-Leaders-Live-Like-Addicts-ebook/dp/B07V9WT4R4/ ( Great Leaders Live Like Drug Addicts: How to Lead Like Your Life Depends on It). His accomplishments include being named a Most Admired CEO, named to the Top 40 Under 40, and is recognized by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce as Healthcare Entrepreneur of the Year.   “If you’re suffering right now, the worst thing about you can be the best thing about you.” Michael Brody-Waite   Worst investment everMichael had always wanted to be an entrepreneur. And so, at the height of the US recession, he decided to max out his credit card, drain his 401k and blow his savings to start a company. The company Michael started was called Inquicker, a platform that lets patients schedule appointments online. At the time in the States, 99% of healthcare appointments were made over the phone. Michael started the company with his partner a year after getting married. They were bootstrapped and became quite successful and ended up being an Inc 500 company. The company grew 20,000% in six years. Hiding his weaknesses so wellAs his success grew, Michael also became quite good at hiding his most significant weaknesses. He had gotten good at telling people that he was a recovering drug addict. But when he started being recognized as a successful CEO, the temptation to hide his weaknesses grew. Michael had always told his story as the homeless drug addict who beat his addiction and becomes a huge success. However, he did not feel like the successful man the world saw him as. Michael was, in fact, struggling to be a great leader. His world starts to crumbleIn 2013 Michael got blindsided by two of his most important relationships. His business partner decided to take his equity away and tried to get him unseated as CEO of their company. At the same time, his marriage was in turmoil, and his wife wanted to file for divorce. While Michael was good at admitting that he was a drug addict, he was bad at admitting how much he was failing to navigate both of these issues. Failing as a leaderWith these two issues hanging over Michael’s head, his role as a leader suffered. Suddenly, this voracious leader who cared about his people was gone because he did not know how to face his team. Whenever he would be in business meetings, he would put this mask on, pretending that everything was okay because that is what the CEO of any 500 company does. Trying to handle his issuesMichael had suffered for too long, so he decided to find a middle ground with his wife and partner. He signed a marital dissolution...