Successful Life Podcast

Three years ago, Corey Berrier made amends to his stepdaughter. Shortly afterward, Corey and his wife separated for good, and he was no longer able to communicate with his stepdaughter. He stayed in touch with her dad, but years passed without hearing from her. Then an unexpected text arrived: his stepdaughter would like him to come see her theater performance next weekend. Following last week’s e...

In last week’s episode, “Intention Without Alignment Is Just a Wish,” Corey talked about living his values through service. This week he asks whether recovery communities make room for people who live with mental illness as well as addiction. He shares a personal account of a missing friend and sponsee, reflects on his own past hopelessness, and talks about the role of meetings, sponsorship, medic...

Last week on The Successful Life Podcast , Corey shared how three and a half years of showing up in recovery helped him move from isolation toward friendship and connection. This week, he follows that journey into his working life. After repeatedly searching for the right career opportunity, Corey began asking a different question: How can I be of maximum service to my coworkers, customers, and th...

In last week’s episode, Corey asked what to do when fear returns after a brave decision. This week, he looks at what happens when you keep taking those steps over years. He shares how he moved from attending recovery meetings while emotionally on the outside to building friendships, serving other people, and allowing himself to be known. The last three and a half years are a chapter of deeper part...

Last week on The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier talked about taking the first step despite fear. This week, he asks what happens when you wake up the next day and the fear is still there. Corey reflects on his first seven years attending AA while keeping himself emotionally on the outside. He shares how honesty, asking for help, and small repeated actions changed his experience of recover...

Last week, Corey compared his fear of climbing onto roofs with spending his first seven years emotionally outside Alcoholics Anonymous. He attended meetings and experienced some of recovery’s benefits, but he had not completely stepped into the fellowship. This week, Corey continues that story by asking an important question: What happens after you finally climb the ladder? Taking one courageous a...

You can study roofing, learn the terminology, and watch other people inspect roofs—but eventually, you have to climb the ladder. Recovery works the same way. In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast, Corey Berrier compares overcoming his fear of climbing onto roofs with his first seven years of sobriety. During those years, Corey attended meetings and remained close enough to recovery to exp...

Getting sober stops the immediate damage—but it doesn’t automatically heal the wounds that caused us to drink or use drugs in the first place. In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast, Corey Berrier explores the important difference between simply being sober and actively living in recovery. Many people remove alcohol or drugs from their lives but remain trapped in survival mode—still contro...

The patterns affecting our relationships, careers, and recovery often began long before we recognized them. In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast, Corey Berrier explores how childhood dysfunction, neglect, addiction, people-pleasing, and the fear of abandonment can shape the decisions we make as adults. When we don’t communicate what we need, resentment builds—and we may begin blaming the...

What if getting sober feels like standing on the edge of a 30-foot cliff—terrified, frozen, and unable to trust what’s waiting on the other side? After returning from an unforgettable recovery trip to Cherokee, Corey shares how his fear of jumping from a cliff reminded him of the fear he experienced when he first walked into a recovery meeting. He watched other people take the leap safely, but fea...

Rejection can make you question everything—your recovery, your career, your relationships, and even your place in the world. But what if rejection isn’t proof that you’re failing? What if it’s simply part of the process leading you somewhere better? In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast, Corey Berrier shares how starting a new roofing sales position reminded him of the emotional connectio...

Sobriety doesn’t mean life suddenly gets easy. Relationships still fall apart. Money gets tight. Jobs change. Fear shows up. Life still happens. But sometimes the hardest moments in recovery become the greatest gifts. In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier shares how his perspective on sobriety has changed over the years—from trying to control outcomes and expecting life to...

What if the biggest thing keeping you stuck isn’t alcohol or drugs—but the mask you’re wearing? In this deeply personal episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier shares the raw truth about recovery, authenticity, and what it took to rebuild his life after years of believing he had everything under control. After first getting sober in 2009, Corey experienced many of the promises of re...

What does it really mean to live sober ? In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier shares his personal experience of long-term sobriety, why simply quitting alcohol isn’t enough, and how working the 12 Steps , helping others, and building a recovery community completely transformed his life. Corey opens up about the dangers of trying to do recovery his own way, including his e...

Have you ever wondered, “Am I an alcoholic?” It’s one of the most searched questions about alcohol, and in this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier shares his personal experience with alcoholism and recovery while walking through 10 honest questions that many people ask themselves before getting sober. This isn’t a diagnosis or medical advice—it’s an opportunity for honest self-...

In this deeply personal episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier shares his own journey from active alcoholism to long-term sobriety. Rather than offering medical advice or claiming there’s only one path to recovery, Corey explains what finally worked after years of failed attempts, legal consequences, denial, and fear. You’ll hear what alcoholism looked like in real life—from drinki...

Send us Fan Mail After moving from Raleigh to Wilmington, I expected a change of scenery. What I didn’t expect was questioning my identity all over again. In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , I share what it’s been like starting over in a new city, building new relationships in recovery, and realizing how easy it is to define ourselves by our careers, accomplishments, or the roles we p...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier sits down with Stephanie Nicholson to discuss recovery, accountability, legal consequences, honesty, and rebuilding life after a felony conviction. Stephanie shares the story of a drinking-and-driving incident that resulted in the death of another person, the legal process that followed, and the long road through proba...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier sits down with Chris Budnick, Executive Director of Healing Transitions, to discuss addiction recovery, homelessness, detox services, peer-led recovery, and rebuilding lives through community support. Chris shares the story behind Healing Transitions, formerly The Healing Place of Wake County, and explains how the orga...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier sits down with longtime friend and entrepreneur Nick Jones for a direct conversation about addiction recovery, entrepreneurship, personal responsibility, faith, leadership, and building a life after prison. Nick shares his journey from addiction, drug dealing, and multiple prison sentences to long-term sobriety, busine...

Send us Fan Mail  In this episode of The Successful Life Podcast , Corey Berrier sits down with chef and restaurateur Scott Crawford for a direct conversation about recovery, leadership, and building a business with real standards. Scott shares how addiction nearly cost him his life, what finally pushed him to get sober, and how that decision changed everything from his creativity to his career tr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Successful Life Podcast, host Corey Berrier sits down with Brian Burton—general manager at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, founder of Blue Collar Closer, and host of the Waste No Day Podcast. Brian shares his journey from a struggling technician to becoming a high-level communicator and sales leader in the home services industry. This conversation dives deep int...

Send us Fan Mail After a five-month break, Corey is back with B Reeves from New Waters Recovery for a conversation on sobriety, mental health, treatment, meditation, and purpose-driven work. B shares what New Waters Recovery actually does, from detox and residential treatment to psychological assessments, and explains why separating your job from your personal recovery is critical for long-term so...

Send us Fan Mail Ever notice how hard you grip outcomes when you’re nervous—then watch everything slip anyway? We dig into a counterintuitive truth that changed our lives: releasing control doesn’t make you careless, it makes you effective. From sobriety to sales calls, first dates to job interviews, we connect the dots between patience, presence, and authenticity—and why expectations so often bec...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Successful Life Podcast, host Corey Berrier dives into the importance of gratitude, empathy, and human connection. Reflecting on the busiest plumbing day of the year, he shares personal anecdotes about reconnecting with old friends and the transformative power of gratitude. Corey explains how daily gratitude lists have shaped his positive outlook and enhance...