Untangling Crossed Wires: From Alcoholic To Product Innovator

Today, I sit down with entrepreneur Nick Barrett, who shares his remarkable journey from battling alcoholism to becoming a successful product creator. 

Mr. Barrett opens up about the struggles of addiction, the challenges of rebuilding trust, and the moment he realized he needed to turn his life around. He discusses how he found motivation, discipline, and purpose after getting sober, ultimately leading to the creation of CordBrick—a simple yet innovative solution to tangled cords.

We get into the process of developing CordBrick and DeskBrick, explaining how his newfound discipline and commitment to self-improvement fueled his entrepreneurial journey. He emphasizes the importance of shifting from mere survival to thriving, breaking free from limiting beliefs, and channeling energy into constructive, meaningful work. Through his experiences, he hopes to inspire others struggling with addiction to realize that a fulfilling and successful life is possible beyond their struggles.

We additionally explore the psychology of motivation and discipline, likening them to muscles that strengthen with practice. This leads into discussing the power of forming positive habits, the importance of surrounding oneself with the right influences, and the responsibility of those who have overcome hardships to inspire others.

https://cordbrick.com/

Discount Code: brick20

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Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Cup O Nukes. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey, and for those of you listening, not watching, my background behind me is a bunch of tangled white wires. It's a nightmare if you're trying to charge your device or You know, whatever it may be, especially if you have to be on the go a lot.

I know as someone who has traveled on airplanes, on ships, by car, and pretty much everything else, put a bunch of wires in the bag, whether it's for recording equipment as podcasting, or just to charge my mobile device, you go to pull them out and it's just a nightmare. It is a mess. And you can be untangling wires for quite a while, which you don't want.

And today we're going to be talking about a product that. You know, gets rid of all that. You don't have to worry about it. Simple, on the go, fits in your pocket  and can make all your cord wrapping needs met. But we're going to get into the creation of the product as a message of hope. Recently, in my Flavors of Confidence episode, we talked about how a lot of alcoholics struggle with identity once sober.

They make their identity being an alcoholic and not drinking alcohol, and all their focus and attention goes into that. And a lot of them feel like they just have to survive, and a lot of them feel like they can't thrive and have a successful life because they'll always just be an alcoholic. That is far from the case as we've discussed, and we're going to go over that today as well. 

Once sober, the life that you can live a successful life, and it's not without its temptations and hardships, but we're here with Mr. Barrett. He created this product post, you know, sobriety, and he's going to talk about his personal journey. So, Nick Barrett, so great to have you here today.  Mr. Whiskey, great to join you here on your show. 

Yeah. So can you tell us, I mean, let's just start from the, from the beginning. I mentioned a battle with alcoholism in your life. Can we talk about what developed into that?  Sure. Yeah, I mean, um, you know, your guess is kind of as good as mine for, uh, you know, how does someone kind of become an alcoholic? I think it's You know, varies for, for a number of people, but, um, you know, the common threads that I've, uh, seemed to have been able to identify through meeting, you know, a number of alcoholics that I can identify in my own life is that  I always wanted to change the way that I felt, um, I never felt comfortable in my own shoes, uh, alcohol kind of gave me that social lubricant as many people talk about that,  uh, kind of freed me up from my own mind and helped me separate from my, my insecure thoughts and, um, you know, uh, yeah.

What I thought was kind of helped me, uh, become more comfortable in my own skin, you know, really just kind of lowered my inhibition. So I didn't care as much in the moment what was happening, um, but the problem was that it's a temporary fix. It's not a permanent solution. And so, you know, as I continued to, uh, drink and age and, and, you know, uh, move forward in, in my life and career and in through my twenties.

Um,  I came across quite a few problems, uh, that had occurred because, you know, as a direct result of drinking and drinking too much and not really being able to kind of stop as soon as, uh, I, I wanted to, or even take days off, so it kind of became an obsession for me,  just the everyday thing, um, hiding it, uh, sneaking around, uh, lying to different people. 

People would say, Oh, you seem, you seem pretty drunk. And I would say, Oh no, I'm fine. Being completely, you know, hammered and, and just make, make it a fool of myself. Um, and, uh, you know, I was fortunate enough that, um, what happened for me, uh, although it did alter my life, it, it. you know, it really gave me another opportunity.

Um, I got DUIs. And so, uh, I had, uh, three DUIs in five years.  I kind of wrote off my first two, um, as, as just bad luck. And then the third one was just no mistaking, uh, the, the problem at that point. Um, plus, um, you know, I was given a 10 year suspension, which I'm. Yeah. Almost off of at this point being, uh, uh, coming up on eight years sober here.

And, um, so I can, I could drive, but I've still got a hardship license. So it's given me some problems, but I gotta say, I mean, it could have been way worse, you know, um, you know, accidents and I, you know, met, met people who, uh, you know, hurt other people and, and  not sure how I'd be able to forgive myself, um, for something like that, but fortunately I wasn't.

Uh, in that kind of situation. And so then I went to rehab and, uh, sort of going to AA and, uh, like you said, just kind of making, um,  uh, being sober from alcohol. Like my whole thing is, you know, that, that was, that was kind of my new identity. And so the transition from that into where I'm at today has been a process that's been undergoing for the last, um, about five years. 

Yeah, for sure. And now  a lot of people in general don't think of making a product, let alone someone who is focusing so hard on sobriety. So how did your product, you know, end up being a part of your life?  Yeah. I mean, the first two, three years were pretty tough. And, um, uh, you know, I, I got some, gotten some more trouble and, uh, you know, happened to, uh, just get really focused on improving myself.

Um, first in a number of different ways, I would say the first thing I did was of course get sober. Um, and then I started working on kind of my physical health  and that was with, you know, what I, what I was, uh, what I was doing. So I, you know, I was working out and really taking good physical care of my body.

And then from there it started to transition into, all right, well, if I'm physically doing all these great things for myself, maybe I should like. you know, eat well too. So then I started taking care of myself from a diet perspective. I had been drinking all kinds of energy drinks and soda. Um, and so, you know, that is unhealthy in its own way.

Um,  And, uh, so, you know, started to do that and then, you know, I kind of had all those things together and it was like, well, you know, I can go work for other people now that I've got my life back together, or I can maybe try to do my own thing. And, you know, partially because of being fired a number of times, uh, you know, due to alcohol, I had had some experiences with former managers and companies where I just kind of thought, I'm not sure if I'm.

Uh, you know, meant to be an employee. I'm not really an employee. Maybe I should try to kind of run my own thing and kind of be a creator and, and see if I can, you know, if I put all the weight on my shoulders, if I can, you know, carry that load,  uh, and make something interesting. So I had had this idea and, uh, started developing it and, you know, lo and behold, four or five years later, here we are, uh, with the turn into a business. 

Yeah, I totally understand. I'm actually the same way. I've had a number of bad experiences with leadership and higher ups. And to be the founder of my own company now, it's a, it's a much better system for everyone for, for their sake and for mine. So I totally understand that. Now, we haven't named it yet, but Chordbrick is, you know, the product that we've been referencing.

It's one of two products that you have. We'll mention Deskbrick in a little bit here, but we'll start with Chordbrick. If you wanna, I know for those of us who are watching, you have one on standby. And for those of you listening, we'll have the website in the description below so you can go check that out.

And then Mr. Bear, if you could kind of describe it for those who are just listening as well.  Sure. Yeah. Um, so the original problem that I had and reason I invented the product was, uh, just complete laziness. Uh, I was in bed and I was actually still an alcoholic at this point and used to struggle to fall asleep.

I would, you know, pass out from drinking  usually when I was, uh, uh, back in those days. Um, but. You know, I, I struggled to sleep even into my sobriety and, um, one of the problems I had seems really trivial was, you know, be laying in bed using my phone right up to the moment that I'd go to bed. And maybe that's not advised, but that's what I would do.

And my cord would fall on the floor. And I thought, man, I could just make a little silicone brick that could just sit on my nightstand. It could sit on my bed sheet. Could, uh, then we could wrap my cord and I could travel with it as well. Um, there's not really a product like that out there. Um, you know, why don't I try to make it? 

And, uh, just kind of looking at, um, you know, the, the existing solutions and kind of thinking through, I was like, you know, how expensive could this be to make, I mean, all I need to do is make a few and then I need to try to sell them and if it works, I make more and I sell more. And so that's kind of what I, that's kind of what I did.

Um, and it, you know, it's not a lot of like engineering. I didn't have any like manufacturing experience or anything like that. Um, and so, you know, I, I just had this envision, you know, this vision of a small, tiny little brick, a miniature brick, uh, what is a brick, you know, it's rectangular shaped, it's heavy.

Um, and so that's kind of what I set out to create. And so that's, that's what I have here. And it's got, um, just a small piece of silicone with a steel slug inside. And then it's got core channels that run  parallel all down it  to holding channels on the top and bottom and then to what I call wrapping and grabbing channels on the side.

And so with the wrapping, it's the first product that is a cord holder that also travels and  wraps cords to go. So you just snap.  Trap the cord on the brick and then you can unwrap untangled. And then you could even flex these, uh, end jaws open.  If anybody's watching, you can flex these little jaws open.

You can kind of put it on your phone and stand your phone too. So it's basically a cord accessory that always stays with your cord  that even has uses for your phone. And, uh, if you look at the competition, there's just. Really nothing like it. Um, and you know, I think the brick idea kind of resonated with a lot of people.

Um, and the kind of the simplicity and the design. Um, but we've, uh, been able to grow over the last couple of years. And then, as you mentioned, launched Desperate this year. Now we've got patents on our products, um,  and the customer reviews have been tremendous. I mean, I think I'm, I'm, I'm even surprised with how, uh, favorably most people review the products, uh, that we have, you know, they're high four star.

Um, ratings on Amazon, uh, and we're actually able to sell for the keyword stocking stuffer, which is unlike any product in our category. And so that kind of opened up a whole new market for us, the gift giving and receiving market.  Um, it's kind of hard to give something to someone that only does one thing, but I think what's cool about my product is it, it can do many different things and to be used a number of different ways.

And so people feel really comfortable gifting it. It's also not incredibly expensive. So. You can buy quite a few and give them to a bunch of people. And I think most people can be pretty sure that, you know, someone in their life can use a cord brick to solve a quarter phone problem that they're having. 

For sure. I mean, I can't name one person. I know except for maybe some of the oldest people. I know who does not have a wire. You know, a charger for their phone. Uh, in fact, most people I know have three to five at least. And, uh, with phone companies changing the type of charger you need now I have at least 10 or 20 around the house.

So yeah, now can a core brick support more than one, uh, cord at a time? Yeah, it's got the six core channels inside and then it has a. pretty heavy slug of steel inside. So the first thing I do whenever I would be selling at like a flea market, going back to the first days of selling is I would try to put it in people's hands.

I would say here, hold this. And they say, Oh, that's, that's heavier than I thought. Yeah, it is because it's for. a cord holding. And so then they say, Oh yeah, my nightstand and my cord falls up my nightstand every night. And I think, you know, as, as you alluded to, there've been a lot more devices coming out.

Um, small mobile battery powered devices, whether it be earbuds or  smartwatches or, uh, different things like that last couple of years. And so everyone has like a, you know, six or seven different cords all over the place. And, um, what's cool about cord brick is a lot of the competitors have adhesive. And so with cord brick, you can just kind of create a new charging station anywhere.

Without fear of adhesive on any of your surfaces or having to leave it there permanently. Um, and it doesn't just hold one cord, as you mentioned, holds many cords. So you can use one cord brick for, for quite a few cords.  Uh, so yeah, people have been very receptive so far.  Yeah, I've actually got a cord to charge my toothbrush.

So, you know, we're in that day and age, or even my toothbrush has a charging cord for it. So now desperate, I mean, what is the main difference between cord brick and desperate?  So some people had said they wanted a bigger, heavier version, uh, for more cords and, you know, cord brick, I kind of designed as like your personal.

Um, cord holder and cord traveling tools. So although you can hold, you know, up to six chords, I think most people are doing somewhere between like one and three chords with cord brick. Um, and then you can also wrap up to three chords on it.  But when you talk about desk brick, uh, it's got a little bit, um, of a different design, we've turned these end channels here, perpendicular.

And so with these, you can kind of fit your phone or some other items in these flexi corner pockets, which are patented as well. Uh, it's got seven core channels up top and even a cord bridge underneath for anyone who's, who's viewing. Um, it's kind of got more of a, a top side and a bottom side, whereas cord brick is kind of reversible.

And so just brick just adds a little bit more weight, a little bit more stability, a little bit more functionality, a higher price for me. Um, cause you know, as you, as you learn, as you start selling things online, it's, it's really helpful to sell more expensive items to fewer customers than it is to sell inexpensive items to millions of customers, much harder to do that.

Um, but you know, really, I just wanted to provide another solution in the cord space. Um, cause I'd kind of done a nightstand cord holder and I thought, okay, let me add a desktop cord holder. That'll be the second addition to this brick line. It also has a. You know, rectangular shape,  heavy, like a brick as well.

Um, and so I think this year we're going to be launching at least two or three more brick theme products into our line.  And so desperate was the second one. For sure. The desperate is definitely something that I would like me personally. I know with my setup for podcasting, I've got a wire for. You know, two different lights for a camera, for a microphone, for plugging everything into my laptop.

And they're all just in a bundle in this giant messy ball on my desk. So I, I could use the desk brick and because if it's larger size, some of these cords that I have, like for my microphone that are a little bit thicker than the average phone charger cord that works a lot more significantly. So, yeah.

And then you talk about. You know, continuing to innovate and where's your life at now in terms of alcoholism and mental health?  Yeah, sorry. I just dropped my, uh, desk brick and it smacked my ring light here and, uh, knocked the camera. I apologize about that. Um, yeah, I mean, this has been an incredible journey.

I mean, I had lost like all the trust and, you know, um, goodwill of my family. You know, they were kind of just kind of tired of me not carrying my own weight. Um, I'm the oldest child of three. Brothers and my two brothers are very successful. Married with kids. I'm still single. Um, you know, great degrees, great jobs and everything.

I think that kind of goes for most of my extended family as well. Um, my parents also very successful, very type a I'm more of a creative. And so, um, I think they kind of, you know, didn't know if like my method just. And my way of doing things just wasn't going to work. Or, you know, if I, if I ever really had, um, that kind of, um, willpower and drive and desire, or if I was just going to, you know, be a jack off and, you know, not make much of my life and, you know, not really appreciate, appreciate the gift that I've been given. 

And I think, you know, just going through all those personal struggles, uh, I, I developed some sort of chip on my shoulder and that's been extremely motivating to me, uh, to kind of prove people wrong, um, to kind of prove to myself that, uh, I'm capable of a lot more than I thought I kind of just thought that I didn't have willpower that I did.

I didn't possess it and, you know, just wasn't born that way. Um, and I think I have kind of, and you hear this, I think from other, other people and, uh, you know, recovering addicts and alcoholics is, uh, actually  that, um, that willpower that I, that I have now is, I mean, it's, it's, it's immensely stronger than I would have imagined.

Um, I started running, uh, you know, I got to where I was running half marathons, probably could get to a full marathon if I really wanted to. Um, but I kind of just have this drive now where. As soon as I set my mind to something, um, it's not really a matter of if it's a matter of when and, uh,  you know, knowing that you're going to be able to achieve a certain goal.

Uh, and then seeing yourself do it, it just builds a tremendous amount of confidence that has translated into every other aspect of my life, my personal relationships.  My feeling about myself. Um, uh, just what I say, um, you know, what I comment about, um, the positivity that I try to, you know, bring to others, um, you know, as opposed to negativity or, uh,  pointing out the bad things that, you know, had happened to me or, um, in the world.

Um, and I, I think now, you know. It has given me this kind of, uh,  this gift of gratitude that I really would like to try to share where I was and where I am with other people who are where I, where I was, uh, because, you know, you, you really appreciate the people when you're down in those moments who kind of show you that there's another way out.

And I think, you know, with AA and, and similar type programs and anybody who's been through trauma, really what you want to hear is you want to hear from someone who has experienced a similar. To that situation as possible and what they did to get through it and see that it's possible that they got through it and how they're doing now.

And so you can kind of envision, you know, to yourself, like, what would my life be like if I was able to do this? Um, and you know, the good people of AA helped me do that a lot. And now, um, a lot of other founders help me do that same thing.  And so I'm just doing my part to try to do that a little bit myself. 

What you're saying definitely resonates with me because actually the episode before this one with Mr. Kunkin, we talked about how he was a man, a quadriplegic in He felt, at the time, over 30 years ago, when he was first dealing with his disability, all he saw in recovery was other people with disabilities who had done nothing with their life.

They had just accepted it and given up. And he goes, I need someone to inspire me. I need someone who has gone through this.  And so he ended up becoming that person for others because he didn't really have that at the time. And same with alcoholics. I know, you know, my father is one of those people who, when he goes to AA, He calls it almost, I don't want to say a pity party, but for him personally, it's just  negativity sharing.

It's just, you know, this is what happened because of my drinking, all the bad stuff. And I know my father has spoken about wanting a more positive focus where people like yourself are there saying, Hey. You know, like, yes, this happened, like, I got to do you guys, like, it was not a good time, but here's where I'm at now, and here's where I'm going, you know, so it's so important, like you said, to have people like yourself, whether it's podcast guesting, writing books or speaking at in person events to inspire and show that there is a way, because a lot of alcoholics, both recovering and  are in a place of hopelessness, you know, they, and they're getting less hope every day.

They're giving up more every day, you know, they're just giving up more and more, caring less and less. So, they really need someone to inspire them. And, I want to go back to what you said about the discipline and the willpower.  And I want to reference Luke chapter 16, verse 10, because that Bible quote is well known, which is, He who is trusted with a little can be trusted with a lot, and he who cannot be trusted with a little cannot be trusted with a lot.

And I think  When you build on small daily habits and disciplines and small acts of willpower. It gets easier and easier to do. So if you can be sober and fight that, that temptation of alcoholism and have that discipline and willpower, then life is just so much easier because then you're like, Hey, you know what, I can go for a run and then I can eat healthy and you start forming all these habits and that discipline just  And the more self control and willpower you have with one thing, the more you'll have it with another.

So I think that's important. Even, like, making the desk brick was probably easier than when you first launched, uh, cord brick. You know, I feel the same way with podcasts. Once you make one, if you go to make another one, like, you've learned not only what you need to do, because there's plenty of, you know, for People like yourself and I, when we first just start something and we have no idea what we're doing and we're, you know, excited about it and you learn as you go through it, a lot of stuff that you wish you knew in the beginning that when you're going to launch, whether it's a second product, second podcast, second book, whatever it is, not only is it easier because you know what you need to do now, but you also have so much more discipline and work ethic and drive.

So I completely agree. And Mr. Bear, is there anything else you'd like to share with us before we wrap up this episode? No, I'll just comment on, on what you said, if you don't mind, which is, um, I think just a critical point. I used to think motivation was something that you just stumbled upon, or you just had to have from the beginning, but I think motivation and discipline is a muscle that you exercise.

And the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. If you practice, um, telling lies or not. You know, uh, doing what you're, you know, you're supposed to do. Cause I think everybody kind of intuitively knows what they're supposed to do. Or, uh,  it's not really hard to find out what you should be doing. Just, you know, listen to a handful of people and you'll figure it out.

Um, I think your subconscious kind of knows that. And then, you know, if you practice. Uh, anything, practice lying, practice being lazy, you're going to get better at those things. And I think with, you know, something like lying, um, or not telling yourself the truth, really. Um, at some point, you know, you wonder how do people get to the point where they can lie to themselves?

It's through practice. It's through practicing it too much. As soon as you, you know, um, start lying to yourself, you allow your brain to believe these things. And then eventually you can't tell the difference between Telling yourself the truth and lying. And so, um, with discipline, it's a similar thing and motivation as well.

And yeah, it's a great lesson. Uh, it has been extremely beneficial to me to kind of get those through the old, uh, cranium a little bit.  Yeah. You know, typically when we think of practicing, we think of only for the embedded of something, but technically it can be for the embedment of a negative trait. So I think it's important to shift our perspective to know that.

Continuing negative habits is essentially practicing it. Uh, but yeah, for everyone who's interested in checking out your product Cord Brick in a Desk Brick, we're gonna have the website in the description below. Like you said, if you don't need it personally, which most of us do, uh, we definitely know someone who does.

Perfect gift, it's The best kind of gift is one that you can use, especially daily. It's something that makes your life better, so I highly recommend it. And then  In the description below, we'll also have a special promo code for all y'all listening. So, Mr. Barry, if you want to share that with us.  Sure. Yeah, just, uh, check me out and check my products out at cordbrick.

com. Um, you can just search Cordbrick on Google. Uh, we're on Amazon, of course, walmart. com, um, uh, on all social medias at Cordbrick, uh, YouTube, et cetera. Uh, and then if you do want that, uh, 20 percent off your first order, which stacks with my volume discounts that I have. I just sent her code brick 20 at checkout.

And, um, yeah, like you said, product you use every day solves a common problem that people experience all the time. And so I think that's one of the reasons why it resonates with people so well, and really appreciate you having me on your show. Let me chat about my experience here.