Episode 227

Unlocking Your Potential : Dave Albin’s Journey of Overcoming Fear Through Firewalking

Published on: 24th October, 2023

Fear can quietly become a man's jailer, and the way out often starts with one step he swore he'd never take. My guest Dave Albin knows that jail well. His biological father died by suicide two months before he was born. At five, his aunt and uncle adopted him. At 11, they told him they weren't his parents, and soon both of them started drinking. That same year, Dave took his first drink of brandy from their cabinet. He calls himself an alcoholic from that moment. By his junior year he was out of high school and into hard drugs. Years later, he was addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and heroin and living in the basement away from his stepkids. On June 8, 1988, he wanted the pain to stop. Thinking of those kids is what led him to call Alcoholics Anonymous, and he has been sober since that day.

On the fire lane, a trainer told Dave to keep his eyes up. That one instruction captures much of what he teaches. Don't stare at what you fear. Look to the other side. Dave learned that the first step makes every step after it possible. He also learned to ask a different question: if fear couldn't stop me, what would I try? Fear went from running his life to guiding it. He started a business, left a bad relationship, and went after what he wanted. When the inner voice calls him worthless, he answers it with what he has already done. He tells men to stop negotiating with themselves and to see that every habit is a pattern they can learn to control. In his corporate events, people write on a board what they're moving toward and what they're leaving behind. They add the names of anyone they need to forgive, then break the board and throw it in the fire.

The turn in Dave's story came through other men. A man named Lauren drove him to his first AA meeting. Another man named John called the next morning and took him to breakfast and another meeting. Years later, a total stranger at a Tony Robbins event asked if he'd at least like to watch the fire walk. That question got him in line, and he walked. Dave went on to lead fire walks for Tony Robbins around the world. Mike Forrester lives and teaches that a man can change on his own, but other men make the road shorter. Mike also shares that before he healed, his own anger had no control, and the people around him suffered. Dave's kids walked the fire at six and nine with him at their side. Maybe fear has been making your choices, and your kids are learning to do the same. Dave's story shows a dad how to take the first step where they can see it.

What You'll Learn In This Episode:

Ask "if I knew I couldn't fail, what would I try?" to see where fear is making your decisions.
Learn to keep your eyes up and take the first step, so the next ones come easier.
Stop negotiating with yourself, and see drinking, overeating, and other habits as patterns you can control.
Spot the voice that calls you worthless before a big moment at work, and answer it with what you've already done.
Use the board break exercise to name what you need to leave behind and who you need to forgive.
Recognize how the way you face fear shows your kids how to face theirs.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:03:21 - why chasing more never makes you happy

00:11:02 - when fear controls your life and you say no to everything

00:16:53 - finding out at 11 that his parents weren't his parents

00:20:03 - how drinking started at 11 years old

00:23:14 - what led him to call Alcoholics Anonymous

00:33:48 - how one question from a stranger changed his life

00:36:38 - keeping your eyes up and taking the first step through fear

00:50:21 - how to go from forget everything and run to face everything and rise

00:53:20 - how to quiet the voice that says you're worthless

00:55:58 - what his kids learned from walking the fire

00:57:18 - the board break exercise for forgiveness and letting go