Healing the Inner Wound: What Workaholism and Alcoholism Reveal About Us

Randy Hayden - Founder of Easier Ways Learning Community, sober for seventeen years. A speaker, mentor, and teacher of practical alchemy grounded in recovery and human behavior.

What if the same wound drives both overwork and addiction?

In this Reflective Masterclass, Taniya Hussain and Randy Hayden unpack the truth behind addiction, achievement, and the search for peace.
This isn’t about fixing yourself — it’s about finding what’s still whole underneath.

⏱️ YouTube Chapters

00:00:00 – Welcome & The Real Work Behind Recovery
00:08:00 – What Connects Workaholism and Alcoholism
00:15:00 – Redefining Alchemy: The Inner Identity Shift
00:25:00 – Flow, Fear, and the Disease of Perception
00:35:00 – The Drive–Threat–Soothe Model of Addiction
00:45:00 – When Identity Implodes: A Spiritual Alchemy Quest
00:55:00 – Recovery Through Surrender and Community
01:03:00 – Authenticity Over Achievement
01:08:00 – Closing Reflections & The Easier Ways Community

Core Quotes

1. “Either you find a way, or you find an excuse.”

2. “Healing starts with one remembered light.”

3. “The brain follows focus — what you look for expands.”

4. “Change your perspective, change your world.”

PRACTICES + REFLECTIONS in this episode:

1. Perspective Shift Exercise
Look around your space and name everything blue.
Then close your eyes and recall something red.
Notice how the brain filters experience — what you focus on grows.

2. Excuse or Choice Check
Write down one thing you often say you “can’t” do.
List three reasons you could and three reasons you can’t.
Then replace “I can’t” with “I choose not to right now.”
Readiness begins with honesty.

3. The Gut Compass
Before making a decision, pause and breathe deeply.
Place a hand on your stomach and ask: “Does this feel open or closed?”
Trust the open feeling. The body knows first.

Reflective Questions

• What truth do you keep calling an excuse?

• When was your gut right — and you knew it?

• What might change if you shifted your focus by one degree?