Michael G. Dash - Chasing the High: An Entrepreneurs Mindset Through Addiction, Lawsuits, And His Journey to The Edge

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Michaels authenticity in opening up about his struggle through addiction, as well as his experiences in entrepreneurship and challenges he overcame, give a keen insight into the mindset shifts throughout his journey. Chasing the High is an inspirational read that I highly recommend for anyone dealing with the highs and lows of life.

Lewis Howes, NY Times bestselling author, The School of Greatness; author, The Mask of Masculinity; host of top 50 ranked podcast on iTunes, The School of Greatness; lifestyle entrepreneur, business coach, keynote speaker

Chasing the High reveals the addictive struggles many people face but often mask. Traveling from the depths of misery, its a journey to the ultimate happiness: self-love.

James Whittaker, bestselling author, Think and Grow Rich: The Legacy

Chasing the High is for anyone who needs to shift from addictive patterns and negative beliefs to positive and lasting habits. Michael takes us on a journey through gambling, money, meditation, and growth. He teaches us what true success looks like, and more importantly, what that success feels like.

Jules Schroeder, founder, Unconventional Life, a global community of entrepreneurs, creatives, and thought leaders; host of top-ranked podcast Unconventional Life Show; Inc. magazines #1 of the Top 27 Female Entrepreneurs Changing the World in 2017

Michaels journey through addiction, entrepreneurship, and the battles he overcame throughout shows the raw emotions and struggles many go through. His ability to come out on the other side a better person are inspiring and motivating. Chasing the High is a must read.

Virginia Salas Kastilio, founder, Gini.Tv and I Trust You; Inc. magazines #6 of the Top 27 Female Entrepreneurs Changing the World in 2017

All entrepreneurs are addicts in one form or another, whether we admit it or not. Chasing the High is a must-read for all entrepreneurs. It will help you overcome your own obstacles in business and in life. This book made me feel like Im not alone and has helped me cope with my own highs.

Brandon T. Adams, Emmy award-winning producer and TV series host, Success in Your City

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Copyright 2019 Michael G. Dash

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5445-0348-6

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Id like to dedicate this book to everyone who has contributed to my journey, both past and present. I could not have made this transformation without the tools and enlightenment you have all provided. Special thanks to Jules Schroeder, Justin Faerman and Jackie Knetchel, my brothers and sisters in YEC and Activation, Michael Fazio, the Gamblers Anonymous program, Jay Dash, Libby Payne, my former employees at Parallel HR Solutions, Inc., and my parents, Lynn and Bernie Dash. Thank you all for your unwavering love, support, and friendship.

To anyone dealing with addiction or isolation challenges, recovery is one act away. Take that first step.

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I discovered gambling over dessert one Thanksgiving. I was eleven.

I remember the moment distinctly. My family had made the annual trip from New Jersey to Massachusetts to celebrate the holiday. My brother and I sat next to my uncle on my grandmothers couch watching college footballa tradition, and something that fed our passion for sports.

Why are you rooting so hard for Notre Dame? I asked my uncle. Do you really like them or something?

I have one hundred dollars on them, he said, pulling a gambling card from his pocket and explaining that he had multiple bets going on at once. If they winalong with these three other teamsI win ten to one plus the profits from my original bet.

My brother and I were mesmerized. Watching sports and winning moneywhat could be better?

Here, my uncle said. I can give you one of these cards if you want to bet on tomorrows NFL games. If you give me ten dollars and you get all four games right, youll win one hundred dollars.

Oh my God, I thought. I have to do this. One hundred dollars sounded like a fortune!

My brother, who was almost eight at the time, followed me over to where my father was in the kitchen. He was talking about his business with some of the other adults. I knew my father was more likely to give me money than my mother, who would have certainly questioned it.

Dad, can I have ten dollars? Were going to the store to get hoagies. As soon as he handed over the money, my brother and I started deliberating on what teams we should circle for the next day. After about two hours, we made our selections and brought the cardand our betto my uncle.

We were glued to the television more than usual the following afternoon as we watched the football game and tracked our bets. We won the first three games, and the final one was in the evening. We defended the television in the living room fiercely. Anytime someone came in and wanted to change the channel, we wouldnt let them. How could we? We were this close to winning one hundred dollars.

And we did. All four of our teams won that day, and we couldnt have been more excited. Our uncle paid us. It was more money than Id ever had at one time. There was something else, though, that excited mesomething besides the hundred dollars burning a hole in my pocket. It was the adrenaline. The rush. The risk. And winning was an added benefit.

I gambled for the next twenty years straight.

My father was an entrepreneur and owned an import-export business and a retail store in New Jersey, and when I was growing up, I worked for him regularly. So did my Little League baseball coach, who came in for shifts on weekends. The guys at the store talked gambling nonstop, and I was a good listener. I knew they usually went to the Meadowlands Racetrack after work to bet on horses.

Hey, I said to my coach one day. I want to come with you to the track. Tell my dad youre taking me home, and you can sneak me in.

The racetrack was about half an hour from worka straight shot down Route 17, except for a handful of tollbooths along the way. Back then, each toll was forty-five cents, and my coach taught me an ingenious way to find some more money on the trip to the track. At every tollbooth, my coach would open his door and grab all the change on the ground left behind by drivers who had missed the collection bucket.

I just got two dollars! Thats two dollars more I can play on the horses! hed say. I did that same thing for the next fifteen years, scooping change off the ground just as he had. It was exhilarating in a strange waylike Id won something. Back then, though, I just thought he was a little weird and crazy.

Once I got inside the racetrack, Id ask my coach what horses he liked. I also looked for any interesting horse names that jumped out at me. As I glanced through all the names, there it was: Magical Mike. How could I not bet on a horse that had the same name as me? I mean, what better reason could there be? So, I gave my coach my money and had him place the bet. Wed sit in the stands together and watch with that feeling of exhilaration as the horses rounded the track. I did that for years. Nobody bothered us.

When we couldnt make it to the track, the coach and I and some other friends would go to offtrack betting (OTB) in a neighboring town. There, in that dingy, depressing room with smoke hovering over us from all the cigarettes, the races were simulcast. Wealong with mostly men in their fifties, sixties, and seventieswould spend entire days at OTB. It was always the same: find cool horses names or some other mostly illogical reason, bet, watch, repeat.