Pass it Forward HOF – FranPro HOF Speech
Pass It Forward
100 Days free from the chains of chew! 100 days of education, edification and self clarification. 100 days seemed so far away on my day 4 when I found this place, now it seems like most of the days flew by. 100 days to me now does not look like the end of my journey but just a small stop along a lifelong trip. Don’t get me wrong I am very happy to be here with you guys on this HOF day, when you realize that only 20% of the people who join a quit group makes it to 100 days.
I could write a full speech on what I have learned here in the last 100 days, but that HOF speech has been done before, so I will just focus in the on the main thing I learned here:
Pass It Forward!
When I found this place on day 4 of my quit, I somehow stumbled on to chat and a couple of vets were hanging out in there, I owe my quit to Cliff (RIP) and to Loot for helping me find my dysfunctional quit group (the Saint Nic-O-Frees) and teaching me how to post Roll Call. As the fog lifted along the way to day 30, I began to realize what makes this place work, helping others! As it has been said before “it is better to give than receive”. Sure I needed a lot of advice and support in the beginning of my quit, but I could have just faded to the background around day 40 if it was not for the feeling I got when I helped a newbie get signed up and now watching those head toward the Hall of Fame.
For those of you who are still on the outside looking in, there is only one good time to stop killing yourself with the crap in a can, and that time is now. You will always have a holiday soon, work will always be stressful, and your spouse will always be nagging you. If you wait for the perfect time to quit, you will never quit, that is why you are lurking here now. You know you need to quit, you even want to quit, but you are scared. You are scared that you will not have the gonads to quit; the fact is if you try quitting alone you will most likely fail. Yes, quitting is hard damn work but it will be the best job of your life! Do not quit for your spouse, your parents, your kids or your dog, you can only quit for yourself. If you are ready, really sick and tired of being sick and tired, we invite you to quit with us. Remember, when you do quit take the time to pass it forward. Take the time to help others, assist a new guy to get registered or just chat with someone who is having a tough time. Helping others will help you close the door on nicotine.
We are a group of individuals that come from many walks of life, brought together by one common vice and the desire to overcome a deadly addiction. In many ways most of us would never associate in the real world, so how can expect to see eye to eye on all issues in here. I urge everyone to take from here what is valuable to you and skip over what is not. Do not be offended by what other people say or do, it is all part of the healing process. Agree to disagree and then move on but do not alienate people because you are not of the same opinion or belief. It was a sad day in qs2ville. That’s all I have to say about that.
Now against all common sense, I am going to try to name those who have played a vital roll in making it to this point today. I will inevitably leave someone out and for that I am deeply sorry. So as a catch all, I would like to thank everyone who I have met here on QSX, whether you are a grizzly old vet or a newbie that just passed through for a few days.
First, I would like to thank my wife and kids for putting up with me for my first 100 days of my quit. I love you guys!
Second, a special thanks to the vets who helped show me the way and to the older vets who passed it along to these guys. In no particular order thanks to: Loot and Cliff for being there on day 4 for me. Thanks to Al, QT, SOS, Remshot, ODT, Slush, WhoDey, Ashley and Hagen Junkie for the good times that we have on chat. Thanks to 7Iron, SBZT, Malibu, Gi Kea, Cory B, Dionnja1, Steevo70 and Stacy for leading the way and sharing your insights on doing this quit thing right. I would like to offer a special thanks to Chewie for his daily support of the St. Nic-O-Frees, for creating our web site and just being a good friend.
St. Nic-O-Frees
What a group we turned out to be. We struggled there a bit around the 30 day mark, like many groups do, but we did pull it together and will have a very large HOF class. It has been a pleasure sharing my first 100 days quit with you guys, and I am looking forward to many more days together. Special thanks to MJ, Highway48, Ruxx, S2K, JMR, Shane, RT and Mike for making everday an adventure, not to mention just plain fun.
Stay Strong and Stay Quit!
NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member FranPro
