“I hated the system. I hated addicts. I hated drug dealers. I hated everybody. And I had no control growing up,” Marshall says. “So we robbed drug dealers. We thought we were doing it for a righteous reason, right? No, it was just fueled by hate.”
He began using drugs himself later in life, after trying to cope with the loss of one of his best friends. At 33, someone introduced him to heroin and told him he had to try it first before he could sell it. “By the time I was 34, I had overdosed and ‘died’ several times,” says Marshall… He soon found himself in prison. There, he found his identity and a pathway to recovery.
Having survived addiction, Alex considers himself living proof that by changing your relationship with struggle, you can build the life you envision. Now, he supports others in doing the same.
On his journey, Alex saw that his issue was far less about using substances than it was about WHY he used substances; it was about shame, isolation, a fear of not belonging, and a fear of not being good enough. But that’s not unique to addiction, we all experience these feelings. It’s part of being a person! Alex believes that, no matter what we struggle with, when we all feel more seen, heard, and loved, the world will be a better place. And he’s doing this through movies.
Of Substance is an innovative nonprofit that makes premium, entertaining short films about addiction and mental health to help us all overcome the shame, blame, and stigma we experience. They’re revolutionizing education, treatment, and support for addiction and mental health; turning immersive cinema – with mini-movies you truly enjoy watching, everything from comedies to thrillers – into a captivating and approachable tool for behavioral growth.
In everything he does, Alex works to transform people’s relationships with themselves, others, and their belief in what’s possible.
https://www.ofsubstance.org
TJ is a featured thought-leader on wholehearted.org along with Brené Brown, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Gabor Maté, and Mark Lundholm. He was given the honor of being ordained as an Agape minister by Dr. Michael Beckwith, and was also the founding minister of Agape Bay Area in Oakland, which was the first satellite community of The Agape International Spiritual Center in LA.
TJ is the author of the bestselling books, Conscious Being: Awakening to your True Nature, Conscious Recovery: A Fresh Perspective on Addiction, and Conscious Creation: 5 Steps to Embracing the Life of Your Dreams, as well as the co-author of their accompanying workbooks.
www.tjwoodward.com