Sharing your sobriety story on television as an alcohol salesman is not easy. But it’s still important to share in order to help others.
Thanks to Catherine Garcia from NBC 7 San Diego for the May 2020 news segment on Cali BBQ.
You can watch the entire video on our Cali BBQ Media YouTube channel.
You are not alone.
One day at time.
Here’s an excerpt from the NBC7 San Diego feature on Shawn Walchef, #sunrisegratitude, Cali BBQ, and the coronavirus.
“Sunrises, Gratitude and Coronavirus”
By Catherine Garcia, NBC7 San Diego
A Spring Valley restaurant owner, facing several coronavirus-related challenges himself, is hoping to inspire others with a new movement.
Shawn Walchef says a new daily habit he calls “Sunrise Gratitude” has been critical in getting him through these uncertain times.
He gets up before 4 a.m. every single day, and spends an hour exercising as the sun rises. And he reminds himself that every time the sun rises, he has something to be grateful for.
“It’s such a hard thing to do, but when you do it and you’re grateful, it changes everything,” Shawn Walchef said.
The San Diego native owns Cali Comfort BBQ in Spring Valley. Like so many small business owners, he is struggling to keep things going.
“Our team fought like crazy to stay open, changed our model,” Walchef told NBC 7. “We’re serving out of a window.”
Despite his best efforts to pivot to delivery and take-out orders, he still had to lay off 27 employees.
“It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in the last 12 years of running the restaurant,” he said.
Walchef hopes his Sunrise Gratitude habit will inspire others. He thinks the lessons he’s learned in AA are more relevant than ever: take it one day at a time and realize what is, and is not, in your power to change.
“People want to be certain, you want to know when is this going to end? When can I not wear a mask? When can I actually go hug somebody that I’m friends with that I love? We don’t know when that is,” Walchef said.
“But what we do know are the things we can be certain of,” he added. “And those are the things we can control. We can control that we’re grateful. We can control our attitude, our mindset.”
Read the full article online at https://www.nbcsandiego.com.
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