Our Mission is to Change the Global Conversation Around Addiction and Recovery. We are working to change the way people view and treat addicts: with compassion instead of judgement. We help find the best forms of treatment that have efficacy, and share those with the world. Genius Recovery is safe place for those in recovery and those who support recovery, to connect, collaborate, and contribute. We share the mindset that recovery and addiction should be viewed with compassion, not judgement. We ask “Why the pain? Not, why the addiction.” This is hub to share experience, strength and hope, and a place where the world’s top recovery experts frequently share strategies and resources. Genius Recovery helps heal the pain, and saves lives.
On the Genius Recovery site you can discover candid conversations about alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, drugs, over eating, gaming, gambling, internet, sugar, and sex addiction. Learn how to change your behavior, face fear, crush habits, overcome depression, turn for help, getting needed therapy, rehab, treatment, and steps to live a clean, sober, amazing life.
Genius Recovery Board
Tony Rose
President/Chair
Tony Rose is a founding partner of Rose, Snyder & Jacobs and author of Say Hello to the Elephants and Five Eyes on the Fence. Intuitive and personable, Rose is a visionary who is passionate about helping people attain their business and personal goals. Rose received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with Accounting Emphasis from the University of Southern California, a member of California Society of Certified Public Accountants, a Legacy Wealth Coach® and a Certified Kolbe Method Consultant®. He has presented at Russell Bedford International’s Annual Conference and the Hawaii Tax Institute and is a frequent lecturer at the USC Leventhal School of Accounting and Otis College in Los Angeles, where his book “Five Eyes on the Fence” is part of the course curriculum.
Brett Kaufman
Vice President
Brett Kaufman, founder and CEO of Kaufman Development, has been working in real estate development through the investment, banking and development lens—for over 22 years. His passion is for building large scale mixed use communities that are designed to elevate humanity. During this time, he has developed, leased and/or sold over 10,000 homes and developed a variety of commercial, retail, land and office projects. In addition to real estate development, Brett has dedicated his career to the intersection of leadership and transformation by coaching, investing, speaking and supporting entrepreneurs. His professional accomplishments have been recognized by a variety of generous awards and designations. He was twice named Developer of the Year by the Building Industry Association (BIA); is past president of the Columbus Apartment Association; and serves on many civic boards throughout Central Ohio. In 2012, he was named Next Generation Builder of the Year by the BIA, and in 2014, Brett was honored as Ernst & Young’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. Brett has been recognized as one of the top 50 leaders in the region with for his ability to drive innovation within his organization, impact his employees and the community-at-large, as well as lead Kaufman Development in a direction that is built to transform. In 2015 and 2016 Brett has been honored with Smart 50 and Fast 50 awards and was recently listed at #657 on the Inc. 5000. Since founding the company, Kaufman Development has donated numerous resources to various philanthropic organizations, including Besa, KIPP Journey Academy, Community Shelter Board, Ohio State University Star House, Hunger Alliance, Ronald McDonald House, OSU James Cancer, Columbus Jewish Federation and many others. Brett personally has donated much of his professional life to many community organizations, and various committees, including Adjunct Professor Ohio State Fisher School of Business, Agudas Achim Synagogue, the Columbus Jewish Federation, and the Columbus Jewish Day School. Brett also serves as board member for The Columbus Partnership, Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
Deanne Adamson
Secretary
Deanne Adamson, with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling, is the founder and president of Being True To You. For nearly 10 years Being True To You has provided holistic addiction-recovery-coaching and preparation & integration services surrounding addiction treatment and transformational experiences. Deanne’s Transformational Recovery model fills the gap in the industry, helping clients and families move beyond addiction and other states of mental suffering through the transformation of oneself. The Being True To You model extends the support and accountability across one’s entire recovery journey, helping clients integrate every test, trial, technique, and treatment to ensure best results. Deanne trains and certifies top coaches in addiction recovery and psycho-spiritual integration coaching, building a network of coaches to match every client’s unique background and needs.
Mimi Dew
Treasurer
Mimi Dew is Vice President of Dew Wealth Management. Mimi and Jim Dew founded Dew Wealth Management, a fiduciary firm, in 1999. Dew Wealth specializes in creating virtual family offices for wealthy entrepreneurs. Mimi is responsible for overseeing the financial activities, marketing, and ensuring overall efficient operation of the firm. In addition, she is passionate about health & fitness, spending time with Jackson (the dog she and Jim rescued as a puppy), and charitable causes for children. Mimi is a graduate of Arizona State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
Barbara Annis
Board Member
Barbara Annis, CEO of Gender Intelligence Group (GIG) is a world-renowned expert on Gender, Diversity and Inclusive Leadership, advocating the value and practice of this new type of leadership in organizations worldwide. Her insights and achievements have pioneered a transformational shift in mindsets for men and women across the globe on the importance of gender unity to organizational success. Barbara began her career as the first woman in sales at Sony and became the first woman Sales Manager with 14 Outstanding Sales Achievement Awards and Sonys MVP Award. Over the past 30 years, Barbara Annis and her 51 associates have partnered with organizations to transform cultures and leadership behavior, while creating greater gender balance at all levels. They have facilitated over 8,000 workshops and conducted thousands of leadership assessments and executive coaching sessions. Barbara Annis is Chair Emeritus and current member of the Womens Leadership Board at Harvard Kennedy School and was recently conferred the International Alliance for Women, Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of five books: Results at the Top: Using Gender Intelligence to Create Breakthrough Growth co-authored with Richard Nesbitt; Gender Intelligence: Breakthrough Strategies for Increasing Diversity and Improving Your Bottom Line co-authored with Dr. Keith Merron; Work with Me: The 8 Blind Spots between Men and Women in Business is written in conjunction with John Gray of Mars Venus renown; Same Words, Different Language: A Proven Guide for Creating Gender Intelligence at Work; and Leadership and the Sexes co-authored with Michael Gurian. Watch Barbara’s TED Talk at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFf2pCd1Iug&t=106s
Josh Bezoni
Board Member
“Josh Bezoni is an entrepreneur, investor (in ONNIT, Outstanding Foods, etc.), and a philanthropist. Bezoni got his start working at the sports nutrition company EAS for Bill Phillips, who also created the popular Body-For-Life program, back in the late 1990s. At EAS, Josh met an eccentric marketing consultant with a ponytail, Joe Polish, who has gone on to become Josh’s best business mentor as well as a great friend for more than 20 years.
Bezoni’s latest venture, with partner Joel Marion, is BioTrust Nutrition. BioTrust has sold in excess of $800 million in premium-quality health and nutrition products and is one of the fastest-growing online nutrition companies in America. BioTrust has donated millions to top-rated charities,including Pencils of Promise®, Water.org™, Operation Underground Railroad®, and Share Our Strength’s No KidHungry® program, to which BioTrust donates a nutritious meal to a hungry child for every order placed. BioTrust is also one of the top corporate donors in the U.S. for Make-A-Wish® — granting a life-changing wish to a child with a critical illness every week for the past six years. Bezoni considers conscious capitalism one of the cornerstones to his business success.
Ben Hardy
Board Member
He and his wife, Lauren, recently adopted their three kids. His first major book, WILLPOWER DOESN’T WORK, was released March 6, 2018. Has been the #1 writer on Medium.com since late 2015 and has gone from 0 to over 325,000 email subscribers with zero paid advertising.
Denise Gosnell
Board Member
Denise Gosnell is a serial entrepreneur, business strategist, speaker, attorney, and real estate investor. Her newest company is called The Vacation Effect, Inc. (www.vacationeffect.com), where Denise helps busy entrepreneurs learn how to use some unconventional scheduling strategies to grow their business faster by working less. Through her law firm, Gosnell & Associates, P.C., Denise focuses on providing general counsel, intellectual property, and Internet legal services to information publishing, coaching, and technology companies. Denise and her husband Jake also own and manage a portfolio of nearly 150 rental properties. Denise has been featured in dozens of media outlets over the years, from television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and more.
Dr. Jaime Hope
Board Member
Dr. Jaime Hope is an ER Physician at one of the busiest Level 1 Trauma Centers in the country.As a dual-Board Certified physician and Assistant Professor, she teaches Resilience, Confidence, and Healthy Habit creation and maintenance.She utilized her years of research and teaching about healthy habits to write her first book –Habit That!, which hit #1 Bestseller status in multiple categories on Amazon within 24 hours of release. Dr. Hope is a keynote speaker and invited lecturer across the country on a variety of medical and health related topics. She has done Board Review educational courses, Grand Rounds, podcasts, press conferences, mastermind courses, radio and television appearances in addition to her many live audience sessions.Dr. Hope facilitates corporate retreats, workshops, masterminds and summits to help participants improve productivity, engagement, and decrease absenteeism with healthy habit change, confidence and resilience. This methodology has been used at the United Nations, Facebook, The Cleveland Clinic, Clarke, Fairmont Steel, the United States Diary Industry and more! Dr. Hope recently helped with facilitation of a summit for the United States Army to improve inter-departmental collaboration.Dr. Hope is a graduate of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine class of 2005 and completed residency at Beaumont Health, Royal Oak. Dr. Hope serves on the Patient Experience Committee, the Human Trafficking Task Force, the BMG Service Excellence Committee, the Patient Family Advisory Council, the Pain Management Steering Committee, the Curriculum Integration Subcommittee, the Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group and is passionate about promoting good patient-physician relationships. In addition to clinical medicine topics, she has done national lectures on The Compassionate and Competent Care of Under served Patient Populations, Addiction and Recovery, Confidence and the Imposter Syndrome, Resilience, and Healthy Habit Creation and Maintenance! Dr. Hope has been an invited lecturer across the country on a variety of medical and health related topics. She offers corporate retreats and workshops to help improve employee productivity, engagement, and decrease absenteeism with healthy habit change. She has done Board Review educational courses, Grand Rounds, podcasts, press conferences, mastermind courses, radio and television appearances in addition to her many live audience sessions. Dr. Hope is on the Pain Management Steering Committee and is helping her top-rated health care system safely and effectively navigate their pain treatment policies so we can adequately treat pain and addiction. Dr. Hope is passionate about addiction and recovery since her early teen years, having a family member in recovery and having drug-addicted teenage foster kids growing up alongside her in her home.She embraces the ‘instead of asking why the addiction ask why the pain’ philosophy and is a compassionate caregiver, even in the most high-stress high-stakes situations in her Level 1 Trauma Center. She is honored to be a part of the Genius Recovery Team and is dedicated to helping connect anyone suffering from addition to treatments with efficacy to help regain their life!
An Open Letter to Anyone Struggling with Addiction
By Joe Polish
First I want to say how sorry I am that you or someone you love is struggling with addiction. I know firsthand how painful it is. Addiction nearly killed me when I was 18 years old.
What I’ve learned since then is that almost all addiction stems from trauma. This can be difficult for some people to understand; they assume trauma has to mean a person was beaten, molested or in a life-threatening accident. But we all have different levels of sensitivity.
Addiction is something you are driven to do—anything you crave that gives you temporary pleasure or relief but then causes negative consequences. Addiction is something you are unable to give up, despite the suffering it causes.
The challenging thing for people that don’t have this to understand is how someone could have that craving in the first place. They wonder why the addict can’t just make a better choice.
I’m of the belief that addiction is not a choice. Once the addict goes into a craving state, it’s beyond willpower or intelligence. Intelligence can actually be a detriment because the smarter people are, the more they believe they can think their way out of the problem.
What many don’t understand is that addiction isn’t a problem—it’s actually a solution. If you’re in pain, angst, anxiety, fear, rage, depression, sadness, loneliness or experiencing any other form of suffering, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be out of that pain. It’s how we go about scratching the itch that causes the issue.
Ultimately, addiction is a connection disorder. It’s feeling incredibly disconnected and uncomfortable in your own skin. You just want to numb out, or escape. You want to feel something—anything except the dread that comes with that craving state…a state that always has compulsivity or impulsivity attached to it.
Looking at addiction from a state of compassion, as opposed to judgment, is critical. We cannot punish or beat addiction out of somebody. Sure, we can throw people in prison, scold them or run away from them, but that doesn’t help make the cravings go away. Love and compassion are critical—though, of course, those can be difficult emotions to embrace when dealing with addicts. The symptoms of addiction can be ugly; they often involve activities like cheating, disrupting, lying, stealing and other egregious acts. That’s because addicts will do anything to get out of the pain they are in. The addict brain has an appetite for destruction and is fueled more by chaos than harmony. In other words, it’s hard for addicts to feel okay. And it’s not easy to feel compassion for someone who’s leaving shrapnel in their wake. But the more you can understand that the addict is in pain and just trying to get out of it, the easier it can be to deal with the recklessness and chaos that comes with it.
Addiction is also biochemical. You are dealing with serotonin and dopamine. Once you quit the drug or behavior, you may have to fix and repair the gut. You have to get the body back to a state where it produces “feel good” chemicals in order to cope with the uncomfortable feelings. This means exercise, yoga, meditation, float pods, the right nutrition, and more. The issues are in the tissues, and if you can incorporate movement and communities, it can help heal. Building a rapport by being around other addicts is critical. It doesn’t have to be a 12-step meeting; you just need a community—an ongoing, consistent community.
It’s a lot of work—but not nearly as much work as active addiction. And if you’re willing to do the work, there’s freedom on the other side that most addicts and their families probably haven’t ever experienced before. The bottom line: help is available. There are many people and resources available at little or no cost.
