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Bourbon expert Fred Minnick is a Wall Street Journal best-selling author, entrepreneur, award-winning podcast host and founder of the American Spirits Council of Tasters. Yet 20 years ago, he was battling deep emotional scars and PTSD from his time in the Iraq War. He found healing using a newfound mindfulness technique that transformed his life and opened a new chapter of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-discover-yourself-with-24-true-self-quotes/">self-discovery</a> and resilience. It also inspired a career move.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-impact-of-war">The impact of war</h2>



In the early 2000s, Minnick served as a photojournalist for the U.S. Army, documenting the war in Iraq, while navigating the constant danger of bombs and attacks. On June 24, 2004, his team was ambushed, and a grenade landed 10 feet from him, but—by sheer luck—it didn’t detonate.



“That trauma incident... stuck with me," he recalls, "I would have nightmares about it.”



After returning to the United States, Minnick struggled to reintegrate into normal life again. With his mind plagued by the horrors he’d witnessed, his thoughts and behavior spiraled into violent and distressing patterns.



“I would have a boss tell me to do something, and I'm looking at a stapler just thinking about how I can push it through his head,” he says. “I couldn't handle someone disagreeing with me, telling me what to do. There [was] anger over everything, or [else] a noise that would go off, and it would remind me of, like a bomb or a mortar or a rocket, and I would just fall underneath the desk… The term is 'shell shock,' and that's a really good description of it."



After the moments had passed, he found himself embarrassed, aware of concerned stares from others. But these reactions were just the surface of deeper issues.



“I was on the verge of a suicide, basically, because I couldn't handle it anymore. I couldn't handle [the] stressors of life.” Minnick admits. “I knew… I have to get help, or I'm going to hurt myself or hurt someone else.”







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recovery-through-creativity">Recovery through creativity</h2>



Recognizing the dangerous path his life was headed down, Minnick enrolled in a program that focused on exposure therapy, which allowed him to confront his trauma and heal from it.



“My therapist basically found that there [were] a lot of ties back to incidents on June 24, 2004,” Minnick says. Knowing of his profession as a writer, his therapist suggested writing as a key method for working through his trauma. He wrote the events of that day repeatedly and read them out aloud. With each retelling, the weight of the memory gradually lightened.



“To this day, I can't really read it or talk about the incident in its entirety without getting choked up… but I'll still get through it,” he says. “The difference today versus then is that it doesn't have the [same] impact on me afterwards.”



In parallel, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/about/pac-20384610" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)</a> helped him to re-imagine his self-beliefs. “[To] give an example, I'm walking down the street, somebody looks at me, [and] I automatically assume that they want to fight me…. Why do I believe that? Because the person looked at me in a way that someone in Iraq looked at me another way, and they legit wanted to kill so there was that connection. There always [a connection to] Iraq when it came to these anger issues.”



He credits the CBT process with giving him the tools to navigate situations that would trigger his anger or depression, while also preventing new traumas from compounding his existing ones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sensory-training-leads-to-spirits-tasting">Sensory training leads to spirits tasting</h2>



As his mental health improved, Minnick sought more from life and aimed to find what brought a genuine smile to his face every day. While he enjoyed his work as a freelance writer in food and spirits, something seemed to be missing. When he brought up his dilemma in therapy, his therapist introduced him to sensory training as a way to tap into his creativity and further ground his mind.



In one exercise, he was given a barbecue chip and asked to focus on it through his senses.&nbsp;



“She asked me to put the chip on my tongue, close my eyes, [and] think about how the salts and the sugar separate them. Think about how the crunch felt all along my tongue,” he remembers. “I had a lot of barbecue potato chips in my life, but that was the first time I think I ever actually tasted it.” This practice helped him build a mindful cognitive connection to his sense of taste, touch and smell—a breakthrough that sparked his calling as a professional spirits taster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chasing-bourbon">Chasing bourbon</h2>



Minnick's journey to becoming a bourbon-tasting expert began with wine. Trained as a sommelier, he contributed to several wine periodicals and says he even became a finalist for the Louis Roederer International Wine Writer of the Year, under 35 category. Even though he was writing about wine and whiskey, bourbon became his true love.



“There's just something about people in bourbon that…they just bring you in,” he reflects. “You're not a reporter to them, or you're not a customer; you're really in a lot of ways, like a friend, a family member, maybe a distant cousin, but still a family member. And I just found myself wanting to be around bourbon people more and more.”



The passion for the spirit fueled him to host tastings and spread the word about bourbon through freelance writing. His work appeared in publications that didn’t often feature articles about bourbon, like Scientific American and Parade Magazine. He also became a contributing editor for the British magazine Whisky and secured a role as a whiskey advocate. Later, he expanded into publishing books about whiskey.



However, he knew whiskey books were a hard sell. “No one wants to go to a bookstore for a whiskey book. They want to go to a bar and have a bourbon and learn about it,” he quips. Minnick knew he had to promote his books at events in bars, which eventually led him into becoming an emcee/host for whiskey events.



His first big break came in 2013 through the Kentucky Derby Museum. The event garnered great attention, and he later became the <a href="https://www.fredminnick.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“bourbon authority"</a> at the museum, teaching classes on bourbon at the museum and hosting private bourbon tastings for convention groups. Since then, he’s emceed multiple trade events, interviewed distillers on-stage, and even embarked on an entrepreneurial project he didn’t see coming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bourbon-and-beyond">Bourbon and beyond</h2>



During a spirits event, he was approached by concert festival promoter Danny Wimmer about co-founding a bourbon festival in Louisville, Kentucky.



“I told him no at first, and I told him no again because I was writing another book…. I didn't know these guys. And then he said, ‘Hey, why don't you just come to one of our concerts? We got Metallica playing next weekend, and, you know, to see what we're capable of,’” he says. “Well, I happen to like Metallica a lot. And I said, ‘Yes.’ I took some friends [with me]. And then they sold me right then and there.”



Minnick went on to co-found the <a href="https://bourbonandbeyond.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bourbon and Beyond Festival </a>with Wimmer, curating an incredible event showing southern cuisine, music and spirits, attracting around <a href="https://www.fredminnick.com/2024/09/24/bourbon-beyond-2024-sets-attendance-records/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">210,000 visitors </a>in 2024 alone. This was just the tipping point. Since then, Minnick has since expanded his ventures, by launching The Fred Minnick Show podcast and founding the ASCOT Awards, a global spirits competition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practicing-mindfulness-today">Practicing mindfulness today</h2>



After a decade in the bourbon industry, Minnick operates on a structured 9-to-5 work schedule, conducting tastings, writing and recording for his podcast. Yet, in every segment of his day, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/mindfulness-at-work/">mindfulness</a> is still a constant presence, he says. He credits the technique with not only altering his day-to-day life in the professional sense but also in his personal life. It allowed him to manage his triggers, regain control and fully engage with his friends and family again.



“Little did I know I actually had a talent for tasting things [before doing mindfulness training],” he says. “But [it] basically reshaped my entire life, gave me a profession I never knew I would be a part of.”



Looking forward, Minnick is working on his next book, which will explore his origins and personal growth—and offer insights on overcoming mental health challenges through mindfulness.



Photo courtesy of Minnick Media

Rena Machani

Learn how bourbon expert Fred Minnick healed his war trauma through the power of mindfulness and discovered a new career path.

Learn how Fred Minnick healed his war trauma through mindfulness.

Fred Minnick Healed His Trauma with Mindfulness | SUCCESS

How Mindfulness Training Transformed Bourbon Expert Fred Minnick

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Aditi Shrikant

When I graduated college and decide to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/how-to-start-a-freelance-writing-career">pursue a career in writing</a>, I knew I would not be making a lot of money. What I didn’t anticipate, though, was how bad that would make me feel. While all of my friends were taking girls’ trips to Miami and moving into one-bedroom apartments, I was sharing a bathroom with three other people and calculating if I had enough money to fly home for Christmas.

After a while, it became hard not to equate my value as a person with my value as an employee, and my <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/it-takes-a-positive-attitude-to-achieve-positive-results">negative attitude</a> about both spilled into my personal relationships. I would have a bad day at work and find myself snapping at my roommates or whatever family member had the audacity to call me and see how I was doing.

Related: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/why-is-adulting-so-hard">Why Is Adulting So Hard?</a>

It was only when I started to focus on the value I had in all parts of my life—not just the ones I was paid for—that my net worth stopped dictating how I treated people and how I treated myself. Here are four tips to help you keep your net worth from deciding your self-worth.

<h2>1. Understand your market value.</h2>

If you choose to enter a competitive field, sometimes you will have to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/7-ways-to-save-money-by-simplifying-your-life">make financial sacrifices</a>. Me, along with half of New York City, seemed to be pursuing a career in writing. This meant that I was easily replaceable and didn’t have the leverage to ask for a whole lot of money. Those were, and still are, realities I had to face every day.

However, if you feel you are being legitimately undervalued at your job, talk to someone about it. <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/10-ways-to-find-your-ideal-mentor">A mentor</a>, the person who holds the position right above yours—someone who will be honest with you about what you should be getting paid, and how to ask your employer for more if your salary is not meeting those goals.

Once you flesh out what your market value is, it will be easy to not feel so alone and bogged down by how much money you are making. Your salary doesn’t define you, and it shouldn’t be your only source of happiness. Your market value is just that—your value in a specific market. Don’t make it more than it is.

Related: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/rohn-9-things-more-important-than-money">9 Things More Important Than Money</a>

<h2>2. Don’t bring your work home.</h2>

When you make a mistake at work, there are two things you need to do: Learn from it and then let it go. According to Gail Saltz, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical College, <a href="https://www.learnvest.com/2016/05/keep-work-stress-from-invading-your-entire-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">work stress “does damage</a>—it causes a rise in blood pressure, GI issues and brain cell death over the long haul.”

In other words, work life causes a lot of physical and mental stress. And because you don’t want to show any stress or anxiety at work, you end up bringing it home with you. So, often, we fall into a cycle of slipping up at work, being in a bad mood with the people in our personal lives because of it, and then feeling guilty about both. If you <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/how-to-leave-work-at-the-door">keep your work mistakes at work</a> and out of the home, you’ll be less likely to equate the value of the two.

<h2>3. <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/4-ways-to-find-time-to-do-what-you-love">Engage in fulfilling activities that are not your job.</a></h2>

The easiest way to feel more valuable is to find joy and purpose in an activity that does not earn you money. A common and worthy suggestion is <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/volunteering-and-its-surprising-benefits.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">volunteer work</a>. According to HelpGuide.org, “Volunteering also provides you with renewed creativity, motivation and vision that can carry over into your personal and professional life.”

If you don’t feel like you can commit to volunteering, try picking up an old hobby. Creating something you know you won’t be judged on gives new meaning to how you spend your time and how you value yourself. You are more than what your company pays you—it might just take you picking up knitting to believe it!

<h2>4. Don’t compare your market value to others.</h2>

This may seem obvious, but making a conscious effort to focus only on your own progress each day is actually a lot of work. Mainly because there are an endless amount of people you can compare yourself to, and more than likely, you are going to compare yourself to someone who has accomplished something you wish you did.

<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/videos/youtube/how-to-stop-comparing-yourself-to-others">Comparing yourself to others</a> can also keep you from being genuinely happy for those who are progressing. Set personal goals for yourself that have nothing to do with those around you, and you will be more willing to celebrate your own, and others’, accomplishments.

Related: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/3-ways-to-avoid-the-lifestyle-comparison-trap">3 Ways to Avoid the Lifestyle Comparison Trap</a>

When I started to focus on the value I had in all parts of my life, I treated others, and myself, better.

When I started to focus on the value I had in all parts of my life, I treated others, and myself, better. | SUCCESS

Don’t Let Your Net Worth Dictate Your Self-Worth

Don’t Let Your Net Worth Dictate Your Self-Worth | SUCCESS

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Personal Development

Personal Development Archives

Personal Development | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

My four years at college were some of the most stressful years of my life. But if you ask any of my friends, they would probably say that nothing academically or socially seemed to phase me. While everyone else was frantically exchanging notes and hunting down test banks, I would be taking my third nap of the day or finally getting around to watching the last season of Orange Is the New Black. In retrospect, this wasn’t because I “had it together” or was responsible in any way; it was because pressure did not <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/the-5-best-ways-to-motivate-yourself">convert into motivation</a> for me; it converted into distress and inactivity. It was my coping mechanism.

Related: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/top-of-mind-6-ways-to-stay-productive-under-pressure">6 Ways to Stay Productive Under Pressure</a>

And now, in the age of Netflix, binge-watching entire seasons of shows is normalized and even celebrated. There is a group mentality that because everyone does it, you shouldn’t feel bad about it. Even though, when you inevitably finish the show, you are left with exponentially more stress than when you started.

In fact, a study published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcom.12107/full" target="_blank">Journal of Communications</a> surveyed 471 people, and those who watched TV after work did not describe it as a way to relax as much as a way to procrastinate. They did not benefit from their downtime because they saw it as “giving in” to media use. And, according to another study at the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150129094341.htm" target="_blank">University of Texas</a>, binge-watching is an addictive behavior to those who are not able to self-regulate. Binge-watching is also connected to depression and loneliness, neither of which are strong motivators for productivity.

Another way people cope with stress is by eating. According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342" target="_blank">Mayo Clinic</a>, more so than large, negative life events such as divorce or the death of a family member, it’s the daily hassles that lead to emotional eating. Triggers of this can be relationship conflicts, work stress, financial pressures, fatigue and even health issues. Once you start eating, you feel like you’ve already failed yourself, so why not continue the binge?

For me, stress eating and binge-watching TV would often go hand-in-hand. Making myself a snack and watching one episode of The Office quickly turned into me finishing a season, a half-eaten pepperoni pizza on the table beside me. Six hours later, I still had the same stress combined with feeling even worse about the decisions I had made.

Related: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/5-ways-i-became-more-productive-without-tv">5 Ways I Became More Productive Without TV</a>

Of course, one of the big problems that many people—including myself—have with these coping mechanisms is that in small doses, they can be good. Treating yourself to a few Oreos after you’ve had a stressful day or decompressing by watching a 20-minute episode of a sitcom can help you relax, but when you start using these things as a way to procrastinate and not <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/11-strategies-for-managing-stress">relieve stress</a>, that is when an unhealthy, self-loathing cycle begins. Trust me, it’s a difficult cycle to break.

If any of this sounds familiar, don’t let the guilt consume you. There are ways to break the binge cycle and find ways to relax, guilt-free. Here are five to get you started.

<h2>1. Get outside. </h2>

Research has shown that <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/6-stress-reducing-activities-to-get-you-outside">getting some Vitamin D</a> and exposure to nature lowers blood pressure and raises serotonin levels—meaning, it will make you happier and more productive. Leave your Instagram feed on the couch and go for a leisurely stroll. This isn’t marathon-training, so don’t feel the need to overdo it at first.

<h2>2. Switch it up.&nbsp; </h2>

If you need some media in your life (and to be honest, I usually do), <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/podcast/ep-53-top-10-personal-growth-podcasts">try listening to a podcast</a> instead of watching TV. Podcasts are one of the few mediums that allow you to do other things while you listen, and are harder to binge than a continuous stream of New Girl. Turn on some This American Life and put away that laundry that’s been sitting in the basket for a week. You’ll get to relax while also feeling productive.

<h2>3. Use your hands. </h2>

Instead of lying around, try an activity that focuses on your hands, like knitting or drawing. Hands-on, rhythmic activities help your brain relax and make you feel more grounded. The less in your head you are, the less likely you are to fall into <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/the-3-types-of-procrastination-and-how-to-beat-it">the procrastination spiral</a>.

<h2>4. Take a bath. </h2>

According to <a href="https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20765943,00.html#best-take-a-bath-0" target="_blank">Health.com</a>, taking a bath connects you to the time you were the least stressed (in the womb) and reduces stress. Pick a bath bomb or scented Epsom salt to soak with; these have stress-reducing properties that are also great for your skin.

<h2>5. Take caution. </h2>

If you absolutely need to relax on the couch, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/recipe-maca-magic-protein-bars">have a snack</a> and watch a rerun, do so with caution. Try to visualize the feeling of last time you let yourself slip down the procrastination slope and let that memory drive you to avoid the all-day slump. Also, be sure to only prepare small amounts of food. (For example, don’t bring the whole box of Oreos to the couch, just put three or four in a bowl and savor those.)

Related: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/12-ways-to-turn-stress-into-productivity">12 Ways to Turn Stress Into Productivity </a>

Shake off those potato chip crumbs and get moving.

Shake off those potato chip crumbs and get moving. | SUCCESS

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5 Tips to Help You Break Your Couch-Potato Habits | SUCCESS

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Aditi Shrikant

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