In this solo motivational video, entrepreneur‑coach Andrey V. Karpov explains why alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are detrimental to the true agile entrepreneur and urges viewers to quit. He begins by outlining common reasons people turn to these substances—seeking quick relief, coping with stress, fitting in socially, and the perceived entitlement that hard work justifies indulgence. Karpov then shares his own 10‑plus‑month journey of total abstinence, describing how past drinking, smoking, and occasional weed use eroded his productivity, health, and focus. He links substance use to a cascade of negative effects: weight gain, impaired digestion, dehydration, increased cravings, and exacerbated injuries such as a sciatica flare‑up. Drawing on his agile mindset, he reframes each habit as a logical obstacle to his goals—alcohol as excess sugar that stalls weight loss, smoking as a threat to his baritone voice and lung capacity needed for swimming, and weed as a performance‑diminishing drug. Karpov details the healthy lifestyle he adopted—keto/paleo diet, intermittent fasting, calisthenics, swimming, and disciplined sleep cycles—to replace the void left by substances. He emphasizes the importance of strong personal values, a clear “why,” and an accountability partner, which for him is his dog Leia. Finally, he shares his broader entrepreneurial vision: building a comfortable home, expanding his dog family, and eventually opening a no‑kill shelter named after Leia, all while encouraging viewers to adopt sobriety for better health, relationships, and entrepreneurial success. The video concludes with a call for feedback, framing the message as part of an agile feedback loop.
Chapters
How's it going, guys? This is your coach Andrey V. Karpov. Late time hour to give you a perspective as an entrepreneur to other entrepreneurs out there on how to handle difficult life situations without the use of stimulants like alcohol, tobacco, and of course all kinds of different other substances like weed, marijuana, and so forth. So let's talk about it. First of all, why do people do all that? They do that because they're looking for a quick pill and solution to cope with their problems. Interestingly enough, most people that use these substances, they want to correct the problem, eliminate it, almost completely. That is their— honestly, the original intent they have. However, during the course of use of these substances, they realize that they cannot solve the problem. Who would think, right? But yes, you cannot solve the problem using those things. So what happens is they get addicted to it and they keep using it. Another reason why people use that is because they feel they're entitled to it due to the work, daily grind, stress, amount of all the minutiae they have to do every single day. I'm gonna have my drink in the evening, right? I'm gonna just allow myself to smoke a cigar. I'm gonna do some pot, do other things. What other reasons there may be? Well, the society, right? Their circle, close close circle of friends, trying to seek validation, trying to be part of the herd, trying to sort of blend in. Single guys like me— not me personally, but like me— they'll go into bars, they'll go into restaurants, they'll go into social places, and they'll try to meet other people. They'll try to, you know, meet girls, they'll try to make friends, and they feel like in order to do that they need to drink They need to smoke, they need to, you know, do vaping and, you know, do other things that are not good for their body, including eating late, eating unhealthy fried food because, you know, they drink and obviously when you drink, you know, it becomes very clear to your body that you are very hungry now because alcohol does certain things to your gut, to your digestion, to your mind. And it forces you to have a dry mouth, and then you want to drink water. You feel hungry at the same time. A lot of people don't drink water, they don't hydrate enough while they drink alcohol, and thus they start eating unhealthy things, and those unhealthy things have further more salts and sugars and a whole bunch of other additives that stimulate their bud taste. So it's a close circle of doom. So the bottom line is People do it because they think it's going to make them feel good and because they're going to be associated with certain groups and because that's just the standard of life. The truth is, if you want to become a successful entrepreneur, if you want to change the world around you and you want to change your life for the better, you want to be efficient, you want to be effective, you want to be able to work, maybe not like Andrey V. Karpov up to 4 or 5 in the morning, sleep only 4 hours and then get back to business, which obviously is not very healthy in the long run, but sometimes you got to do that while you're building a dream, while you are building a new business, while you're really grinding. You got to do what you got to do. Other things you can delegate, you can postpone, you can deprioritize. So for that matter, you should give up those things, period. There's no such thing as a little bit in between, it's okay, You know, if you don't abuse it, you should give it up. And the reason I say this is because I know what I'm talking about, right? I used to be a social drinker, just like many people out there that I interact with on a regular basis. And it did not serve me well. I've been without any kind of unhealthy, you know, stimulants like alcohol, tobacco, and, you know, marijuana for over 10 months now. Pot and, you know, marijuana, I never liked. Tried it a few times in my life and I hated it. And when it comes to alcohol, I was drinking socially, just like on events, receptions, and other places. And that also was stealing away my life, my productivity, my time. As for tobacco, I smoked occasionally if I would drink a little bit too much and I would have a cigar, I would smoke hookah, or I would sometimes even smoke cigarettes. And don't get me wrong, when I did do all these things back in the past, I would consume quality products, very high-end products, premium products. And again, I persuaded myself that that was good, that was healthy, that was right, was better. Um, I'm, I'm entitled to it in a way, right? I work so much. The truth is none of that is good. And the reason I look relatively so young for my 40 years of age, uh, you know, my skin feels healthy and looks healthy. Hopefully you can tell from my videos. And the physique I've built with my calisthenic exercises, uh, with swimming with ketogenic diet, keto and paleo diet, and most importantly intermittent fasting, which has been a big thing for me this year in particular as I really, really transitioned into new ventures and new forms of consulting, including technology work. It has become clear to me that I should never go back to that. In fact, I had two cycles, right? About 1.5 years ago, I stopped drinking completely for about, I think, 5 or 6 months, and then I slipped and again began drinking socially and smoking socially. And again, I realized quickly where it's going, taking me to. Then I had my sciatica inflammation. That was not fun. My back really hurt. I I couldn't sit, I couldn't drive. The only position in which I felt good was lying down, and I had to take frequent breaks. I had to apply ointment. So I had a lot of issues with my back. And what I told myself, which I highly recommend to anyone out there who wants to get away from all this garbage— there's no other way of saying it— is tell yourself give yourself an analogy, like what you're doing right now. Let's say you're drinking, right? And what it converts to. Like, don't talk to it like it is— alcohol is bad for you. I mean, we know that, right? Studies show that. Research shows that smoking is bad for you too, any forms of smoking for that matter, for your lungs. But look at it in a different way. For example, what I said was, I'm on keto and paleo. I want to eat healthy. I want my gut function healthy. So for me, alcohol is sugar, and that's why I'm not losing weight. That's why my weight keeps going up or stays at the same place even with rigorous exercise. That's dumb. That doesn't have logic. So that's where the true agile mindset perspective came again into picture. So I said, that's not what you want to do. And even if you experience stress, that's not what you want to do. High stress— God forbid your parents die, God forbid you lose your job, God forbid your sweetheart, wife, whoever leaves you, cheats on you, no matter what it is, never ever allow yourself to slip in that rabbit hole. And the way you do it is by maintaining very strong values for yourself that you believe in. You don't take anybody else's values. You can, you know, aspire to them, but you have your own and you have to have your strong why, why you have those values. It's very important. And then smoking, how I explained it to myself is that I really like singing and I have a very strong baritone voice. So because of that, I wanted to maintain my voice. I wanted to be able to swim and have strong lungs. So I would swim intensively for long periods of time from 20 to 30 minutes at least. And for that, you need strong lungs, and you cannot have strong lungs if you're smoking, even e-cigs, which are horrible, absolutely horrible things. So what I did was explained it to myself in that fashion. So sugar, not good for you, weight gain, and I was 65 pounds overweight, 30 kilos overweight. So I said to myself, I'm never coming back to that. So I don't need alcohol, I don't need smoking because I want to be able to sing, and I want to be able, when I want to, of course, it's not my full-time job, and swim. And when it comes to things like, like what's popular right now and being legalized, like recreational marijuana, that's horrible too. I mean, I don't care whether your doctor prescribes it and you tell yourself that it's organic and it's natural and you want to create a refinery in your backyard or whatever the heck you want to do. The truth is it's bad for you. There have been studies that show that it creates flashback It's just— it knocks you out of commission for the whole next day, for the half of the next day. And more to say to it, it's dangerous because people that smoke pot and drive, they create danger for others, not just for themselves. Okay, there's no reason to be doing any of this, guys. There's no reason, not a single reason to be doing all of that because All of that shortens your life. And there's so many other beautiful things in your life that you can have, aspire to, and achieve. Your business, family, kids. Speaking about kids, right? I don't have kids. I don't have family yet. I used to, but I don't— didn't have kids. In order to produce healthy kids, you have to take care of yourself. You are the original foundation. So your kids will be healthy, or the chances that they will be healthy will be higher if you do not do bad things to your body. Whatever you put in your body, whatever you put in your mouth, whatever you put in your nose, ears, whatever, all of that is bad. And that creates, you know, catalytic effects afterwards. So the objective is not to go through struggles in your life and you know, persevere and never do a single bad thing in terms of bad habits. The idea is that you have to understand that we're all mortal, but you don't want to die in pain. Why should I create more inflammation to my sciatica if I know already that inflammation is bad? It's going to hurt even more, and by smoking and drinking, I'm going to aggravate the situation. So am I a dumb human, or am I a logical agreement. That's how you should look at things. If that's how I do it, I highly suggest you do it the same way, because that will definitely help you progress in your true agile mindset, in your entrepreneurial journey, and be very, very successful in life, in relationships. And if others try to force you in that, or they bash you, or they tell you, listen, that's— come on, No, no. And you're not being judgmental to them. You just say, I appreciate it, but that's— I don't do that. That's not something that I enjoy. That's not something that resonates with my personality. You guys want to do it, you can do it. So it's very important to hold your ground when it comes to things like this, because if you slip once, you'll slip again and again. Everything I'm saying comes from my personal experience. None of it I'm making up. And what I know now for life is that no matter what, that is not what I'm gonna do. And that does not free me from any kind of, I don't know, illnesses or hardships, right? Periodically, like catching a cold or whatever. But overall, you know, fingers crossed, my metabolism is strong, my mindset is clear. My vision is good. My movements are great. You know, my ability to perform in different situations is also optimal for my age and for my physique, for my ethnicity, whatever, right? And also, I'll leave you with a last thought on that, you know, and there's nothing wrong in that. I mean, we're all adults here. Your sexuality will be significantly improved. Your ability to enjoy your intimate life will be much greater. If you do not do any of that. Okay, if you really take care of your body, you will feel amazing. You will feel confident, you will feel joyful, you will have better sleep. Obviously, you know, if you gotta grind, you gotta grind, but catch up on your sleep outside of that whenever you can. Maybe smaller sleep cycles, iterative cycles, whatever. But how you start your day will define that day. Okay? And a lot of it has to do with how you treat your body. And have an accountability partner that can help you. My accountability partner is my dog right here, Leia. Right? She guides me, she loves me, and I come home to her and she keeps me on track of my entrepreneurial journey because everything I'm trying to do is I'm trying to do for both of us, for us to be successful, for us to be happy, and for us to impact the world around us in a much better way. So that one day sooner or later, when I'm more or less settled, I can have a small house with a backyard where she can run, so I can get a second dog that she can play with, and that I can make enough money so that I can open a no-kill shelter and name it after Leia and help other dogs, maybe cats too, but dogs primarily, with finding people that will love them, that will take care of them, and showing to people how beautiful these animals are, how kind they are, how they show to you unconditional love. So That's my entrepreneurial journey in a bit, my aspirations, my roadmap, my vision ahead, but most importantly, my encouragement to you not to drink, not to smoke, not to do bad trendy things these days, those bad habits, because all of that will steer you away from the path, from the wonderful path of opportunities and true happiness that the universe has in mind for you, and that will come all at the right time. I hope this video was helpful for you guys. All of my videos come from the heart with true passion and love towards all of you. I share my secrets with you. My secrets are not truly secrets, they're just my empirical knowledge base, my experience, that I want to share with you because knowledge that's not shared is useless. And therefore, I want to see a healthier, happier, and more impactful world around me. To do that, I must share it with you, my knowledge. And I would love to hear from you. Feedback loops are an important part of a true agile process and agility in general. Having said that, wishing you a wonderful day, de buona giornata, and may the true agile force be with you always. Ciao.
