My name is Dan McDaniel and I have been a Network Engineer in the Information Technology (IT) field for over 14 years. I have worked for consulting firms for most of these years and have been involved with major consulting projects within large corporations such as HP, Celestica, Lucent, and Lockheed Martin. But I have spent the majority of this time working with small to medium size businesses.

In 2008, I decided to break out on my own and start Gold Group Tech, Inc. offering services to businesses in Athens and surrounding areas. Whether you are looking to upgrade your phone system, setup remote offices, install/migrate your financial/client tracking system, secure your network/website from intrusion/viruses/SPAM, or just need someone to call when you are having computer problems, my new business Gold Group Tech can be of great benefit to you.  For more information please email us at Staff@Bits-of-Gold.com

A more personal background on who I am and how I got to where I am today follows here: My NEW life began when I arrived at Penfield Christian Homes (A Drugs & Alcohol Treatment Center) in December 2005, suffering from a life devastating drug addiction.  It wasn’t street drugs, I was addicted to Ambien.  You’ve probably seen advertisements for Ambien on TV.  I was once very naive about “Drug Users” and “Alcoholics”, wondering why they would ever CHOOSE to live such a hideous lifestyle.  It was that kind of ignorant thinking that lead me plummeting into a black whole, that I never saw coming.

So let me go back to what led up to that day in 2005.  I started taking Ambien as prescribed by a doctor in 2000 to help me sleep and it worked, – wonderfully!  I had started taking it earlier and earlier in the day until I realized that if I didn’t got to sleep right away, it made me feel pretty good. Not long after that discovery,  it seemed that I needed more of it to get the same effect.  Then very quickly it seemed that I HAD to take it constantly just to feel “normal.”  I had gone from using the drug to abusing the drug without having the slightest clue as to what was happening to me.  I was unknowingly enslaving myself to a tortuous master.

Long story short, after 3 years of constantly needing more and more with the downward spiral of losing control, I had hit bottom.  Taking these pills caused me to feel like I could function and go on with my life as usual, but in reality I had no control over what I said and did. And my actions while on Ambien where irresponsible to say the least! Addiction had taken away almost all that I had ever known. Family, home, job, cars, friends all were lost, but the most significant thing addiction took from me was my self-worth!  I had done so much damage during my active addiction that I had become convinced that my value to life here on earth was over, and that I was in no way going to be capable of contributing anything to anyone ever again!  My life, which was once so richly blessed, had been reduced to complete worthlessness, with a horrendous self-hatred for all the destruction I caused, which ultimately led to a suicide attempt; all because of, a legal, prescribed to help me sleep, tiny little pill.

I can now fully understand the trap of self-inflicted torture that everyone suffering from addiction lives in when they have no hope.  A little peer pressure, a little curiosity, a little ignorance is all it takes to innocently slip, ever so easily, into the trap; and once you’re in, you believe the only escape from the guilt and shame is more of the “Drink, Drug or Whatever.”  It doesn’t matter what the “thing” is, legal or not.  If someone uses anything other than their Higher Power to deal with unwanted feelings or emotions, the enemy (addiction to pills for me) has its foot in the door and with a little time, he takes it all –Killing, Stealing and Destroying!

When you are in active addiction, you fully believe that doing more is not a choice; it is the ONLY option to survival – At all cost!

My hope is that you don’t see people suffering from addiction the way I once did; as weak people who had no purpose other than to promote mayhem.  People suffering from addiction have enormous potential for an abundant life, all they need is  someone to show them that here is HOPE, someone to convince them that a Higher Power really does love them and forgives them, someone to convince them that they DO have a choice and that they CAN get out of that trap; that their life isn’t over and God’s plan is to prosper them through an abundant life that they can’t even fathom.

Now, as I celebrate almost 5 Years of sobriety, I have rediscovered my identity and self worth!  I have learned, and come to fully believe, that God deeply loves me, deeply cares about me, wants to prosper me, and that He CAN and WILL still use me in mighty ways! I have rebuilt my life in ways that I would have never thought possible five years ago.  I have a great consulting business and work Internet Marketing on the side for some great discretionary income!  Five years ago, I would have never believed that I would own my own home, have my own thriving business, and a circle of friends that are worth their weight in Gold to me! I am so thankful for all that I have been blessed with.

Thanks for Visiting and I Hope You Can Find Something Here That Can Help You As Well!