Getting High

What if the real high - the one that lasts - doesn't come from escaping life, but from showing up to it?

Getting High is a book about elevation without shortcuts. No pills. No scalpels. No hacks. Just the quiet, repeatable discipline of returning to the work in front of you - and discovering the clarity, strength, and presence that rise when you stop running from your life and start participating in it.

Drawing on fifteen pieces of evidence from lived experience, hard‑won lessons, insights from doctors, and the ancient wisdom echoed by teachers and books across history, Dan Stains explores a simple but radical idea: the elevated state isn't rare - it's our natural state. It appears when we stop numbing, stop performing, and start acting with sincerity and purpose.

Through stories from professional sport, coaching, fatherhood, business, chronic pain, and a 790 km pilgrimage across Spain, Dan shows how meaning isn't found in the perfect job or ideal conditions - it's found in the way you meet the work you're already doing.

This book is for anyone who wants:

• a grounded, practical path to feeling alive again

• a way to navigate anxiety, pressure, and self‑doubt without medication

• a deeper sense of clarity, capability, and connection

• a life that feels whole - not perfect, but aligned

Getting High isn't a map. It's a reminder. A return to what's already in you. And an invitation to experience the kind of high that comes from living fully, caring deeply, and taking the next honest step.