The crack-smoking ghost

When I was a kid, my father was an unpredictable presence in my life.

He’d show up clean for a few months, visit my brother and I, and I’d think, Maybe this time it’s different…

It never was.

The same story played out every time:

• Get clean.

• Make promises.

• Relapse.

• Disappear.

By the time I was old enough to understand what was happening, I’d stopped expecting him to stick around.

That’s just what life is like when your father is a crack addict.

But here’s the thing:

My father didn’t spend 26+ years in and out of rehab because he liked crack (though I’m sure it helped).

He kept relapsing because he didn’t have a purpose—nothing that made him wake up in the morning excited to be alive.

And when you don’t have purpose, you start searching for meaning in… well, bad places.

For years, I thought he’d be stuck in that cycle forever.

Until something unexpected happened:

He started watching me.

I don’t mean the “good job, son” kind of watching.

My father started paying attention to how I’d gone from overweight, insecure, and directionless to building a ghostwriting business that gave me freedom.

Financial freedom, time freedom, life freedom.

At first, he didn’t say much.

But over time, he asked questions.

About my work, my business, and how I figured all of this out.

Then one day, out of nowhere, he said: “I think I’m gonna try ghostwriting.”

• At 50 years old…

• After decades of addiction...

• With no writing experience, no social media knowledge…

Nothing but the hope that maybe, just maybe, he could turn things around.

And you know what?

He may not be writing like Hemingway or going viral like Dan Koe yet…

But he’s putting in the work, writing, and learning skills most people half his age would shy away from.

And much of my disappointment has turned to respect.

Because this isn’t just about ghostwriting.

It’s about purpose. 

My father finally found something to wake up for.

Now, I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume you’re not a crack addict.

But nonetheless, my father is a prime example that purpose doesn’t care where you’ve been—it only cares where you’re going.

If a 50-year-old man with 26 years of addiction can claw his way out of a cycle that seemed unbreakable, then what’s stopping you from taking the first step?

My father taught me, even if it wasn’t intentional:

Excuses only hold power when you let them.

You can tell yourself you’re:

• Too busy

• Too inexperienced

• Too stuck in your current life

To start something new.

You can let fear of failure, judgment, or rejection keep you in your comfort zone.

Or you can do what my father did:

Start.

One imperfect step after another.

It’s not about being ready—it’s about deciding you deserve better.

Because the truth is, you’re either moving closer to the life you want, or further away from it.

There’s no standing still.

Ghostwriting gave me freedom:

• The freedom to work where I want, when I want.

• The freedom to create, instead of just consume.

• The freedom to build a life that excites me every single day.

But more importantly, it gave my father hope.

If you’d like to follow my father’s journey, you can follow him on X here: [link]. I’m sure he’d appreciate the follows.

But with that being said, happy Thursday.

Have a kickass day.

Your Canadian friend,

Dakota “Start, Don’t Smoke” Robertson

P.S.

If you wanna learn to become a ghostwriter alongside my father, I’m opening up my flagship program, Growth Ghost, on January 6th.

Click the button below to join the waitlist: