Techcrunch had a interesting story today about lots Silicon Valley entrepreneurs being hopped up on Provigil.
Provigil (aka Modafinil) is marketed by Cephalon in the United States and is available by prescription only. It’s only approved use in the U.S. is to treat narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder. But since the main effect of Provigil is to keep you awake and able to concentrate, a lot of people who get their hands on it use it to be able to work longer hours, even though it has not been deemed safe for that kind of use.
Now I have a pretty diverse background in IT. Going back over the last 15 years or so I have seen a lot of drugs in the tech industry. Back when I was super into security and used to goto the Defcon conferences years ago (like 5+) it was not uncommon to see Cocaine floating around.
But most people I know in the Internet Marketing, whether its Affiliate Marketers, Search Engine Optimizers, Social Media people, and even just bloggers seem to prefer drugs that slow you down as opposed to those that speed you up.
Drugs that speed me up always scared me. My mind goes fast enough as it is. I sometimes need to take meds that slow me down just so I can sleep. I have admitted before in q&a that I have puffed a bit on some sweet cheebah every once in a while so I am not here to judge anyone.
So I am curious… Being many internet marketers read this site lets throw it out there completely anonymously. What is your drug of choice?
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2692 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Jeremy "ShoeMoney" Schoemaker is the founder & CEO of the ShoeMoney Blog, Elite Retreat Internet Conference, & the PAR Program. In 2013 Jeremy released his #1 Amazon Best selling Autobiography titled "Nothing's Changed But My Change" - The ShoeMoney Story. Jeremy currently lives in Lincoln Nebraska with his wife and 2 daughters.
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{ 176 comments… read them below or add one }
Caffeine is the best imo
legally..
How about a ‘None’ choice?
LSD for me – I dig the visions I get lol!. And when I’m not in the sky with diamonds, its mugs of espresso.
none of those. maybe redbull
“drugs are bad…”
Caffeine has to be common one for most and for me it’s the #1 productivity enhancer. Mary J just clouds judgement and makes me tired so that’s a thing in the past.
Actually I’m missing Red Bull as a separate choice
I think a fair number of internet marketers appear to be high on LSD
No, I’m just cracking up at the idea.
Best Poll Ever.
Coffee.. that means Caffeine!
You know the harmful effects of cocaine? It’s a lot dangerous..
You forgot alcohol.
sweet cheebah !!!!!!!
Why no option for codeine and sprite?
my thoughts exactly
Caffeine does not do anything to me but I like the taste of good coffee. I don’t need any help to focus. I’m more focused than just about anybody I’ve run across. And I’m not in this biz to work 20 hour days either.
If I need new angles or ideas I get on the Gazelle (sorta like a treadmill) and think/talk things through while walking.
Ronda
I tried to choose more than one. *looks over shoulder to see if friends coming to do an intervention*
works on us all differently, I can tell you from experience that pot can also heighten awareness and your hole thought process.
what about alcohol?
Provigil FTW… totally works when needed. I take it when I have deadlines to hit and need to stay awake and focused. After words it just sits in the drawer till next time!
Caffeine in the morning gets me up and working straight away!
You forget chocolate…
Not into drugs, haha. Umm, I drink coffee every now and then.
Drugs destroy dreams! Down with dope, up with hope. If I had to choose one it would be Redbull/Mountain Dew
I do love Stella and on occasions Jagar
Chocolate does boosts your levels of activeness?
GANJA!!!!!
Earl grey, hot.
Need to add alcohol (which I find is quite good to relax), “none” and “other” (you never know)
nice keywords here
It depends on the activity. If it’s on page seo, I’ll go with 50mg Adderall, 10mg Provigil and a quintuple venti latte.
If I’m doing some creative linkbaiting I’ll go with 2 hits of acid, 1 hit of ecstasy and a quick hit of the crack pipe.
When writing content, I’ll typically mainline heroin while sipping on a grey goose martini, up with olives – very dry.
But that just works for me. I suggest everyone experiment to find your own groove.
adderall anybody?
what, no alcohol? Beer is the #1 user agent for deal making.
Caffeine! Nothing like a can of jolt and a powerbar to spice things up.
Pseudoephedrine and Excedrin – breakfast of champions.
Ecstacy is my favorite. Runner ups would have to be pot and acid
Although I haven’t done it in years.. becoming a daddy really ends a majority of that stuff
The best one for me would be the caffeine.
Got a Capresso machine last year and can’t imagine a day without it now…..so yeah, caffeine
Caffeine here, can’t say I’ve ever tried any of the others…
where is my coffee?
ecstacy was mine until I became a dad
lol.. to much caffeine screws up my concentration
Well, I’d go with Caffeine.
Desperately need a coffee now.
It used to be a coffee and a cigarette for, but since I quit smoking long long ago, it’s just the caffeine that keeps me going now. I see that is what the majority have chose also.
Meth and opiates should be added to the list. I used to be a big druggie. I was addicted to GHB, meth, and benzos. Not all the same time but one replaced the other over the space of some years. Now I replaced all that stuff with working my ass off.
All of the above. Preferably in multiple combinations.
Caffeine is my main sin. I pass on the others.
Would any serious internet marketer take LSD and then try to work?
lol.. no I doubt they would.. I read it as a general question about drugs..
Although when I was on the down side of drugs like that I a was very creative and a great worker.
I need a ‘none’ or ‘chocolate’ choice. I quit buying soda a long time ago to save money, but I can’t give up my dark chocolate for that quick bit of energy. I keep a bag of 60% Ghirardelli chocolate chips in the freezer for quick use, and often have 70% cocoa chocolate around in bar form.
Vodka mixed with redline
I honestly recommend ritalin for people who want a quick buzz to help with concentration.
Where’s alcohol?
Small glass of red wine never killed anybody. French live yonks and drink loads of the stuff
Sex, lots of hot sex… preferably not with myself!
Where’s adderall?
Drug of choice for those 25 years or younger.
Anonymous like a youtube video to viacom?
it has been added
Caffeine, one iced coffee at noon to get the afternoon going, oh and ZipFizz for even more energy.
Haha, nice Poll!
Voted for Caffeine…
Heh just give me
some Nicotine to take breath
I love the smell of burning heroin in the morning.
Jack Daniel’s
I don’t think that you can blog and work if you are drunk!
Nothing for now, I used to drink too much coffee, soda and energy drinks, but now and after a terrible accident I prefer to stay away from all these stuff for the moment I guess! Tomorrow, who knows!
yes, sure it gives energy, especially the good tasty ones.
yes I agree and you’ll lose all your earning and you’ll quick MMO to be a drug or arm dealer in order to have the cash for that poison!
Caffeine (Diet Pepsi) and Nicotine (Marlboro cigarettes ). I am still trying to quit smoking cigarettes.
Ohh Marijuana is in the second postion after Cafeine! lol, I didn’t know that Internet marketers are too addicted
Weed man, that’s crazy, you’ll be sleeping and out minded all the time :p how you will find the time to work?
Caffiene most of the time, but I have to have the gange. No xanax listed. Bummer. It makes me a commenting fool.
Great poll! Was alcohol just too obvious? And how about combos? “Click two or more to recreate your favorite cocktail!”
I go with energy drikns like Power Horse or Red Bull, These are much better.
praise jah! I don’t do caffeine or any kind of speed up drugs at all.. smoke weed pretty much constantly and drink socially..once every 3 years I might eat some x or shrooms :-O
One day last week I had to skip my coffee due to a pending blood test scheduled at 9:30 am. By the time I got to the doctor’s office, I couldn’t even tell you my middle name. I actually bought a cup of coffee on the way there so it would be in my car the exact second I left the office.
spoken like someone who doesn’t partake… i think THC affects everyone differently, some people have the incapacitated response, some get super focused.. *shrug* to each their own.
Caffeine.
Coke Zero = my friend.
Wow…. most interesting poll we’ve seen in a while. 13 coke users eh? Wow… glad to see people are pretty PG-13 here and chose “Caffeine”.
Caffeine for me. Marijuana is good too
BEER!!
triple vente white mocha please!
Just caffeiiiinneee! And has some prescribed drugs for pain but did whatever I could to get off those…even deal with the extra pain without them lol.
Man… I wish I could choose three or 4 from that list!
I would have to say though… tobacco is number 1.
Mark
Caffeine Baby!
Just caffeine for me!
What about Alcohol?
Long Island Iced Tea for me please!
Caffeine and Nicotene keep me awake and definitely working a lot more than the days I go without.
lol!
Hmmm…interesting results.
I agree, caffeine is good for about half-hour then I get too hyped and can’t really focus too well because my mind is racing, I can’t imagine working in IM or AM on cocaine???!!!!!??????
I was also searching for that option
Nice and simple for me, Coffee and Chocolate
my drug is HAPINESS and my dealer is LIFE!
My biggest drug is Monster Engergy Drinks (low cal). Us GI’s love it. It’s just what the doctor ordered.
Correction: Happiness
Comedy!!! I thought the purpose was to make sure we could stay awake not get high! *Hand Raised – Caffeine”
wow… this is a useful find… me i take caffeine a lot… although many people feel caffeine would help them not fall asleep, in my case it’s a contrast
Now that is kind of scary!!!!
Good to see that you added Caffeine as a drug – and that it’s leading the pack, although not by much by the looks of things.
I’m a Caffeine addict too. I drink of joice is Diet Pepsi Max..Caffeine and Ginseng…you can’t beat that.
Count how many cigarettes you smoke in a single day and then try to go down by one every day or second day. As you get down to a small amount of cigarettes per day, try to space them out evenly throughout the day.
Dark Chocolate Cover Coffee Beans. Hands down favorite!
I hear ya there
I do it all the time, it’s not that effective but it’s possible. lol
Nothing is better than marijuana.
I’d say lots of the silicon guys are trying to stay wake because they’re running on empty since their VC funds are disappearing. Espresso all the way!
Coffee to start the day then straight into beer by the night and straight back into coffee if I work all night. I may even throw a green tea in there to be healthy! Good post!
I picked a bad day to stop sniffing glue….
CAFFEINE
All of the above (almost…years ago). Very true that many programmers do a ton of drugs. I have seen that stereotype many times. Then the other half of them are complete dorks. Caffeine seems to be the best choice for me long term. And even that sucks sometimes. I used to know some programmers that would use speed and coke to finish projects when they had a big deadline. But then it led into other parts of their lives. Long term, a healthy diet, exercise, and plenty of sleep seems to be the best way to keep going. Drugs just begin to have very negative effects as one gets older. But ahhh, the good old days!
I’m taking hydromorphone right now for chronic pain until I get my surgery, but I sure don’t mind taking it in the meantime
I can’t blog when I’m on it most of the time though or I end up with completely bullshit posts.
I have coffee once in awhile which helps a bit, and at night I go for a cigarette to mellow me out.
yeah for real
I see marijuana has taken the lead. (Legalize it!)
Caffeine all the way. Lots of Diet Coke usually. Maybe a few Nodoze here and there.
Hard liquor and caffeine for the rough times though
I don’t use anything…I am a night person and have no issues staying focused until midnight or so….if i had to it would be Pepsi
drugs? at defcon? no….
I guess caffine, nicotine and alcohol would have been my picks!
yes, we need none choice
I dont anything.. only occasionally alcohol
I’m dissappointed you missed toad licking……
If I time my Ritalin dosing out right, I can get tons done in a night.
Maryjane and caffeine are in a tight race
Bah starbucks is too expensive
i just drink alcohol and smoke not additcted to any of these and hope not to get addicted in near future too
Coffee and white sugar are two of the most widely abused drugs in the world (not that they actually get classified as such)
Well put. MJ definitely stifles productivity and demotivates people. Coffee is a good get up and go, but good nutrition, exercise and adequate sleep is the best way of regualting one’s energy levels naturally.
Definitely weed. Nothing brings out my creativity more than being high…
Arnold Palmer – 1/2 Lemonade 1/2 Iced Tea.
Weed makes me so much more creative and thoughtful. It helps me question the world
Seriously I can only choose one, what kind of poll is this
bottom line,
Bolivian Yay for the morning and some good old BC Bud to go to sleep, I go through at least an ounce of blow every 3 weeks, and I have a pound of bud in my freezer at any given time, so Yes I know I have a serious problem, Whatever….
Marijuana all the way!
None, why alter your brain activity at all?
Choclate really helps, with no side effects(except to stinking mouth) as compared to other drugs given in the list
I like to smoe trees, alot of them, and I’m still successful.
I do not use drugs. And you do not advise. Sport is the best drug.
Caffiene shouldn’t be listed since it’s legal.
The reason chocolate helps so much is because it has caffiene and sugar in it.
No drugs, caffeine or nicotine in my system But, I have a wicked addiction to everything Google.
Don’t be a Narc. I chose caffeine.
should be none choice.
Sizzurp.
i had a few to click but was limited to one.
Tooughyyyy! My drug of choice is illegal and I havent done it for 13 years :0 Speeding you up was its jobs slooooowed me down it did. Nutty I am!
Provigil will probably be making a fast move to the top after people read this, http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/15/how-many-of-our-startup-executives-are-hopped-up-on-provigil/
I probably like caffeine the best
i prefer to use nicotine… I know its very restricted, but for me, cigarete could do anything in 2-6 Am lolz….
nice blog here… and nice to meet you btw
Coffee rules the roost as far as legal substances are concerned, it seems everybody here pretty much agrees on that!
Oxygen definitely has its own merit. Quite invigorating, especially when delivered in the form of an icy blast of wind in the face.
But can you work when your screen and keyboard are morphing into colourful putty? LOL
Marijuana definitely is an unwise choice when trying to be focused and productive. For non-thinking, repetitive manual type work it seems to do wonders, there is a road crew working down the road from the office and the cigarettes they smoke smell very grassy
Their workrate is intense though!
As long as it ain’t a crack pipe….LOL
I think that drug use is impermissible for a human weakness.
Some of the comments one encounters on blogs could well be put down to inebriated posters. Won’t recommend doing this too often though, just now you spill it!
LOL, you sound like heaps of fun!
That depends on the level you’re dealing with. Upper echelons prefer good whiskey. The rabble are generally the beer drinkers (suppose that makes me a big rabble….hahahah)
Ritalin is commonly referred to as “cocaine for kids” so you got a point in the pep me up stakes there!
Hypnosis works like da bomb for quitting smoking. You do need to have a deep seated desire to quit though. It worked for me!
Red Bull just gets very expensive. Quaffing back the stuff can cost you as much as any other bad habit!
Your spelling sucks though. Indicative of short term memory loss, perhaps?
I dont do any drugs nor do I want caffeine as it just picks you up and beats you into the ground later on.
Including kill you over time as it eats your lungs.
Agreed! Just get the rest you need and you wont need caffeine or anything else.
Yuck, you drink diet? Thats stuff is full of yuck.
Caffeine sorta picks you up and then beats you into the ground later on.
Did you know too much caffeine can give you a stomach ache?
Not as good as a apple I read. It may get you up but then it beats you into the ground later on.
It gives you wings!haha
Actually a apple does a better job of giving you energy.
Most internet marketers probably drink coffee so caffeine
My biggest drug is nicotine. That’s the way i like it.
Caffeine for sure
You can’t get addicted to caffeine, so it isn’t a real drug.
Absolutely the most commonly used legal stimulant. Cigarettes also help keeping sleepy eyes at bay!
Red Bull definitely gives you wings! The stuff is just so expensive though
And one of the most commented on too! Shows you what linkbait some terms can deliver.
Have you seen the dangers of aspertame, the active sweetenening ingredient in Coke Zero and other diet drinks? Trust me, you’re better off having the sugar. Just beware, because the acid in cooldrinks eats away your tooth enamel. Nobody wants to see a salesperson or marketer with a bad smile.
Currently the poll has 36 nicotine users, versus 37 cocaine users. Surely more people smoke than use cocaine?
kinda funny Marijuana won no hands down
You can easily see what our drug of choice is… It’s a great injustice that there are even laws against things that harm no one but the user.
It’s all about the Coke (no, I didn’t vote caffeine)
A couple of notes I would add about Provigil It is very expensive. It will cost you about $ $10 to $ 15 per 200 MG dose. As a narcoleptic that has been on it for 4 years, I can tell you most insurance won’t pay for it so you are looking at about a $ 600 a month “habit”. (It’s not addictive, really.”) Also note that may users have reported a “paradoxal” reaction when they have used alcohol the previous day where they become extremely fatigued after taking it the following day. Researchers have not been able to explain this phenomenon. Also note there have been rare reports of heart attacks in normal doses in young people. Proceed with caution! My physicians are not familiar with all the side effects of this drug and most over prescribe the dosage. Many time as much a 4000 mg/day. It is most commonly prescribed “off label” as an enhancer to common antidepressants.
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binging and purging is my drug.