Jerry C. – Steps 6-7 Defects – The Outcome Business and Character Defects – 2014

About This Speaker Tape

Jerry C. and Linda map out the grueling process of Steps 6 and 7, framing character defects not as sudden hurdles but as lifelong baggage. Jerry dismantles the illusion of the 'outcome business,' admitting how his dishonesty as a machinist served as a defense mechanism to manipulate results.

He candidly discusses the friction between his spiritual growth and the lingering desire to manipulate a back-surgery payout. Linda uses the metaphor of a hunk of coal being compressed into a diamond to describe the slow, often painful molding of the self. She shares the grit of her daily struggle with arrogance and the physical toll of macular degeneration, arguing that the only way to avoid the 'lonely place' of the pedestal is through a daily reprieve and a willingness to be pliable like wet clay.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Convention announcements and the NA clarity statement regarding the single disease of addiction.
• 2:15 David reads the 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous.
• 6:45 Jerry C. begins his talk, discussing the 'hopeless dilemma' and the disease's attempt to tell him at 52 that it was too late to recover.
• 10:20 Jerry discusses his history as a machinist and how honesty on the job provided a 'hundred percent pay raise' in peace of mind.
• 14:10 Jerry explains the difference between character defects and shortcomings, and the necessity of willingness.
• 18:30 Jerry admits to the 'outcome business' and the desire to control results through manipulation.
• 23:15 Jerry's honest reflection on his back operation and the temptation to be dishonest about his pain for more money.
• 28:40 Linda begins her share, using the metaphor of wet clay and the compression of coal into diamonds.
• 33:10 Laughter: Linda discusses her lack of patience with other drivers on the road from Ohio.
• 37:45 Linda discusses the danger of the 'pedestal' and the importance of the daily reprieve.
• timecode: 42:10 Linda shares her experience with macular degeneration and the disease's attempt to use her blindness as a reason to use.
• 46:20 Laughter: Linda's story about the 'out of order' bathroom sign.