The Art of Gracefully Not Getting Your Way – Don M.

About This Speaker Tape

SETA Convention - 2012

A parked truck on Lincoln Street in Louisville Colorado serves as the backdrop for Don M.'s surrender. He describes a life spent as a 'competent insecure person,' using a career in software engineering to build a wall of isolation and control. Don't narrative moves from the wreckage of a .302 blood alcohol level and a gram of cocaine in his pocket to a deep dive into the General Service structure. He frames his recovery not as a quest for perfection but as a series of 'good enough' efforts eventually finding that the root of humility is the admission 'I need you.' He candidly discusses the friction of service work the financial collapse of his own business and the realization that insecurity is not an impediment to living but often the very engine of humility.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction of Don M. by a fellow delegate.
• 1:45 The scene at 1009 Lincoln Street and the arrest that led to sobriety.
• 4:10 Laughter: The coincidence of Don and Tim both being in the police station for DUIs.
• 7:30 Don discusses the 'competent insecure person' and the need for external approval.
• 11:15 Discussion of the 'insanity' mentioned in the 12 and 12 and the inability to perceive reality.
• 15:40 The realization that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking (Tradition 3).
• 21:00 Don't experience serving as Treasurer for Colorado while living in Switzerland.
• 26:30 Analysis of the Grapevine's financial deficits and the nature of organizational change.
• 31:15 Reflection on the 'unlived life' and the risk of not taking chances.
• 35:00 The conversation with Jack S. regarding self-doubt as the root of humility.