The Half Measures That Get You Half Results – Steve M.

About This Speaker Tape

A veteran of the program Steve M. dissects the latter half of the steps treating the process as a transition from wreckage to a 'jet engine for life.' He moves from the spiritual anchor of steps six and seven into the gritty reality of the ninth recounting the $20 debt to a lawyer from twenty years prior and the stolen diamond ring sold for ten bucks. Steve describes the shift from the isolation of alcoholism—which he compares to 'having sex by yourself'—to a life of active connection whether it's pushing a disabled Army captain through an airport or arguing with his sponsor Tom in a restaurant.

He frames the eleventh step not as a mystical pursuit but as a practical tool for staying current arguing that the only way to avoid the price of resentment is to keep the spiritual house clean and the hands up like a boxer in the ring.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening banter about bathrooms and Peggy.
• 3:15 Discussion on the transitional nature of Steps 6 and 7 and the feeling of being 'anchored down'.
• 7:40 The 'root and branch' metaphor and the danger of half-measures.
• 11:20 Step 8: The difficulty of willingness when one feels they are the victim of 'spiritual warfare'.
• 16:10 Step 9: The story of paying back a $20 debt to a lawyer after 20 years.
• 22:45 Laughter: Story about stealing a diamond ring and selling it for ten dollars.
• 28:10 The 'jet engine for life' metaphor and the Randy Johnson fastball analogy.
• 35:20 Step 10: A detailed account of a heated argument with his sponsor, Tom.
• 41:15 The 'auditors' incident at the Department of Corrections and the danger of feeling vindicated.
• 48:30 Step 11: Pushing a disabled Army captain through the airport as an act of natural virtue.
• 54:10 Step 12: The importance of the word 'the' in the 12th step as a result of the previous eleven.
• 58:00 Closing thoughts on Harry Truman and the power of the principles to reverse a killer illness.