At the beginning we sacrificed alcohol. We had to, or it would have killed us.
But we couldn't get rid of alcohol unless we made other sacrifices.
Big-shotism and phony thinking had to go.
We had to toss self-justification, self-pity, and anger right out the window.
We had to quit the crazy contest for personal prestige
and big bank balances.
We had to take personal responsibility for our sorry state
and quit blaming others for it.
Were these sacrifices? Yes, they were.
To gain enough humility and self-respect to stay alive at all
we had to give up what had been our dearest possession
-- our ambitions and our illegitimate pride.
- Bill W., January 1955.
Alcohol -- cunning, baffling, powerful!
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
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