MIS for "Defective" Alcoholics

OR . . .

. . . “Appreciating Liszt.”

What has one of the fathers of modern music got to do with alcoholism? As far as I know – nothing. It is just other feeble attempt of mine at sounding clever – because this article is about Step Eight – making a “list” – not Franz.

The making of any list whether it be a shopping list, a “To Do” list or a Relational Data-Base for an Artificial Intelligence robot – is simply – an organizational activity - so that we or the robot can perform tasks to the utmost of our abilities. We become our own MIS Director. (Management Information System)

If I have been following the AA Program then I have already made three simple lists and have a good handwritten database – or in some cases like mine – a freakin‘ Directory – of people we have harmed through our self-centeredness.

The task at hand is making AMENDS – the setting straight and correcting of the past errors. Who but WE get a chance to do this?

It is a lie to walk around the Fellowship telling everyone that “I have done the steps” while balking and having yet to complete amends. To me that is dishonest, and being “somewhat honest” is not enough. Telling “little baby” fibs is not being RIGOROUS about my honestly. There are many of us who want the “badge” of being a Twelve Stepper. You know . . . . “I did the steps!” – like those AWOL promoters love to do – and the only way to do that is to convince ones self that making amends is some sort of lifelong process! What a neat and tidy crock of steaming shit that is.

Many of the men with whom I work in solving the alcohol problem sometime haven’t become willing enough not to balk. This is usually so for one simple reason – they haven’t done a thorough fourth or fifth step. The courage and the abject disgust with their own nature just hasn’t occurred. Sometimes it’s a former sponsors fault – one who insisted upon interjecting his own ideas in Step Four and Five with stuff like “Inventory of assets” (“There there poor boy. You’re not so bad. “) – Another crock of shit.

The List included all those I had harmed and to whom I held a resentment toward – not only at the time that I was doing this work – but at anytime in my life, as recorded in my fourth step inventory. These are the things we find “Objectionable“. We are already “Not drinking“ and now we really can’t STAND our own natures to be this way anymore!

We need a New Nature.

Feeling like crap by sitting in your own is is a wonderful motivator – it is a great producer of genuine willingness – the kind that jumps the Step Nine fear-factor like a champion jumper-class horse taking a high fence.

The List included all those I had harmed and to whom I held a resentment toward – not only at the time that I was doing this work – but at anytime in my life, as recorded in my fourth step inventory.

When I speak of this experience, I intentionally do not emphasize the “feels good” aspects – how “freeing” it was – how “personally liberating” it was – how “guilt shedding” it was.

I do not because that is not the message I get about this part of the Program out of my Big Book, so I can safely say that these “benefits” or “promises” are not an object of performing them.

Anyone who goes through this process for the expressed purpose of obtaining “The Promises” is still selfish and self-centered to the degree where they are in probably still in great danger of drinking again.

In step eight, I simply took my forth step inventory and converted it into a LIST. “We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took inventory.” (76:2)

As a professionally trained career salesman for my entire life, the value of having a dedicated list – complete with contact information and phone numbers is key to success. Sales is all about prospecting. A salesman can’t close if he hasn’t got a prospect in front of him.

If I do not have a plain and simple contact method – a single source of all information in front of me to get a hold of my clients and prospects then I will not make the calls - and I will not set the appointments, no matter how good my intentions or how necessary it is for me to do so.

That is a fact.

So, I treated my eight-step list in exactly this way – as a sales contact form. This made the process much more efficient. People fail in sales from not contacting their prospects and clients in a timely and organized fashion. I did not want to fail my amends.

The result was that I set appointments to personally see each person I could. No phone amends – none – not one — regardless of geography, how much money owed or how embarrassing or silly it felt.

Get free. Finish your amend this week. Call someone before your head hits the pillow tonight. You’ll thank God in the morning.

THEN make your amends and THEN you can tell others that you’ve “taken the steps” and “practice these principles in all” your affairs.

(If you are a also meditating daily. HA! GOTCHA AGAIN!)

Peace,

Danny S