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“Happiness is not a station we arrive at; it’s a way of traveling.”

“I number among my friends stars and lesser lights of stage and cinema; writers are my daily diet; I know the ladies and gentlemen of both political parties; I have been entertained in the White House; I have broken bread with kings and ministers and ambassadors; and I say, after that catalog ... that I would prefer an evening with my AA friends to any person or group or group of persons I have indicated.”

“The best way to appreciate AA is the same way you appreciate a stained-glass window: Look at it from the inside.”

“We can, through broken anonymity, resume our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and money -- the same implacable urges that when frustrated once caused us to drink; the same forces that are today ripping the globe apart at its seams.”

“When I was drinking, I was afraid I was not achieving my potential. Now that I’m sober, I worry that maybe I am.”

“To know yourself is not done just by reviewing your ‘misdeeds’; they are not you ... Your doubts, fears, and apprehensions, your immature cravings, your self-indulgence ... they are all committed by your physical body, guided by false instincts and imagination, instead of by your real self, which is the soul – the spirit within. That is where your conscience is, and your wisdom and your strength – which no one can hurt but you.”

“Things haven’t been all roses but they are certainly not comparable to the way they were. God has blessed me with a vivid memory of my pain, which has helped me ... when the thought of escaping popped into my head.”

“I realize now that most of the problems in my life were a direct result of my attempts to handle my own life, to be in control of my own destiny. I am grateful that today, sober, I can still say my life has ‘become unmanageable.’”

“Let us not be afraid of unsettling or boring our comrades by talking about our reactions to whatever is bothering us at a given moment; for this is how we learn to live.”

“Tolerance ... promotes an open-mindedness that is vastly important -- is, in fact, a prerequisite to the successful termination of any line of search, whether it be scientific or spiritual.”

“I pray that I will stay humble and not forget that I am just a drunk, sober today through the grace of God and the program of AA.”

“Without much doubt, a million alcoholics have approached AA during the last thirty years. We can soberly ask ourselves what became of the 600,000 who did not stay.”

“I’m learning to smile and laugh again, and I’ve even gotten back some of my self respect ... I still have problems, but AA has taught me how to handle them and not to run from them.”

“Vision is ... the very essence of prudence.”

“When all else fails, try following directions.”