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“After endless voting on a title for the new work we had decided to call it The Way Out. But inquiry by Fritz M., our Maryland alcoholic, at The Library of Congress disclosed the fact that 12 books already bore that title. Surely we couldn't make our book the 13th. So we named it Alcoholics Anonymous instead! Though we didn't know it, our movement then got its name -- a name which because of the implication of humility and modesty has given us our treasured spiritual principle of anonymity.”

“Admitting I lack faith does me no harm ... being different, dissenting from views by a majority of my peers, is not a source of guilt.”

“Our AA Traditions are, we trust, securely anchored in those wise precepts: charity, gratitude, and humility. Nor have we forgotten prudence. May these virtues ever stand clear before us in our meditations.”

“Sometimes when I think I am having a bad day, I am really learning a hard lesson, cheap. And sometimes, when I think I am having a good day, I am really in trouble and just haven't recognized it yet. I'm really no judge at all of what kind of day I'm having.”

“In relinquishing some goals because of lessened physical energy, I have been freed to achieve other and more satisfying ones that a deeper and more extensive Me has always known it wanted.”

“The other day, I sent an AA friend on a job interview. He went to the wrong address and he lost the man's name. In another office, he stated his purpose, was offered a job, and came back with one better than the job I sent him to look for.”

“We are called to unity, not uniformity.”

“Sponsorship is a bridge to trusting the human race, the very race we once resigned from. In learning to trust, we are strengthening our sobriety.”

“When things go well, we must never fall into the error of believing that no great ill can befall us. Nor should we accuse ourselves of ‘negative thinking’ when we insist on facing the destructive forces in and around us, both realistically and effectively. Vigilance will always be the price of survival.”

“Life is travel -- enjoy the journey, bumpy roads and all.”

“I am responsible for reporting for duty and making the effort to overcome adversity, and in so doing to overcome myself.”

“The language of AA is the language of self-discovery, of speculation, of wonder. It has a dual reality: While it describes experience, it also creates experience, and allows each member to grow in the search for personal meaning.”

“We shall always have to deal with the fearful forces which are released when the human ego runs amok -- the same forces that are shattering the world of our time. Deliver us from temptation must therefore continue to be a prime ingredient of our every attitude, practice, and prayer.”

“By helping to insure the sobriety of others to come, we insure our own sobriety today.”

“Sincerity of purpose, humility in the knowledge of our own power to help, and confidence in our understanding of our capacities in AA are likely to help in working with others.”