Just Follow These Simple Steps: Inspiring Results Of The 12-Step Program With Jason AustinJust Follow These Simple Steps: Inspiring Results Of The 12-Step Program With Jason Austin
I Love Being Sober
Tim Westbrook talks with Jason Austin about how following simple AA suggestions and the 12-step programme shifted him from rock bottom to a stable, active sober life. Their conversation highlights the power of action, fellowship and ongoing commitment in recovery.
27:49•26 Apr 2022
Simple Steps, Big Changes: Jason Austin on Living a Kick-Ass Sober Life
Episode Overview
- Action is more important than need or desire; following the 12 steps consistently is key.
- Fellowship and human connection, such as regular breakfasts with sober peers, strongly support long-term recovery.
- A simple routine of meetings, a home group, sponsorship and step work can build a stable sober foundation.
- Life in sobriety can include family, business success and health, all as byproducts of staying sober.
- Service and helping others in recovery bring real fulfilment, more than material achievements alone.
“My sponsor always says AA is not for people who need it or even want it. It's for people who do it.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This chat between host Tim Westbrook and his good friend Jason Austin answers that with raw honesty and a lot of hope for anyone in early sobriety. Jason shares how his drinking started as a curious teenager raiding the beer cooler, eventually spiralling into heavy cocaine, heroin, meth and alcohol use.
He talks about reaching a point where he kept an AK-47 under his bed and seriously considered ending his life, saying he’d "become a person that I just couldn't stand looking at in the mirror." That moment of desperation led to a phone call to his dad, medical detox, and treatment at The Caron Foundation, where he first connected with AA and the spiritual side of the 12 steps. This episode focuses on action, not theory.
Jason repeats his sponsor’s line: "AA is not for people who need it or even want it. It's for people who do it." He walks through how simple but consistent steps changed everything: going to meetings, getting a home group, finding a sponsor, working the steps, and, crucially, joining the fellowship – like breakfast with older sober men who became lifelong friends.
You’ll hear how that "simple guy" life today includes two teenage sons, a successful fire protection business, strong family ties, and an active lifestyle with yoga and squash, all resting on the foundation of the 12-step programme. Tim connects it to other goals, comparing AA to training for an Ironman: the programme is straightforward, but you have to show up even when you don’t feel like it.
If you’re miserable in your first year, wondering whether a better life is possible, this episode offers a clear message: follow the steps, connect with sober people, keep taking action. Could these simple suggestions be the next move you need?
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