 Some of you may have heard that comedian and actor Russell Brand just released a brand new book called Recovery where he dives into the 12 steps from various 12 step programs. But the question is, did he break one of the traditions from Alcoholics Anonymous by writing this book? Stay tuned as we dive into this subject. What's up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And yes, today we're going to be talking about Russell Brand, his new book Recovery, as well as the 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which are across the board for all 12 step programs, but AA started it so we'll focus on those traditions. So what are the traditions? That's the first question. If you're unfamiliar with 12 step programs, there are 12 steps and 12 traditions. So what they say is that the 12 steps are to prevent you from committing suicide and the 12 traditions are to prevent you from committing homicide. That's just a little 12 step AA humor for you. So the next question is, why were these traditions made? When AA first started, there was only 12 steps and over time they started creating these traditions. And basically they created these traditions so the entire program didn't implode upon itself. I highly suggest that if you're interested in the program or new in the program, you check out the 12 steps and 12 traditions. It's an amazing book. It really dives in deep into the steps and traditions, which the AA big book doesn't do. The narcotics anonymous basic text does a little bit better, but check out the 12 steps and 12 traditions book. You can find it at just about any AA meeting or you can pick it up from Amazon by using the link below. Now, when I first got clean, I started going to a lot of 12 step meetings. And one of my favorite ones was a 12 and 12 study where we studied this book, the 12 steps and 12 traditions. And we were going through it and I really liked it because it helped me learn a little bit about the history of AA, how it formed. I liked knowing the source and where it came from. And as you go through the traditions, it's kind of talking about why each one of these traditions was made. Now, as we went through these traditions in these book studies, like it started to make sense why they made these 12 traditions, because I am a crazy person and I used to be a very terrible crazy person. The second I walked into the meeting, I was thinking like, how can I benefit from this? What can I take from this meeting? How can I profit from it to get the things that I think I need? And one of those things I think I need is money so I can be happy, which I later found out is absolutely not true. So these traditions are in place. So dirt bags like myself coming into the program can't destroy the program by doing very immoral things. So thank God for the traditions. If it weren't for these traditions, AA probably would have been gone years and years and years ago. The question that we're going to be asking today is, did Russell Brandt break Tradition 11? Tradition 11 reads, Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion. We need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. Then it elaborates, Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal anonymity. We think AA ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and pictures as AA members ought not be broadcast, filmed or publicly printed. Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us. So in essence, this tradition is basically saying we are a program of attraction rather than promotion. But also something that I gather from this tradition is that we don't want people trying to turn a profit from the program by marketing it to people. So now let's get into my take on this thing. So first off, it says at press, radio and films. All the press that I've seen Russell Brandt do while promoting his books, he only talks about 12 step programs, no programs specifically. So I think he's in the clear and also it doesn't list books in there. All joking aside, here is the stone cold truth. The reality that we're facing today in 2017 and for the past decade is an addiction epidemic that the men and women who started the 12 step programs had no idea was coming. Back in the 1930s when this book and this program was created, they had no idea how many people every single year were going to be dying due to alcohol and drug addiction. So personally with the crisis that we're facing today, I feel that as people in recovery and in these programs, it is our duty to educate the masses about this simple free program that can help change their lives for the better and free them from active addiction. So Russell Brandt has been able to hit the masses with this book and educate them about these 12 step programs. And this first week of this book being launched, it is number 10 on the New York Times best seller list. Then we can head over to Amazon, go to the book section, type in the keyword addiction, and if you start to scroll down, you will see that Russell Brandt's book Recovery is on the very first page of search results. This is a huge deal. This means that thousands, if not millions of people who would have never been introduced to 12 step programs are now being educated about them. And here's something else that I want to bring up. Let's take a look at tradition number five. Tradition five reads, Each group has but one primary purpose to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Each alcoholics anonymous group ought to be a spiritual entity having but one primary purpose. That of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Side note, if you're a drug addict watching this, don't be deterred by that word alcoholic. We're all addicts and that's what we need to start getting straight. But anyways, in my humble opinion, I truly believe that tradition five should supersede every other tradition. Our primary purpose is to spread this message to people who are still suffering. I personally do not think after watching many interviews with Russell Brand and following his work, I do not think he was doing anything malicious or he's doing anything to gain more fame or he's doing anything to make a ton of money off this thing. Like he is very humble. I don't think that this was something that was attacking these traditions. If I look at the root, the main reason why Russell Brand spent months, if not years, typing up this manuscript, it was so he could carry this message to people who are still suffering. Not only drug addicts and alcoholics either, because this book dives into sex addiction, gambling addiction, our addiction to food, our addiction to smartphones and technology, our addiction to numbing ourselves out from the pain that we all face as humans every single day. But at the end of the day, I want to say thank you to Russell Brand for writing this book, because it has given me courage to start doing more videos or more writing or more articles like this. See the problem is that a lot of us in these 12 step programs, we tiptoe around these traditions with this completely irrational fear that if we break one of these traditions somehow or some way, we're going to be excommunicated from this program. So a lot of us keep our mouths shut in these kind of public formats because we're worried that we might break one of these traditions. I want to make it very clear as open-minded as I am about recovery and I'm a firm believer that whatever program works for you, use it. But the 12 steps saved my life. These free programs saved my life when the American healthcare system did not provide me with adequate insurance to go to a rehab center. So I want to help spread the message that there is a program out there that can help any person out there who is struggling with any form of addiction. So again, I salute you, Mr. Russell Brand. If you ever watch this, I salute you because you have helped me be of better service to my fellows. If you haven't yet, I highly, highly, highly recommend that you check out this book. Whether you're an addict, an alcoholic, someone who thinks they might have a problem, someone who just deals with pain and suffering in their life, I highly suggest you check out this book. Russell Brand does an amazing job breaking this thing down in a very practical way. And there's also humor in it too. And I really feel that it's going to help thousands and thousands of people. I also think this book does an amazing job tearing down the misconceptions, the myths, the preconceived notions people have about these programs. He even touches on the fact that people think that this is a cult. So if you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to my channel because I am going to further break down this book. I'm going to do a lot more videos talking about 12-step programs to hopefully provide you with a little bit more information, a little bit more clarity, and help you understand how this can help you in your life if you're struggling with any form of addiction. Also, if you want to check out this book, check the description below. There's an Amazon affiliate link. Basically, what that means is that there's no extra charge to you. But if you purchase the book, it helps support this channel so I can provide you with more content. Now for the question of the day, what do you think? Do you think that Russell Brand broke tradition 11 by writing this book? I want to know in the comments below, so make sure that you reply. If you liked this video, give it a thumbs up. And if you're new here, I'm always doing videos about addiction, about mental health. So if you haven't, make sure that you click the little round subscribe icon so you're always in the know when I put out new content. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.