One night a sponsor got a call from one of his sponsees. The sponsee complained the same old complaints of being restless, irratable and discontent. The sponsor asked him if he was reading his Big Book and the sponsee said that he was reading it daily and that it wasn't helping! The sponsor then instructed his new friend to find a cookbook. He came back to the phone with the cookbook and was instructed to read the recipe for chocolate cake. So he read to him all the ingredients, how hot the oven was to be and when he was through his sponsor told him to read it again. By now the sponsee is a little upset and asks what this has to do with staying sober, with a laugh, his sponsor told him to humor him! So he read it again, all the ingredients, oven temperature, and after he had read it to him the second time, the sponsor asked him for a piece of cake. The sponsee told him he could not give him any cake and the sponsor asked him why? "Because, I haven't gone through the action of making the cake." With a laugh, the sponsor told his sponsee that that was why he wasn't getting any results from reading the Big Book! Reading the book alone will not keep you sober, but, the action of following the directions in it will!