Sobriety Journey with Tom Rosenak

13 Jul 2025 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:52

In this segment of the YouTube interview, Tom Rosenak recounts the pivotal early days of his sobriety while attending Marquette University. He describes how his sponsor challenged him with a seemingly modest task—attending a single AA meeting—and then escalated to the daunting goal of 90 meetings in 90 days. The sponsor emphasized focusing on today rather than the entire stretch, introducing Tom to the "camel philosophy," which likens daily recovery to a camel that can stand on its knees and go 24 hours without a drink. This simple yet powerful metaphor, combined with the Momentum Process—a framework for maintaining daily momentum—helped Tom shift from a chaotic, hungover lifestyle to a sustained, 40‑plus‑year sober life. The narrative highlights the transformation from a grand, unrealistic plan to a day‑by‑day approach that built lasting momentum and improved relationships, culminating in a long, stable marriage.

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And then it became positive. I would have better relationships. And I've now been married 40-something years. And I remember I had a sponsor. I'll never forget this. And it was before I knew about Momentum Process, but it was the Momentum Process. And that was, I was at Marquette University. I wanted to change the world. I wanted all these things, but I couldn't even get to class. You know, I was hungover. And when I decided to get sober, I wanted this great big plan. And I remember now what he said to me, and I laughed because I call him a crusty old Irishman, but he's probably— he was probably 40. And you know, when you're 20, they seem old when they're 40. Significantly less than me. But here's the example. He said, can you get to a meeting today? And that didn't seem big. For me. Then he said, can you do 90 meetings in 90 days? And that seemed too big for me. He said, don't worry about meetings, worry about today, then worry about the next day meeting. And then I learned the definition you said earlier about how simple these things are. Here's a simple one for you. He said, adopt the camel philosophy. I said, what the F is the camel philosophy? And back then I used that kind of language. I don't anymore. What the F is that? And he said, "A camel begins and ends each day on his knees and can go 24 hours without a drink." Wow. And that was all the philosophy I needed. And then when I started thinking, well, what kind of job do I have? But I had the cloud of alcohol off me just for a day. And then it became 40-plus years. So before I knew about keeping momentum, I learned about momentum