For me, it is not all about how long someone has been sober. I know many people who are in AA with years of sobriety who have still not recovered. They are essentially unhappy, but have managed to stay sober. This is not something that attracts me.
My experience is that, once a person has had the experience of these principles and is trying his or her best to go out and apply to ALL their affairs, they need to go out and also carry THAT message to others. In Bill's Story (pg. 9, A.A.) Ebby Thatcher is described as sharing his experience with Bill after only two months of sobriety, and then takes him through the then six steps in Town's Hospital. In chapter 7, Working With Others (pg. 89), it goes on to say that "nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail". The big book is not some new age self-help book! It's very simply a book that will show you how to help others. What is your fear? Remember you are not in charge, God is. Lack of power was our dilemma, so why would we want to deny them access to this power. No human power can keep us sober, but God could and would if He were sought. So let's let these men and women seek God.
To me the steps are just the preparation for the journey; the steps are not the journey. The steps prepare for the journey, and it begins at step 12. The journey is our spirit starts to wake up, when we take these principles that have been shown to use and we go out and bring them into all aspects of our lives. We become God dependent. Then we must carry this message to others as it was carried to us. The longer we wait, the longer it takes to start to get better. Action is the magic word.
It's the quality, not the quantity. Time is just a measurement of movement; it's an illusion in the world of the spirit. In God's world it doesn't exists, but in man's world we have to obey it. Don't put God in a box, only you can limit His power in your life. If your God isn't big enough for you at this time, make Him bigger. But remember it only has to start with a willingness to believe, as simple as that.