Category: Self-Help Publisher: Clarence T. Brown
ISBN-10: 0980221706
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 70
Copyright: December 18, 2007
ISBN-13: 9780980221701
This book will open your eyes to the life that has been alluding you. Radical Introductions, holds a mirror to your face and shines a light on your purpose.
For most of our lives we have worn masks that were gathered as a result of our encounters with others. This facade has allowed us to repress our true identity and replace it with one that fits everyone else’s ideology.
Radical Introductions: Beginning By Going Backwards is a book that invites the reader to take a self assessment of their current state, offers practical analysis of reasons for discontent, and presents a methodical process for returning us to our roots. That place where we instinctively possess the most power, determination, and clarity. Along the way the book provides interactive exercises and “golden nuggets” to pace the reader’s regression.
This book is a must read for anyone who has found themselves climbing the corporate ladder, pursuing a career, or working towards advanced degrees, but are left empty with each accomplishment. Radical Introductions: Beginning By Going Backwards will introduce you to yourself in the most authentic of ways.
Excerpt
Excerpt from Chapter 1: Who Am I and How Did I Get Here?
Every morning we wake up and look in the mirror at the person we have become. For many of us already bewildered by the person staring back, we immediately begin to think about the mask we will wear today. Shall I pretend to be happy, or was there some disconcerting event that happened yesterday that will excuse me for walking about with a chip on my shoulder? My third grade teacher said that I should always smile when I greet someone, but I think that mask is broken today. My parents always said that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything, but that mask doesn't work today either. As crazy as this may sound, we all go through this. The real "us" is so hidden from view that we are constantly trying to cover up the stranger that we see.
Year after year; comment after comment; relationship after relationship; and episode after episode, we are transformed into a person replete with layers of issues. We become a sum total of our experiences to such a point that the real us is buried beneath. It is understandable that the circumstances surrounding our existence have a lasting effect on our lives, but they do not have to define us. How many of us are still emotionally scarred from the first time that our request to join a particular group was rejected; or maybe the time our excitement over an issue was disregarded? We take that baggage, own it as a direct assault on our character, and make changes to our personality, resolving never to be caught in those situations again. The thought never occurs to us that the comments have more to do with the person that said them and their state of mind, than they do with us and our actions.
Growing up we have been taught that the way to obtain a persons acquaintance is by finding out the things that they enjoy and start doing them. So we begin a life long quest of conforming to other's habits in order to get close to them. In school it is about being the student the teacher wants; in relationships it is about liking the same foods, genres, styles, etc.; and at work it is about playing the politics. None of these actions are particularly detrimental if they are enacted in context. But all too often they are not, and we totally change ourselves to fit in. Imagine the relationships that have reached critical mass when one of the parties involved decides that they no longer want to "play the role". All of this could be avoided if we are honest with ourselves and others up front.
This book helps you get to the root of imposter syndrome and provides easy to use strategies to uproot it once and for all. Only be getting to the deeper underlying issues can you build sustainable, reliable self-confidence personally and professiona
