Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Here is a peek at the upcoming book by Dr. Earl R. Smith II - Self-Destruction 101: Habits That Can Damage Your Life and Career

DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

In the in the last quarter of the 8th century BCE, there was a great center of wisdom located on a plateau on the slope of Mount Parnassus, next to the Sanctuary of Apollo. At the Oracle at Delphi there were two phrases carved into the entrance to the temple - “know thyself” and “nothing in excess”. The wisdom of twenty-nine centuries ago seems as relevant today as then. I have taken these two hard-won gems of human reflection as guiding beacons in the writing of this book.

All journeys of this sort should begin and end with an effort at self-understanding. Excess – no matter how well intentioned or high sounding - is a toxin that attacks the possibility of reaching that higher understanding. We see it all around us today – in our daily lives and in the news of the world. The seduction to excess is everywhere present and the temptations take real will power to resist – often more that a single writer can muster.

Within this book you will encounter many opportunities to descend into that poisonous broth. You should be forewarned that these ‘blind alleys’ – although seductive – are the antithesis of my purpose. Thinking about the self-sabotaging behaviors of others can lead you to a sense of superiority over others. In fact, every ‘bad’ habit discussed in this book can be induced or magnified by such thinking if you are not careful. I hope, by judicious and timely reminders, to help you avoid such traps.

Knowing thyself requires that you treat all knowledge about the behaviors of others as knowledge pertaining, as well and more importantly, to yourself – for we are, after all, as human as the subjects of our inquiry. We do, in fact, learn more about ourselves through the eyes of others and through our eyes directed towards others than from all the autobiographical and mostly fictional stories that we tell about ourselves. To be sure the granularity of our observations always seems to be greater than those fables – and, I would content, the veracity as well.

I urge you to take a careful and sober approach to the discussions that follow. My hope is that, after reading this book, you will know more about yourself than you did when you began it. How much more is a measure of whether I have done my job as author and how much courage you have mustered as reader. As that goes, we are in this together.

The book will be e-published in January, 2009. If you are interested in receiving a notification, send me an e-mail and I will put you on the distribution list.

Dr. Smith is a proven senior executive, successful entrepreneur, published author and public speaker. He serves on boards of directors and advisory boards or as a strategic advisor to CEOs. Dr. Smith specializes in turnaround management, strategic planning, leadership development and executive coaching. He also works as an executive and/or life coach in the areas of personal growth and spirituality. He is the author of Amazing Pace: Turbo-charged Business Development - a book that shows how Advisory Boards can dramatically increase revenue. Dr. Smith is also the author of Dream Walk: Parables for the Living - a book of Raven Tales and exploration.

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