The Superman Complex: Achieving the Balance That Leads to True Success

By Max Carey

Book Overview

A book to help overachievers halt the destructive cycle of perfectionism and the need for control that often leads to personal and professional disaster. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156352516X
• ISBN13: 9781563525162
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

If you're open to help, this book will change your life

My wife bought me this book. She slipped it into my briefcase without telling me. I opened it strictly out of curiosity and got the surprise of my life. Someone had written a book about ME. And he knew things about me I'd never told anyone. The more I read, the more I realized that in some ways, the author understood me better than I understood myself. It wasn't that we'd lived similar lives. We hadn't. But we were driven in similar ways. I'd never put a name to my demons, but he had one for me that fit all too well:the superman complex. I think I was lucky because, for some reason, I was ready to hear what Carey had to say. Some people aren't, I think. Some people never will be. Those people can't get to the deeper meaning of the book because they don't dare let themselves. But for people like me--which I suspect most people are--this book offers something I find unusual: profound insights into what makes us act the way we are. And unlike similar books, it doesn't leave you hanging. It offers truly practical suggestions for improving your life, suggestions anyone can immediately put into practice. They have already helped me. I guess I understand why some people think Max Carey has an ego and why he's proud of what he's accomplished in his life. He's achieved a great deal. But it seems to me that the only reason he talks about it is that his experiences have led him to understand himself better. I doubt someone who's lived an ordinary life could have come up with this level of insight.My wife believes this is one of the best gifts she's given me, mostly I think because she's benefited from the changes I've made in my approach to life. I was a little insulted by this idea at first, but she's probably right. When I think of the people I've worked with over the years, and how they deal with the world, I think a lot of other wives would do well to slip a copy of the book into their husband's briefcases. We'd all benefit.

Max has unmasked the myth of the mastery of supermen!

The Superman Complex is a compelling expose on the universal reality that lies beneath the surface of our society's "Supermen". The author has transparently described the simple truth that for so many of us who have trumpeted through life celebrating our accomplishments and achievements, we have also often wreaked havoc in the lives of those in our path. Max has done a superb job of articulating a greater yardstick than success, that our legacy will in large measure be determined by how we come to terms with our unadorned selves, gain a measure of peace with the identity beneath our resumes, and find greater purpose by giving ourselves to the needs of others. As discomforting as it may be for us to come to grips with our self-focus and self-preservation, Max clearly lays the groundwork for a pathway to greater significance, found not in how we gain it for ourselves, but how we live it into those we work with, and live with. His challenge, to look into the mirror of our own reality and then build some accountability and responsibility into the process of personal change, is sobering...but he also adroitly underscores that life is indeed a process of growth, not a project to be completed. Many of the concepts that the author addresses are not new, but his willingness to translate his own failings and futility into a template for transformation is a sensational model for each of us who have been so reluctant to confront the similarities in our own experiences. The Superman Complex is a healthy dose of reality, and is highly recommended as required reading for the "Supermen" in our society who march on, and over, others.

The Superman Complex hits the hot buttons of superachievers!

You know the type - everybody does. They contribute immensely to our world, but they wreak havoc on the masses. They are usually talented, energetic, and resourceful. They are also often arrogant, uncaring and self-serving. They run things, and make things happen. The problem is ..., they don't just achieve, they worship achievement. Performance and success become the end goal; winning more important than the game being played. If you have this blessing / affliction, you can really benefit from taking a hard look at the price that you and those who are close to you are paying. You will find that "the answer" does not require that you reduce your performance. If you love or work with one of these folks, you can benefit personally from insights offered in the book. You can deal with a "success addicted" person in the same way that a person deals with an alcoholic through al-anon. You can also encourage that person to deal with the issue, and grow from it. It might be an oxy-moron to say that the book will improve your performance in life - but it will. Go for it - it's like a tall building, or a speeding locomotive ...

Instant Ways to Avoid Burnout

I'm a member of the clergy and I've served in this capacity for over 10 years. I have personally felt threatened by imminent burnout and my colleagues and I regularly discuss how to cope with workplace demands. This book gave me insightful, wise, and practical ways of identifying and avoiding the "danger zones" in my profession. The framework and the tools presented by the author were immediately helpful and I have shared this book with colleagues. This is a book whose time has come.

Achievement is nothing without balance

I have always struggled with the superman complex.I feel like the author Max is telling my story too. I'm a mom of four--I have my own scale when I read a book. I want to read a book to learn and grow from the pages of print.We can all relate to the content in this book. We are either living with someone that has this trait or we are working with someone like this.The book imparts a message that would normally be alittle sensitive to discuss and brings humor into the picture. He has discribed the traits in the first few pages so that I got curiously pulled into what followed. A friend of mine gave me a look at the galley and when I visited this website and found that I could review it I jumped on. There is a chapter in the book that suggest habits to make in order to balance the achiever/competitive side of my personality -- I have had a lot of fun with this. One idea is to let someone else go ahead of you in a line. Normally I stand there and think that my time is more valuable than the next so when I did this I was amazed at the rush that came over me. No longer Ms. Hot Shot. Ya know it felt good. The story of the author being a Naval aviator is weaved throughout the book. Never being in combat I learned first hand what combat fear felt like. You know the line in the movie As Good As It Gets...."You make me want to be a better man." Well this book makes you want to be a better person and gives you some simple fun skill sets that get you closer. I was really lucky to get a hold of the galley. If I were you I'd get a hold of the book.