HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY:
- Some people are able to make life-transforming changes while others remain
mired in habitual self-defeating behaviors?
- Some people rise to and excel in positions of leadership while others fail and
fall by the wayside?
- Some people thrive in meaningful relationships that endure while others drift
from relationship to relationship never ascertaining what went wrong?
The answers to these and many other questions are answered in my book, The
Road to Wisdom.
Since 1995, I have been conducting a corporate training course on the Enneagram
called The Road to Wisdom with executives, managers, and employees. During this
time, I was constantly being asked for a copy of my PowerPoint presentation as
well as additional material that could be given to spouses, family and friends.
My wife and business partner, Reve’, said “Why don’t you just write a book?”
I am pleased with the results of The Road to Wisdom because this
is a book for anyone who wants to profoundly understand his/her own personality
and behavior and that of others—boss, spouse/significant other, children,
family, friends, etc. It is a book about how to make changes if you want, and
how to gain wisdom about yourself and others that goes beyond anything you have
previously experienced, unless you have spent years in therapy and/or
self-exploration! There are many books written about the Enneagram; however,
most have been targeted to professionals who use the Enneagram in their
work—therapists, ministers/priests, professors, and theorists. I have distilled
much of the theory of the Enneagram and put it in practical terms that are
easily understood and usable in a variety of settings. Those who wish to
continue their learning in more depth will find a list of further readings by
highly esteemed authors such as Riso and Hudson in the Appendix of my book.
This is really two books in one. In the first part, I detail the skills that are
needed to bring about lasting change and become the person you were meant to be,
while giving specific examples of how to make those changes:
Chapter 1 It All Begins With Insight (Self-Awareness). Do You Have It? Can You
Get It?
Chapter 2
If I Don’t Have Insight, Should I Just Pack It In and Go Live In a Cave?
Chapter 3
If I Have Insight And Can Take Feedback, Why Is Change So Difficult? A Model for Change
In the second part, I help you understand yourself and others through the
Enneagram theory of personality, which describes nine different personality
types referred to as Enneatypes, in the following chapters:
Chapter 4
Is It Really Possible To Understand Why I and Others Do What We Do?
Chapter 5
If It Is Possible To Understand the Complexity Of Human Behavior, How Do I Go About It?
Chapter 6
The Search For Principles And Perfection
Chapter 7
The Search For Love And Compassion
Chapter 8
The Search For Success And Respect
Chapter 9
The Search For Self And Creative Expression
Chapter 10
The Search For Knowledge And Truth
Chapter 11
The Search For Safety And Security
Chapter 12
The Search For Adventure And Fulfillment
Chapter 13
The Search For Challenges And Causes
Chapter 14
The Search For Peace And Harmony
Chapter 15
Is It True That My Strengths Overused Can Become My Weaknesses?
Chapter 16
Who Am I?
Chapter 17
What Should I Do If I Am Still Having Trouble Changing What Needs to
Be Changed?
Chapter 18
The Beginning
Acknowledgements
Appendix A:
How Can I Discover My Personality Type?
Appendix B:
How Can My Company Benefit From What I Have Learned?
Appendix C:
How Do I Keep Myself From Seeing Myself As Others See Me?
Appendix D:
How Can I Go About Changing What Needs To Be Changed?
Appendix E:
What Are My Specific Strengths And Weaknesses Or Vulnerabilities?
Appendix F:
How Do Executives/Managers Shoot Themselves In The Foot?
Appendix G:
Where Can I Go To Learn More About The Complexity Of Human Behavior?
Within each Enneatype I have covered the following:
- An overview of the type
- The Perceptual World View of the type
- How you might know you are interacting with that particular type
- The strengths of the type
- The weaknesses/vulnerabilities of the type
- The levels of functioning for the type: descriptions of human behavior as it
exists on a continuum from healthy to slipping to unhealthy traits
- Tips for working with the type
- Life challenges of the type
Life is a journey, with many possible roads that lead to success and failure.
The Enneagram has changed my life by helping me view life’s wonderments,
tragedies, and every day events and interactions on the road called life with a
new perspective. It has started me down what I consider to be The Road to
Wisdom. It is my heart-felt desire that this book will make your road in life a
little less bumpy, with fewer twists and turns and a minimum of potholes and
dead ends. May God bless you, protect you, and guide you as you begin or
continue along your ROAD TO WISDOM!
top of page