I’ve only read the sample, but it’s fantastic. I just bought the full book today so I’ll let you know how the rest of it goes. Until then, here are some great quotes from that Kindle sample:
The paradox is that you have tremendous control over your life, but you give up that control when you try to control others. For the only way you can control others is to recognize their natures and do what is necessary to evoke the desired reactions from those natures.
Each individual is acting from his own knowledge in ways he believes will bring him happiness. […] You have to treat things and people in accordance with their own identities in order to get what you want from them.
To find happiness, you must know how your unique emotional nature responds to things. You must observe and take seriously your own emotional reactions. For if you attempt to fit your emotions to a preconceived standard, you lose touch with yourself and blind yourself to the most important part of yourself —to what would make you happy.
I’ve found that it’s a good rule to never make an important decision when your emotions are in control. I try to program myself in advance to remember this rule when I need it. When I’m in an emotional state (either positive or negative), I try to keep just enough intellect working to tell me one thing: don’t decide now. I wait until I’ve relaxed and can think more clearly.
You’re in the Intellectual Trap if you let your intellect tell you what you should feel. You’re in the Emotional Trap if you let your emotions make important decisions for you. Both traps lead to trouble.
The absolute morality fails on its two important characteristics. Even if you choose to believe there’s a higher authority, you are the authority who chooses what it is and what it is telling you to do. And since you’ll always be considering consequences, even if you try to fix it so that you aren’t, it’s important to deliberately recognize the consequences and decide which ones are important to you.