Nice book, wouldn't call it groundbreaking, there's a lot to unpack from it and to implement in real life. This basically explains why EI (emotional intelligence) matters more than IQ, with prime examples of CEOs and brilliant people failing to lead a team, not reading the room and unable to control their anxiety. The striking point about it was the "Amygdala" part I made a separate post about it here. Our emotional brain (limbic system) is millions of years older than our thinking brain (neocortex) which explains why in the moments of anger, agony and outbursts our logic completely shuts down. Emotional Brain is superior but it can be to our disadvantage. Goleman shows several ways to master and take control of it, true we can't predict when anger happens but we can control how long it lasts with it. First one is Self-awarenes(I made a post with Samurai example here) then self-regulation the capacity to manage an emotion before it becomes destructive. Third, motivation and then empathy (our social radar) that detects the need of others. Last one is fostering social skills, the art of managing the emotions of others to create that perfect harmony. That's about it. 4 out of 5

Synthwave just delivers as always, this one for instance (each replay) equals one therapy session for me.
There's something inexplicable in it when you listen at the right moment with the right frequencies with quality earphones.

Good communication isn't just talking. It's describing the most shameful, complex parts of who we are calmly, kindly, and in time.

It means giving someone a tour of your emotional disaster zones, without terrifying them or pushing them away.

But most of us can't do this. Because there's so much inside we haven't digested, let alone dared to share.

We still communicate. But in toxic, indirect forms. Silence. Outbursts. Withdrawal. Sarcasm. All substitutes for what we cannot bear to say.

We don't just want to be understood. We want to be loved. And when we fear the truth will make us unlovable, we bury it.

We rarely had role models. We didn't grow up hearing difficult truths spoken with grace. We saw people act out, lash out, shut down.

We learned that to be good meant being simple, cheerful, and nice. Not complex, moody, confused, or sexual. So we started hiding.

We assume others won't cope with our truths. But we all need to learn, not only how to speak, but how to be the kind of person to whom truth can be spoken to. - ©theshooloflife

Alien 1: The entire Earth is three hundred and fifteen trillion dollars in debt.

Alien 2: Whoa.

Alien 1: Yeah.

Alien 2: What? Who do they owe money to? Bro, who are they getting money from?

Alien 1: It blows my mind that first off, you have everything on the planet here to live for free—

Alien 2: You literally have everything you need.

Alien 1: —and then you invent a system—

Alien 2: Uh-huh.

Alien 1: —that creates a deterioration of your own resources.

Alien 2: You created a store of value that’s literally storing less and less value every day.

Alien 1: Every day. And increasing your technology and yet somehow you still owe money to someone and it’s three hundred and fifteen trillion dollars. There’s not enough paper to print that much cash.

[Both aliens begin laughing hysterically]

Alien 2: What are they doing?