In this brilliant tome, Nathaniel Branden makes a definitive statement on leading the joyful life of personal responsibility and reality-orientation...and the alternative where individuals "unconsciously" ignore the fruits of their own actions. Branden uproots this rejection of responsibility from every corner where it hides, from your choice of values to your choice of companions. He applies this vision of responsibility to romantic love (where using others for your fulfillment often becomes sport), organizations (where avoiding blame becomes the goal), and government (where entitlements have replaced rights). Branden also includes do-it-yourself exercises (I can attest to their effectiveness) to help readers explore their own deep-rooted attitudes towards their own role in the world. An essential read that communicates the true demands of the free and sovereign life.

The word "responsibility" carries an unfortunate moralistic implication, which Branden takes pains to dispel repeatedly throughout this book. Nevertheless, a light reading of this important work may create a false impression in the reader that Branden's term "Self-Responsibility" does in fact mean a moralistic responsibility. This is the major problem that haunts this work.

Even with this flaw, this is one of Branden's more important books. It is brilliant and profound. It is a book to read and re-read at regular intervals throughout one's life. Two of the most important chapters are "Self Reliance and Social Metaphysics" and "Self-Responsibility and Romantic Love". Both of these themes appeared in his earlier "The Psychology of Self-Esteem". In particular the concept of social metaphysics is one of the most vital to understand in attempting to gain true psychological freedom and intellectual sovereignty. In my own case, had I just taken the time to understand how social metaphysics was impacting my decision to seek a divorce, I might been able to save my marriage.

The Introduction to this book is by itself almost worth the price of the entire book. It contains indispensible advice for finding true happiness in life. It also shows Brandon's essential modesty, as he credits his wife for these important insights.

This book is both a guidebook for truly "growing up" and a treatise on some of the problems that society is facing and why they are problems. This book isn't soft & cuddly--it gets right to it but in a way that makes the changes seem possible while at the same time giving you a clear view into why some behaviors are a problem and what types of behaviors are better choices, as well as a plan to improve and explanations of why people have certain types of problems. If you think you're ready to tackle some of the parts of your life that need work head-on, this book is awesome. If you are still not willing to own your issues and want to avoid directly confronting the consequences of your behaviors, you won't like this book.

Branden shines a bright light on how critical self-esteem is to individual health, happiness and success in the workplace. Using a highly accessible writing style, he examines the nature and role of self-esteem, with special emphasis on its link to effective leadership. Managers will find enormous value in these pages. Branden's examination of the high self-esteem leader and high self-esteem management is as penetrating as it is clearly and tersely expressed.

Central to Branden's insights for leading and managing are six practices (ways of living) essential to building self-esteem: being at a high level of consciousness, self-acceptance and acceptance of others, self-responsibility, self-assertiveness, purposefulness and personal integrity. This book is geared to self development-for helping anyone develop the qualities that underlie a healthy sense of self and effectiveness in living. Branden provides the reader with a 21 week personal development program that has enormous potential, provided you approach it with commitment and sincerity!

Branden's ideas offer the prospect of profound personal growth. The implications of his thinking for creating a highly effective organization should be thought about deeply by leaders. If you are embarked on organizational change, you should read this book before charging forward. Recommended. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and the Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

At last, this brief book is an accessable look into what really drives success in business. Branden's work gets to the core of what motivates human beings, what we need from the work experience, how to get it, and how to foster it in others. One could easily throw out every other "how to achieve success at work" or "how to lead" book published over the past 20 years in favor of the wisdom just dripping from the pages of this one. It is perfect for everyone who works, but especially valuable for anyone who manages, and absolutely essential for anyone who leads. Business leaders are often put off by anything psychologically oriented in favor of management fads dressed in the more quantifiable language of business school affiliated consultants. Yet, we discard one such fad after the other when the promised results fail to materialize. All the while, the real answers have been right under our noses in all of Branden's previous books. Finally, under the branding umbrella of leadership guru Warren Bennis, Branden and Josey-Bass publishers have wisely repackaged Branden's technologies (developed over nearly 40 years) specifically for the business audience. Because this book is brief, it is a great starting point for time-pressured executives. Take it on the plane! Then, use it as a way into Branden's more detailed works for the fuller course: "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem"; and "Taking Responsibility," for starters.

British philosopher Colin Wilson calls Nathaniel Branden the foremost psychologist of our age and this wonderful book confirms that evaluation. Branden explains the driving force behind all business innovation and productivity and then gives you a practical process to build your own self-esteem at work. This book should be required reading for anyone in a business that has two or more people in it.

From the cassette cover. Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety- The journey into serinity and peace, can only be made with increasing self-awareness and social awareness. He shows us that there is a way to think with integrity, to know the difference between good and evil, to overcome narcissism, to love and be loved, to live with paradox, and to accept the consequeces of our actions all through life. With a unique blend of profound psycological insight and deep spirituallity, Dr. Peck explains the compelling necessity to make the right choices in our lives. Life, learning and spiritual growth are an adventure, Dr. Peck declares -- Life's greatest adventure. It's an adventure all it's own.

Nathaniel Branden's course was the first systematic presentation of Objectivism and is an excellent review of (or introduction to) Objectivism. Branden is clear and engaging, although a bit melodramatic at times. He talks in detail about some neglected but useful ideas, including associational thinking and social metaphysics. He also covers a fair amount of psychology, most of which can be found in his later works.

Dr. Branden leads a psychotheraphy group. You get to sit in and participate. He covers about 18 standard mistakes parents make in raising their kids. As he asks questions to the group and they share their pains from childhood you identify with them and say, "thats what my parents did." This also brings up the emotional hurt that leads you on the way to learning from your childhood, instead of repressing it, allowing you to integrate yourself more fully. This will lead you to the life you want to live today, not from the controlled unknowing internally denied past.

Part I consists of the philosophical concepts relevant to psychology. The central ideas, presented in their essentials, lay the foundation of Branden's approach, illustrated in Part II and all of his future work. Part II deals with the central theme of Branden's life work: self-esteem. His radical approach is in stark contrast the ideas of the time and to the self-proclaimed self-esteem proponents in recent years.

His approach is reality oriented: Branden outlines the inescapable need for self-esteem, its source in reality and the consequence of the failure to live in accord with this need. The contrast between legitimate self-esteem and counterfeit self-esteem help to clarify and define this crucial concept.

The book is, one the whole, theoretical and condensed. I am always amazed to find it shelved in the self-help section. This book should be read in conjunction with his latter works: The Disowned Self, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem and The Art of Living Consciously. The journey will be rewarding.

I've listened to this tape seven times so far. Of all of NB's tapes, this is my favorite.

The simple reasons for this are b/c Branden explains a few points that are crucial towards being in a long term loving relationship that will last:

(1) Love yourself first. Some people don't quite get this point but it's true. If you don't exhibit high self esteem and someone with high self esteem comes along, you won't feel comfortable with them. NB believes you will either try to end it through arguing or that you will do other self sabotaging methods to get back to your comfort zone;

(2) If you can make time for a career job, then you must be able to make time for a loving relationship;

(3) The hardest part of any relationship is to face conflicts and not run away even when you're scared of the future with that person; and

(4) The most promising thing you can say of you loved one is that you would like to be like them if you were of the opposite sex; the worse thing you can say is that you would not want to be them if you were of the opposite sex.

Get this tape; even if you have to search for it at the library or a used bookstore.

Excellent Book! I am only sorry that Mr. Branden does not update it and release a reprint. I have used this workbook for years, and have recommended it to others. It is a classic workibook using the question/answer format to getting to know yourself. The questions are insightful, and the book is relentless in its approach. Its thoroughness is its best attribute. This is a classic, and I heartily recommend it to anyone wanting to explore how they became who they are.

I've bought a lot of copies of this book- the first, twenty years ago, for myself, and the rest for friends.

The message is simple and straightforward, and it's the same one Branden has been repeating for a long time. It's about taking responsibility for your life, and learning to value what's good about yourself. It might change you life.

In the early 90's, after I decided to go on a self-actualization quest, I gratefully discovered Nathaniel Branden.

And I read 9 of his books, within the same year, as I documented everyday, whatever came to my mind.

Recently, I had the pleasure of scanning through those old documents. I am so very happy to have read his books.

Looking back, the most important thing that I believe that I learned, in reading this book, my favorite amongst those that I have read by Branden, requires me to preface this by saying that I grew up in an environment where thinking for yourself was punishable in the worst of ways.

The point in which I picked up Branden's books, and this one in particular was when I told myself that those childhood messages were "junk."

I knew that through reading books there were some answers that I had decided that I couldn't find any other place.

I gained from reading this book, to recognize the difference between what I want and what I need.

That marked a huge step in my life's journey. Because then I had to study what kept me from owning those 2 basic parts of being human.

I learned through reading this book to not only look at my history, but to also explore who everyone in my life was, and who they are now - I became a scientist in a human lab, prepared to own, admit, experience and express my feelings, in the present moment.

And oh did this become comfortable.

Read this book to speak through your authentic voice.
It will require you to be patient with yourself, and to parent yourself in a way that you have never been parented before.

Honor everything about who you are, the "good," "bad," and in between.

Ask youself who gave those labels to you. Then ask youself if those are the labels that fit you now.

You will come to enjoy the journey of being here for the purposes of why you are sent here.

This is one of Branden's masterpieces. A truly profound work in his field. Branden's insights hinge on knowing ourselves. Although this somewhat Delphic oracle sounds simple, Branden develops it very well. The book delves into the way we see ourselves and seeks to get to the root of the word 'self.' When we are alone at 4:00 in the morning and no one else is around - our real, naked, self - the question of who we are and how we see ourselves can begin to be answered.

One of the most profound insights is that some of our seemingly hard-to-solve personal problems with our 'self' can be traced to an undeveloped self within our psyche such as our 'child self.' In our development as a child, for example, if we did not go though completely a natural cycle of development, or if a piece of the development is missing, that particular self may be crying to be completed within us. To get to the root of some of our problems we have to peer into these undeveloped selves and try to reconstruct why it was undeveloped and attempt to relive the event(s) to compensate for the loss in development. Sometimes it is like trying to peel away the layers of an onion - getting to the root of a psychological effect - but the effort is well worth it. I can testify from personal applications of Branden's approach.

This is very well written, rational, easy to read, and based on sound practice from Branden's clinical career.

Don't be fooled by the cheesy title that makes this book look like yet another self-help book. This is an intelligent and open-minded approach to living your life, and it's practically changed mine.

I am someone who only recently realized how low my self-esteem had been throughout life. I had undergone some brief non-medicated therapy that helped, but the real progress I've made and continue to make comes from reading books like this one. I was concerned that in order for this book to "work," I'd have to acquiesce into the author's way of thinking, but my concurrence has been natural throughout. With every recommendation Branden suggests, I ask myself if it would be better to accept this suggestion than not to, and I have yet to reject Dr. Branden's advice.

If you're looking for happiness, more self-esteem, and/or a solid philosophy on how to live your life, this book is it.

As a self-esteem coach, virtually every day I thank God (if there is such a Being) for Nathaniel Branden. Up to this point in his evolution as a writer, self-esteem was considered a semi-mystical attribute of character, that was known to be an *effect* of good parenting or good therapy. It was maintained that there were only certain "turning points" in our lives which, if negotiated skillfully, could yield enhanced self-esteem. After the publication of this book, it became clear that we have many many such turning points every day. These insights, allied with the directed sentence completion techniques he developed earlier in his career--a kind of quick burrowing into the subconscious for information and feelings not ordinarily accessible to the conscious mind--can yield enhanced self-esteem in a fraction of the time possible to the earlier forms of psychotherapy at the time. For me the big problem, as a self-esteem coach, is that clients who read "Six Pillars..." often only get help when I put out 100% effort dredging up all I learned over the past 5 decades. If a client does not already have a base of knowledge that needs to be integrated, in my experience using the techniques of "Six Pillars..." leads to confusion. This is not to denigrate Branden's achievement--he is perhaps the most underrated psychologist in the history of psychology, being one of the great generalists whose discoveries are rarely mentioned in counseling texts--but rather to gently chide him (should he read this little epistle) to *please* write a book about what he must contribute, as therapist and as man, in addition to the theory and exercises written about here to achieve the wonderful results he has achieved with his clients.

If you only read one book about personal psychology or self help, this is the one to choose. Almost any time I have a difficult problem, I can consult this book and realize where I am not bringing enough awareness or responsibility to my life. The most important lesson Branden teaches in this book is that no one is coming to save you, but in the process, he gives you the tools to save yourself.

This is a book that can be read rapidly for those with some experience in Objectivism or psychology. Readers new to personal psychology can take the book step by step, mastering one pillar of self esteem at a time. I have heard that many people find the sentence completion exercises he provides to be valuable, although I have never felt the need for them.

Overall, The Six Pillars has a lot to offer everyone whether they are seeking answers for problems in their life or looking to learn more about psychology.