Wired This Way - by Jessica Carson (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Creators are complexly wired. In their lightest moments, they are passionate, ambitious, intuitive, and possess a host of other bright qualities. But entrepreneurial spirits are often victim of a darker side of their nature: They are particularly prone to mental health issues, stress-related illness, and other vulnerabilities of mind, body, and spirit. The media has breathlessly chronicled the peaks and valleys of today's creators-glorifying their strengths and villianizing their weaknesses-not realizing that the light and dark within entrepreneurs are two sides of the same coin. Wired This Way explores why the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual distress among creators is not an indication of brokenness, but of a rich inner complexity that's prone to imbalance. A creator's struggles and strengths are one in the same, and the solution doesn't come from without, but from within. Using the wisdom of 10 creator archetypes found within the entrepreneurial spirit-the Curious, Sensitive, Ambitious, Disruptive, Empowered, Fiery, Orderly, Charming, Eager, and Existential Creator-readers will learn how to integrate the light and dark qualities of each archetype for mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. Rooted in psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness, and ancient wisdom traditions, Wired This Way is a user's manual for self-understanding, self-acceptance, and self-care as an entrepreneurial spirit"--

Book Synopsis

Creators are wired complexly. In their lightest moments, they are passionate, ambitious, intuitive, and possess a host of other bright qualities. But entrepreneurial spirits are often victim of a darker side of their nature: they are particularly prone to mental health issues, stress-related illness, and other vulnerabilities of mind, body, and spirit. The media has breathlessly chronicled the peaks and valleys of today's creators--glorifying their strengths and villainizing their weaknesses--not realizing that the light and dark within entrepreneurs are two sides of the same coin. Wired This Way explores why the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual distress among creators is not an indication of brokenness, but of a rich inner complexity that's prone to imbalance. A creator's struggles and strengths are one in the same, and the solution doesn't come from without, but from within. Using the wisdom of 10 creator archetypes found within the entrepreneurial spirit--the Curious, Sensitive, Ambitious, Disruptive, Empowered, Fiery, Orderly, Charming, Courageous, and Existential Creator--readers will learn how to integrate their light and dark qualities for mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. Rooted in psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness, and ancient wisdom traditions, Wired This Way is a user's manual for self-understanding, self-acceptance, and self-care as an entrepreneurial spirit.

Review Quotes

"The creative mind is a hotbed of alchemy, divination, and anxiety. Creatives are often visionaries, capable of exteriorizing the contents of their minds, in song, poetry and other astounding forms. Yet they are often burdened by what they know, by the trappings of immense awareness and feeling. Jessica Carson has taken a journey deep into the creative psyche, mapped its physiological and psychological underpinnings and crafted a book for the ages, a user-manual for the creative mind, and an enlightening guide for those who live in their wake. A must read."

--Jason Silva, Futurist & Former Host of Brain Games

"Every now and then someone comes along and shows you a mirror that reflects your image in a way that had previously been obscured or distorted. I thought I knew myself pretty well--inside and out--until I met Jessica and became familiar with her work. Wired This Way should not only be required reading for anyone that aspires to build products in the 21^st century, but also for those people who work with them, so that everyone is playing from the same emotional playbook. The insights in this book are relatable and rare. I'm so relieved to finally have a manual that maps the terrain of becoming a better, and more effective, human."

-- Chris Messina, Inventor of the Hashtag & Product Designer (formerly Uber, Google)

"If you are an entrepreneur, you MUST read this book if you want to understand yourself and succeed in business. It's now well established that entrepreneurs are a little bit manic, but this is the first book to explain in practical terms how to manage that temperament, offering simple but powerfully effective guidance on how to avoid its pitfalls and exploit its assets. If your business fails, it will most likely be because you made one of the fatal mistakes outlined here. Simply put, you can't afford not to buy this book."

--John Gartner, Ph.D., Author of The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (a Little bit of) Craziness and (a Lot of) in America

"The essential user's manual for the entrepreneurial spirit, with all its blessings and hardships. I only wish I'd received this profound, comforting guidance when I began my journey--it would have saved me a lot of struggle and heartache!"

--Justin McLeod, Founder & CEO of Hinge

"This book is a true piece of art and one of the most engaging books I've ever read. Carson's ability to demonstrate the complexity of a creator's mind, from a deeply empathetic yet rational perspective, allows capturing the nuance of paradoxical traits that often go hand in hand. This is a book for every creator who tries to understand oneself better--and more importantly, it is a wonderfully compassionate eye-opener for those close to these beautiful minds. Told in vibrant language and based on the author's vast experience with creatives and entrepreneurs, it captures that the very thing that makes them brilliant and successful is often also what makes them more "complex." I wasn't able to put the book down until reading it from cover to cover, it felt like looking at a mesmerizing painting-- a pattern of succinct and emerging colors and characters, composed harmoniously to shape a beautiful work of art. Breathtaking."

--Christian Busch, Ph.D., Faculty at New York University & author of The Serendipity Mindset