THE BOOK

When Enough Is Never Enough

In 1991, I experienced what most would call a mental breakdown, but I prefer to see it as a breakthrough—a painful yet profoundly liberating turning point. It was the moment when the foundations of my old way of thinking began to crack, revealing the unconscious dysfunctional patterns that had long dictated my sense of self and satisfaction. As I emerged from the depths of that experience, I began to recognize how my mind had been inundated with binary, more, better, different thoughts—an endless cycle of comparison, judgment, and striving that kept true contentment perpetually out of reach. This realization set me on a transformative journey, one that would ultimately reshape not just how I thought, but how I lived.

Before that time, I was an extreme workaholic, mentally and physically working nearly 24/7. I poured myself into the law firm I cofounded in 1972 and later into my role as part owner and chief executive officer of the distribution company my parents had started in the 1950s. I was constantly in motion, never pausing to reflect on why I was so relentlessly driven by never-enough thinking.

After this breakthrough—followed by twenty-eight days of inpatient treatment for workaholism—I developed a deep curiosity about the structure and inner workings of my brain. I wanted to understand the mechanisms driving my relentless never-enough thinking and, more importantly, how to break free from its grip.