Achiever Fever

Achiever Fever is a self-help book for skeptics, written by an ambitious executive who discovered a mindfulness-based path to greater fulfillment after realizing that she'd been "striving herself crazy."

A successful entrepreneur at the helm of her own market research firm, Claire Booth was a lifelong striver. Driven by ambition, competition, and an unquenchable thirst for praise, she pushed herself relentlessly to appease the voice in her head that insisted: "You are not trying hard enough." But although she excelled at capturing consumer insights for her company's Fortune 500 clients, Claire was anything but insightful about her own inner state. Tired, unhappy, and full of self-doubt, she realizes that something must change--and maybe that "something" is her.

In Achiever Fever, Claire turns the lens inward, making herself the subject of a personal "me-search" project to find out why she is so stressed out and unhappy, despite her success. True to her background in market research and her type-A personality, Claire's quest for inner peace is methodical and pragmatic. The book's structure and chapter titles borrow from the style and terminology of a market research report, laying out the objectives and facts before moving into implications and a redefined concept of growth. Appended to each chapter are Claire's findings from her own self-directed survey of high-achieving North American executives, examining their attitudes and involvement with activities like meditation, mindfulness, and positive self-talk.

The book follows Claire through illuminating excursions into philosophy, psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience and mindfulness. She also candidly discusses her initial resistance to what she sees as hippie-style sentiments, and her fear that slowing down and softening up will cause her to lose her professional edge. The book's target audience of stressed-out high achievers will be surprised and encouraged to learn that not only do mindfulness and self-acceptance lead to a more joyful and purposeful life, they can also be good for business. The year in which Claire conquers her achiever fever, her company experiences record growth.

Readers will discover: