We are told that happiness and the path to a better life can be found by looking within ourselves, but here's the problem. Since the secret is not likely to be lying in a box marked "happiness," what exactly should we be looking for? Beyond the PIG and the APE is meant as a simple, practical guide to the inner search. The book starts by advising us "what to look out for" - the "inner creatures" that often lead us astray.
The PIG of the title is the ever-present drive to Pursue Instant Gratification, while the APE is the drive to Avoid Painful Experiences. These inner animals aren't always bad; in fact they are basic survival instincts that evolved to help us feed and protect ourselves. But in modern life, our primitive drives can get us in trouble - especially when the PIG and APE team up to "feed and protect" the Ego, a delusional mind-made identity that isn't who we really are. Then we are sabotaged by "blind animal instincts in the service of pretense."
The book uses real-life examples to show how the PIG, APE and Ego can keep us trapped in a maze of unhealthy habits, inner turmoil and conflict with the people in our lives. And the way out of the maze? Don't even try to control your inner creatures, says the author. All it takes is awareness.
Simply by growing aware of how the inner mischief distorts us and limits us, we begin to grow free of it. Better yet, this larger awareness can open up a world of possibilities that had long been obscured. We begin to live in harmony with life instead of struggling to mind-manage everything. After a pivotal chapter on "Becoming Aware," the book has four practical chapters devoted to:
The "Story Bank" at the end of the book reinforces the main themes. These 21 true stories illustrate how the PIG, APE and Ego can defeat us - and how we can move beyond them - in the various "Life Spaces" we each inhabit: the spheres of life that involve Your Self, Your Partner, Your Friends, Your Work, Your Money, and Your Children.
Throughout the book you get the same simple framework for inner awareness, viewed from many different angles. It's a journey filled with laughs and surprises. But above all, it's a journey that can help you discover the laughter and surprises in your life, every day.
With this book, Krishna Pendyala emerges as a voice of clarity and sanity in a crazy, stress-filled world. Lasting fulfillment is not only possible, he tells us, it is our birthright. And the steps to reaching this wonderful state of happiness, inner peace and contentment are not all that difficult. One of Krishna's strengths is showing us how simple it can be.
— Marc Allen
Author, Visionary Business
Publisher, New World Library
Beyond the PIG and the APE is a highly readable, profound and practical guide toward mental health and well being. I believe deeply that people are meant to be happy, so why are so many miserable? This book actually shows how to transcend the misery and get to happiness. A person living the kind of happiness Krishna describes is someone comfortable in his or her own skin, a person that others want to be around.
— Sharon Eakes
Executive Coach
Co-author, Liberating Greatness
Former VP, Gateway Rehab®
This book is extraordinary. It's so important to ground our own minds before we can build those critical relationships with others. I have studied such practices for many years in service of business success and Krishna's book illustrates the principles of settling the mind more simply and clearly than anything I have found.
— Keith Ferrazzi
Author, Never Eat Alone
Founder, RelationshipMastersAcademy.com
As an Indian raised on a diet of spiritual ideas and a technology entrepreneur raised on a diet of dozens of business and self-improvement books, I thought I knew what I was doing. What I didn't realize until I read Krishna's book was how ineffective my vocabulary was for understanding the workings of my own mind. Krishna's metaphors are simple and yet vivid and hence incredibly powerful. They have created a language I now use to be aware of how I make choices and decisions in all aspects of my life, every day. I've become aware of my APE, PIG and Ego, and I have caught them red-handed, wreaking havoc with my decision making! A must have for everyone.
— Venkat Krishnamurthy
Serial Entrepreneur, Academy Award winner, Family man
This wonderful book provides a simple, clear and wise road map to overcoming our blocks to happiness and fulfillment. A thoroughly pleasurable read; it's a user-friendly guide to help the reader achieve a state of lasting joy and contentment in the midst of life's challenges. Enjoy!
— Olivia Mellan
Psychotherapist and money coach
Author, Money Harmony
Krishna takes esoteric wisdom and makes it practical, merging the so-called Eastern mystical outlook — or as he calls it, 'in-look' — with the scientific logic of the West. In my own life, formerly as a business CEO and now as a teacher of management, I have found that inner personal growth and effective decision-making go hand in hand: Krishna's book is a guide to both.
— John Rehfeld
Author, Alchemy of a Leader
Executive MBA Faculty, Pepperdine and University of San Diego
The framework presented in this book works great for making both complex and simple decisions in business and in personal life. Krishna's concepts of the PIG and the APE are not only fun to read about, they are true to life and easy to apply.
— Ashok Trivedi
Co-founder and Co-Chairman
iGATE Corporation
Do yourself a favor and read Beyond the PIG and the APE. The book shows how we get trapped in unfulfilling behaviors, then lays out a clear path to personal happiness and joy. Everything in it resonates with what I know to be true about transcending our often self-imposed limitations.
— Shannon Waller
Co-author, Unique Ability: Creating The Life You Want
Strategic Coach®
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