THE MAESTRO MONOLOGUE

A guide urges readers to find their “prominence in the universe.”

“Be prepared,” declares White at the onset of his book, “to shatter all the myths, superstitions, misconceptions, and negative opinions that have hampered you from experiencing your unique, one-of-a-kind authenticity.” The author uses deliberately high-flown rhetoric, aimed at challenging readers’ complacency and getting them to turn their energies to confronting the “intruder” within, the real and steadfast enemy of their ability to conduct their lives as a maestro occupying center stage. This intruder is “an unwanted mental houseguest” hampering personal growth, and it’s for this reason that White stresses that the particular journey he’s describing in these pages is not about adding anything to readers—they already possess all the qualities they need—but rather subtracting obstacles. A key concept in this worldview, one of the most important tools in readers’ kits, is something White calls “The Power of Intervention,” which enables them to “turn your thoughts in the right direction when your self-talk is fraught with faulty ruminations.” It’s through this significant power that readers will be able to counter the “no” tendency of the intruder, which the author refers to as one of the most potent kegs of dynamite in the antagonist’s arsenal. “When left unchecked,” he writes, “the damaging effect of NO can negatively impact you for a lifetime.”

White employs a vibrantly optimistic tone throughout his work, always encouraging his readers to realize the best versions of themselves and to reject the intruder who’s continually seeking to enhance the negativity in their lives and deny them their dreams. Those lives, the author stresses, are unbounded in potential. “Refuse to compromise with the truth any longer,” he writes. “You are not here to endure life, you are here to enjoy life!” Periodically throughout the text, this reassurance takes a familiar self-help/motivation route into fanciful territory. Telling readers that they can be anything they want simply by believing it is, of course, unrealistic. White tells his readers that they must think of themselves as unlimited in possibilities. “When you set yourself on that track,” he writes, “you’ll find yourself advancing a lot farther a lot faster, and you’ll see no reason whatsoever to go back.” This kind of rhetoric is uplifting, yes, but it fails to take into account real-world limitations like education, money, and strong personal connections. But allowing that most readers will likely realize that, the author’s encouragements are bracingly phrased and cheerfully personal. Although his inspirational comments are invigorating, his advice is at its most intriguing when it’s at its most pragmatic, discussing the pernicious effects of the kinds of rationalizations people use every day to limit their own dreams. Readers can serve only one state of mind at a time, he emphasizes, and it should be the most positive one they can imagine.

A vividly written call to defeat the intruder inside the human heart that promotes negativity.