Flawless: The Ten Most Common Character Flaws And What To Do About Them [Hardcover]

Louis A. Tartaglia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

In the bestselling tradition of Your Erroneous Zones, a prominent psychiatrist identifies the top ten character flaws that undermine our chances to succeed in life, including time-tested ways to overcome them.

Are you addicted to being right? Do you need to point the finger of blame toward everyone but yourself? When you get angry, does your upset quickly escalate into a state of raging indignation? Then you, like many others, are suffering from character flaws that have undoubtedly held you back in your work, relationships, and life, says Dr. Louis Tartaglia.

In Flawless!, Dr. T. identifies the ten character flaws that have cropped up most frequently in the thousands of patients he has seen in his practice over the last twenty years. In order of frequency, the ten flaws are

*Addicted to Being Right
*Raging Indignation
*Fixing Blame and Nurturing Resentments
*The Dread Seekers (Worry and Fear)
*Resisting Reality (Intolerance)
*The Poor Me or Martyr Syndrome
*Self-regard Run Riot
*The Excuse for Everything -- Inadequacy
*Fault Finders, Hypercritical Pessimists
*The Trap, Chronic Dishonesty
The good news, says Dr. T., is that character can be improved by working on the behavior that undermines it. Using case studies from his practice, colorful anecdotes, and prescriptive advice, he demonstrates how we can get unstuck and live a more peaceful, productive, and happy life.

"Character flaws are just holes in our soul," Dr. T. writes, explaining that filling in the holes is one of the most priceless exercises we have to grow.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must-read." -- --Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager

"A priceless jewel." -- --Robert H. Schuller, author of You Can Become the Person You Want to Be

"Dynamic." -- --Jack Canfield, coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Louis A. Tartaglia, M.D., is an author, psychiatrist, addiction medicine specialist, and the director of the Tartaglia Mind Technologies Institute. Dr. T. has a wife and five sons and lives in Sylvania, Ohio.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: Eagle Brook; 1st edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688156096
• ISBN-13: 978-0688156091
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,338,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Flawless...But Pretty Good, October 30, 2000

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flawless! The Ten Most Common Character Flaws and What You Can Do about Them (Paperback)

After reading the first two chapters of Tartaglia's book, I thought the information was given in somewhat of a shotgun approach: a little bit of everything was coming at me. It seemed that the information was good, but I didn't think the organization (or perhaps the flow) of the material was helpful. Either Tartaglia changed or I got a better handle on his style. Starting with the third chapter, my interest increased all the way until the final chapter.

Tartaglia has submitted ten character flaws for discussion. There's a little something for everyone. The chapter titles are: 1 - Addicted to Being Right, 2 - Raging Indignation, 3 - Fixing Blame and Nurturing Resentments, 4 - The Dread Seekers - Worry and Fear, 5 - Intolerance, 6 - The Poor Me or Martyr Syndrome, 7 - Self-Regard Run Riot, 8 - The Excuse for Everything-Inadequacy, 9 - Hypercritical Fault Finders, 10 - Chronic Dishonesty - The Trap

At the very least, I can assure you that if you read the book honestly, you will learn some things about yourself that you won't like. But Tartaglia gives some good advice on what you can do about these character flaws. He often relates the remedies to Biblical principles, which I appreciated, although I'm not sure that I agree with some of his interpretations. If you are honest with yourself, you'll learn something about yourself and your worldview after reading Flawless.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars chockfull of good horsesense., June 23, 2002

By 

Cipriano "www.bookpuddle.blogspot.com" (Planet Claire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flawless! The Ten Most Common Character Flaws and What You Can Do about Them (Paperback)

We all have character flaws, it is an unavoidable fact. We all have idiosyncracies that hinder us at times, and sometimes downright debilitate us! Not only do these flaws make our own lives disappointing, but they make those around us wish that we were not around them! Dr. Tartaglia shows us that these flaws tend to travel in clusters. They spin out of control and perpetuate themselves... "You only need to get one flaw going and the others automatically join. When they are all working in combination you are out of control. When they are out of YOUR control, your life becomes unmanageable."
The "flaws" he examines in this book are very... commonplace. If you honestly ask yourself the 19 questions he places at the beginning of each chapter (why 19? I don't know), you will SURELY find yourself saying "Wow, hey, I do that all the time!" Or, conversely, you will say, "No, I have a lot of problems, but this is not one of them." Make a list. Take notes. It's terribly interesting what you find out about yourself as you read this book. And it's so educationally beneficial and satisfying to place other people in those places that don't apply to you. "Oh, I know someone that is SO EXACTLY LIKE THAT!" etc. etc. You can photocopy those chapters and send anonymous letters!
The chapters conclude with good practical pointers on how to overcome flawed behaviour patterns. The author is witty and has definitely been around the block a few times in his observations about human behaviour. Flawless did not strike me as being notably PROFOUND though... it was just a lot of well-organized common sense, and toward the end it was starting to bore me. But it is always good to be reminded of the importance of common sense, and this book is worth the time.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much explaination, not enough tools..., October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Flawless: The Ten Most Common Character Flaws And What To Do About Them (Hardcover)

This book is not really bad, it just doesn't say much. You don't really walk away with good, solid tools you can use to improve your life. You finish the book thinking, "That was interesting." Big deal! If I spend money on a book, I want a little more than something interesting. It suffers from the same defect most therapists suffer from: Too much emphasis on explaining the problem, not enough emphasis on what can be effectively done about it. Too much emphasis on the past, not enough emphasis on the future.

Better tools can be found in books like How to Win Friends, and a new one I just bought by Adam Khan called Self-Help Stuff That Works (Youme Works; ISBN: 0962465674)