Road Map to Power


Non-Fiction - Self Help
186 Pages
Reviewed on 09/09/2015
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Author Biography

Syed Arshad Husain is a child psychiatrist known worldwide for his work with children living in war zones and disaster areas. Since 1994, Dr. Husain and his trauma team at the University of Missouri–Columbia have visited 80 disaster areas and war zones in 18 different countries and trained over 6,000 teachers, psychologists, and volunteers to help traumatized children and their families. He founded the International Center for Psychosocial Trauma at the University of Missouri, and counseling centers in Bosnia, Kosovo, and an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan. He has published scientific articles in major peer-reviewed journals in the U.S. and Canada, and has written five books. He has received numerous awards from major professional societies including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Recent awards include the National Council for Behavioral Health Doc of the Year and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Catcher in the Rye award. Currently he is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri and serves as a medical director of a large behavioral health organization in Missouri.

A. Darius Husain is the Executive Director of Face to Face Academy, During his tenure, Face to Face has won numerous awards including being named a “High Quality Charter School” for its work in graduating students and closing the achievement gap. Newsweek named F2F as one of American’s Top High Schools in the category Beating the Odds – Top Schools for Low Income Students.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Hilary Hawkes for Readers' Favorite

Road Map to Power by Syed Arshad Husain and A. Darius Husain is a thought-provoking book that examines the true source of personal power, how our quest for success and achievement originated, and how it affects us today. The authors explain that great riches, fame and success are dependent on genetics, inheritance and luck, and so 99% of people are unlikely to achieve the unobtainable goals they may set themselves. The Rule of the Road is that we are almost all average. We may measure our worth by how much we have, but this will never make us truly happy. Husain says he made this mistake – despite a successful career as a child psychiatrist in the US and a comfortable life, he was dissatisfied until he heard colleague Bob talk about his alternative contented way of living.

Road Map to Power explains what this humane, non-self-seeking and realistic way involves: We need to know that we are not all really equal, but are equal in worth; that we cannot all achieve extraordinary things, but that perseverance and development of self-esteem is good when we understand we have our own individual ‘ceiling’. Parental attachment to infants is essential for emotional strength and resilience. We all have our own personal ‘garden’ that we need to cultivate with generosity and giving to others, and we can do that when we understand that happiness stems from leading a life suited to our individual capabilities. When we stop believing we must have or achieve more and more in order to be accepted or to fit in, then we can live more authentically.

Road Map to Power is well-written and very readable. It follows a logical sequence with useful summing up sections at the end of each chapter, and includes references to many historical and significant people/events in order to explain various points. I like the assessment of the origins and role of different religions the authors make, and their suggestion that emphasizing the values rather than different theologies can have a unifying effect. Syed Arshad Husain established a trauma team to help children and families affected by war in Bosnia, and partly bases his theories about resilience, re-authoring our lives, and living to help others on the experiences he had there with some very traumatized children.

This is a book with a message that could be a starting point for transforming the lives of readers who are unhappy, stuck in pursuing something unattainable to them personally, or who are caught up in false beliefs that money, better possessions or approval will bring them the happiness they crave. The book’s message is to strive for our own best, not power or possessions. As St Francis of Assisi says: “It is in giving that we receive” - and we discover that this enables us to live fully in the knowledge that our 'best' will continue to influence others in a good way long after our own deaths. It is this way of living that is open to all of us equally.

Deborah Lloyd

Be more than humane; be a humanitarian is the tenth Rule of Power in Dr. Syad Arshad Husain and A. Darius Husain’s book, Road Map to Power. Dr. Husain lays out 10 Rules of Power that challenges each of us to live a more authentic life by living within our true power. He gives many examples of how our consumer-driven societies lead us to have the wrong priorities by chasing unfulfilling materialistic goals. Dr. Husain is a child psychiatrist who was deeply touched, and challenged, by the lifestyle of a social worker in his agency. The social worker, who brought home a much lower salary, found power by living within his means and having no mortgage, credit cards nor car payment. Dr. Husain, with his higher salary and unpaid bills, gave this great consideration. He recognized how achieving his career and financial goals brought unnecessary stress and lack of power into his life.

This book is very well-written and the real-life examples are relatable to all readers, no matter in what socioeconomic class the reader lives. I was truly touched by Dr. Husain and his mental health team’s work with traumatized children in Bosnia. This book is a practical guide for those who want to forge a meaningful life. In Road Map to Power, Dr. Syad Arshad Husain and A. Darius Husain describe the process of changing priorities and living a humanitarian life. The ninth Rule of Power is cultivate your own garden. When you read this book and consider how you live your life, you may also change your garden, becoming more of a humanitarian.

Maria Beltran

Road Map to Power by Syed Arshad Husain and A. Darius Husain is a ground breaking self help book that touches on the history and pitfalls of human society. It consists of ten chapters such as The Normal Distribution, A Brief History of Power, The Legend of Equality and Engineering the Great Society with the last one talking about The Road Map to Power. After stating the premise that most of us are average human beings, statistically speaking, that is, the book then goes on to support this statement through real life stories. In the end, it provides a road map to power that entails selflessness and empowerment of others, not entirely a new philosophy but something that most of us, in this materialistic society, still have to learn and practice.

Road Map to Power tries to find the real source of power and happiness in life. The popular belief is that power emanates from wealth, celebrity status and influence. The truth, however, according to Dr. Syed Arshad Husain and A. Darius Husain is that most of us are not able to collect possessions, titles and wealth in our lifetime so as to be considered extraordinary human beings. There are only a precious few of us who inherit enormous wealth, who are genetically gifted, and who are plain lucky. So how can we feel fulfilled as individuals when we are, in the scheme of things, are mostly plain and average? This question is answered by Road Map to Power and it is a road that will lead you to self fulfillment and happiness. I highly recommend this book!