Managing Your Inner A**hole: An Unusual Education in the Fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780991505913)

Ben Prescott is a man who has spent his entire life contending with mental illness and addiction. The problems caused by these conditions include health crises, litigation, arrests, criminal prosecution, job losses, financial hardships, and life-threatening physical violence. Compounding these issues was the culture of Ben's ultra-conservative family that denied the problems and enforced a code of silence to protect their image. When a series of catastrophic events unfolded in '74 that were so severe that they could no longer be ignored, Ben, in an attempt to anesthetize himself from the pain, buried himself in school and work, and went on an eight-year bender that nearly ruined him. After hitting rock bottom, and after experiencing a life-changing encounter that he can only attribute to Devine intervention, Ben began the process of rebuilding his life and pursuing a path towards emotional intelligence that became the basis of this book. Over the next thirty years, Ben got married and had two children; buried half his family; stood by others as they battled cancer; suffered a life-changing injury; and made, then lost millions. Along the way he discovered what life is about and what he's supposed to do with the life he was given. Today, he's an executive, consultant, and author with expertise in the healthcare and technology industries. Ben has been a member of the management teams of three successful technology companies taking each from start-up to exits through IPO or acquisition. He currently advises entrepreneurs and CEOs and serves as a Managing Director for a technology accelerator and venture fund. Driven by a need to ensure that others don't have to suffer with the issues of mental illness and addiction with which he has so long contended, Ben has made these issues a focus of his existence. He has edited three books on the journeys through addiction and mental illness. He has been a featured speaker at several national healthcare conferences. He has spent decades working with Children's Hospitals and NAMI chapters across the US on outreach programs designed to serve the needs of patients and families dealing with abuse, addiction and mental illness. He has also worked with Big Brothers, the Boy Scouts, and schools on mentoring programs to educate and equip at-risk kids. Ben is married to an educator and parent coach who has dedicated her life to the development of children. Together they are the proud parents of two college graduates.