One of the first encounters with people possessing self control that the author has is with screen writer Sterling Siliphant from the late 60’s. At the time author Hyams was publication writer assigned to Hollywood. Since the normal method of getting a story was to needle a person until they got irritated enough to give a quote you could use against them, the author wasn’t prepared for Siliphant to see right through the tactic.

I watch people around me and realize the saying of Lao Tzu is correct, ‘for the uncontrolled there is no peace’.

In counseling people and mentoring I experience the lives of others, many of the greatest mistakes or mishaps in their lives happen when they throw their self control to the wind. Emotion alone takes over, with the consequences stuffed in the back of our minds. When this happens the person who maintains their calm tend to overwhelm us or more accurately allow us to overwhelm ourselves.

This is what Siliphant did to Hyams.