Any Time People Come Together

A Widely Held, But Rarely Articulated, Belief In Our Society Is That The Ideal Self Is Bold, Alpha, Gregarious. Introversion Is Viewed Somewhere Between Disappointment And Pathology.

I Think The Shyness One Feels In Childhood Is Often Overcome With Time. There Are Children Who Hide Behind Their Parents' Legs, But You Don't See Grown-ups Hiding Behind People. It Just Doesn't Happen. I Mean, Not That Often. People Develop Social Skills Over Time.

We Have A Two-tier Class System When It Comes To Personality Style. To Devalue Introversion Is A Waste Of Talent, Energy And Happiness.

Introversion- Along With Its Cousins Sensitivity, Seriousness, And Shyness- Is Now A Second-class Personality Trait, Somewhere Between A Disappointment And A Pathology. Introverts Living In The Extrovert Ideal Are Like Women In A Man's World, Discounted Because Of A Trait That Goes To The Core Of Who They Are. Extroversion Is An Enormously Appealing Personality Style, But We've Turned It Into An Oppressive Standard To Which Most Of Us Feel We Must Conform.

I Look Back On My Years As A Wall Street Lawyer As Time Spent In A Foreign Country.