It seemed as though Max Carey spent his whole life dashing out of a phone booth attired in blue-and-red tights. A Top Gun fighter pilot who flew 110 Viet Nam combat missions, Carey set football records for Columbia University, founded the marketing consulting firm Corporate Resources Development, got written up in Success magazine and was named Atlanta Small Business Person of the Year. So what was this overachiever doing, at 34 in robust good health, crying his eyes out on the deck of his suburban home?

The problem wasn't a nearby node of kryptonite. Instead, says Carey, his attitude that he had to be super-successful at everything forced him into emotional overload. Carey called it "the Superman complex" in an autobiographical Inc. magazine article. He thought a few others might share it and was astounded when letters flooded in complaining of the same shallow family relationships, constant sensation of imbalance and profound lack of fulfillment.

By then, Carey had doffed his tights and returned to mortal form, in the process strengthening his family, increasing his happiness and making his over-achieving presence a lot easier on those around him. He explains how he did it in this touching and practical book that, he points out, is more relevant to family and small business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere ­ and those who work for and with them ­ than any other group. If you're never satisfied with anything less than "superheroism" ­ or you work for or are related to someone who is ­ Carey's tale provides some much-needed directions for heading back into that phone booth, putting on some street clothes and getting out of that goofy-looking cape.