For you, there is good news. It is possible for the wealthy to have such a conversation with confidence and enthusiasm. It might take some work to reach this place of guilt-free acceptance of your material ease, but it can be done.

The first step is to ask yourself, "What do I want to do?" Not "What do I have to do to be at peace with my wealth since most other people have to work hard for everything they have?"

When you deliberately ask yourself, "What is it I want?" other questions must follow to illuminate the path: "What do I already do that I enjoy and that is fulfilling to me?" "What other things would I like to try?" "Is there any reason why I can't do them?"

If you have an interest that you are aware of, then the question becomes, "Do I know anyone who could be my mentor in this?"

Asking yourself these questions is part of a step-by-step process through which you can intentionally structure what you do with your time. And, by so doing, build your sense of purpose in the world.

It can be done. People just like you and me are doing it all the time. In the process, they are refusing to accept the personal limitations imposed on them when they received what the outside world regards as a windfall.

They have experienced and successfully navigated through what I call the Dark Side of wealth.

Rebecca is a beautiful thirty-year-old woman whose inherited fortune has kept her childlike in every way but physically. Her name and story have been fictionalized, as have the names and stories of the rest of the people depicted in this book, in order to protect their privacy. During our first session, my immediate reaction-which I later saw as a classic example of countertransference-was a strong desire to protect her. As she continued in therapy with me, I had to fight the urge to give her a crash course in the realities of life while sheltering her the whole time.

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