Author’s Note

Alfred Adler, the thinker who was a hundred years ahead of his time. Though he stands beside Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung as one of the most important figures in the world of psychology, Adler was for many years a “forgotten giant.” Since the publication of The Courage to Be Disliked, the context of Adler and his school of thought has gone through a remarkable transformation. Adler has been widely known in Europe and America for some time. But now, after our book spent a record-setting fifty-one weeks as a number-one bestseller—having sold millions of copies in South Korea and Japan—I have a strong sense that Adler is present within many people, and no longer needs introduction. There is something deeply moving about his ideals being accepted in Asia after the passage of a hundred years.

The Courage to Be Disliked is a kind of map for informing people of the existence of Adlerian psychology, and for giving an overview of Adler’s ideas. It is a grand map that we put together over the course of several years, with the intention of creating a definitive introduction to Adlerian psychology.

The Courage to Be Happy, on the other hand, is a kind of compass for actually putting Adler’s ideas into practice and leading a happy life. And it may also be thought of as a collection of behavioral guidelines showing how one may progress toward the objectives laid out in the first book.

In The Courage to Be Happy, once more we find the philosopher engaged in a dialogue with the pessimistic youth. Three years after the conclusion of The Courage to Be Disliked, the youth, who has become a teacher with the intention of putting Adler’s ideas into practice, calls on the philosopher one last time. Frustrated with Adlerian psychology and angry with the philosopher for introducing him to Adler’s ideals, the youth has returned to the philosopher’s study to challenge everything the philosopher taught him and insist that he cease to corrupt other young minds with ideals that don’t hold up in the real world when interacting with real people. Calmly, the philosopher invites the youth to join him for one final conversation about having courage not only to take the first step toward happiness, but to continue walking along the path of self-improvement in order to love, be self-reliant, and nurture community feeling.

In what way can we make concrete progress on the path to happiness shown in the preceding volume, The Courage to Be Disliked? How can we put Adlerian psychology into practice in our everyday lives? And what is that conclusion arrived at by Adler, “the biggest choice in life,” that everyone must make in order to live in happiness?

The curtain opens once more on this strong-medicine philosophical dialogue. Do you have the courage to climb the stairway of understanding with the youth?