Songwriter Carly Simon recalls an emotionally intense high school episode when her boyfriend referred to her stammer as "charming." Simon regards that moment as a turning point for her self-esteem, and so her future. Other celebrities share similar, seemingly minor moments with truly life-changing effects. Tennis champion Venus Williams recalls one of her sister"s pep talks when "her words changed my life." Basketball star Shaquille O"Neal credits an offhand remark by his mother as "the words that changed everything for me." All three cases illustrate a Spontaneous Influence Event, or SIE. In this book, psychologist Michael Rousell, who has studied such events across decades, shows us how SIEs--which occur when we are emotionally charged--do occur for most of us, for better or worse. These events trigger an intense emotional response and activate a mental state of extreme suggestibility. There is thus fertile ground for statements about our worth, abilities, and potential to be...