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>Have you ever seen a really effective kindergarten teacher? Or salesman? Or engineer? They are naturally inclined to do what they do and have the instincts thr

by vivekd 10y ago

>Have you ever seen a really effective kindergarten teacher? Or salesman? Or engineer? They are naturally inclined to do what they do and have the instincts through education and experience to just do what others need to think about. I disagree, certainly great salespeople, teachers and engineers make what they do seem natural and effortless, but whenever I talk to them I discover that they put a lot of thought, effort and practice into molding themselves until their craft seems natural. In fact, Tom Hopkins, one of the greatest salespeople who has written several sales books told about how he didn't seem like the person who was right for the job, and he was making no sales, but then he decided to research, work and practice until he got good at it. In fact I believe this whole thing about "be yourself" or "be true to yourself" is a bunch of modernest rubbish. There is no "true self" to be true to. We are in control of who we are and we can choose to mold ourselves into the image of what we want to be. We are not at the mercy of some amorphous inner "true self" that this decides for us.

arcanus 10y ago
> make what they do seem natural and effortless, but whenever I talk to them I discover that they put a lot of thought, effort and practice into molding themselves Absolutely. These are trades that require heavy training and hard word. But the essence of the parent comment was that the immense amount of effort required to become proficient in these trades would be insurmountable if not for a deep passion for the subject.
- forgottenpass 10y ago
  But the essence of the parent comment was that the immense amount of effort required to become proficient in these trades would be insurmountable if not for a deep passion for the subject. I'm proficient at many things that I hate doing simply out of necessity or profitability. Unless we define "deep passion" to include necessity and finding ways to make ends meet, then it doesn't apply. If we do define it that way "deep passion" proves too much fails to be a useful descriptor. It seems like less of a leap to suggest that we often have the luxury of using choosing our passions to become proficient at.
tinym 10y ago
I agree with you very strongly, but I want to reframe it a bit: the fact that there is no "true self" and "we are in control of who we are" is basically the modern condition, and the 'be yourself' mantra is one attempt at an answer to this.

by vivekd 10y ago

arcanus 10y ago

> make what they do seem natural and effortless, but whenever I talk to them I discover that they put a lot of thought, effort and practice into molding themselves Absolutely. These are trades that require heavy training and hard word. But the essence of the parent comment was that the immense amount of effort required to become proficient in these trades would be insurmountable if not for a deep passion for the subject.

forgottenpass 10y ago
But the essence of the parent comment was that the immense amount of effort required to become proficient in these trades would be insurmountable if not for a deep passion for the subject. I'm proficient at many things that I hate doing simply out of necessity or profitability. Unless we define "deep passion" to include necessity and finding ways to make ends meet, then it doesn't apply. If we do define it that way "deep passion" proves too much fails to be a useful descriptor. It seems like less of a leap to suggest that we often have the luxury of using choosing our passions to become proficient at.

tinym 10y ago

I agree with you very strongly, but I want to reframe it a bit: the fact that there is no "true self" and "we are in control of who we are" is basically the modern condition, and the 'be yourself' mantra is one attempt at an answer to this.