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Site is hugged to death, but as usual I won't let that stop me from commenting. I don't think many lives are changed by self-help books. People who are activel
by caymanjim 6y ago
Site is hugged to death, but as usual I won't let that stop me from commenting.
I don't think many lives are changed by self-help books. People who are actively trying to change their lives often read self-help books, and then misattribute any positive result to the book. Then they recommend the book to others, and it's either mindless blather, or common-sense tropes wrapped in a bow, or something that reinforces a decision they've already made. Someone decides they need to focus on something, and then reads a book about it while they're focused on it. They already changed their life before they read the book, by making the decision to change.
No one is changed by a religious text if they are already a religious person who largely agrees with the philosophy. No one changes their diet if they haven't already made a decision to eat healthier. No one GETS.RICH.QUICK if they weren't already entrepreneurial.
Yeah, maybe these books impacted people in some way. But they were already 99% of the way there. Recommending them to someone who isn't also 99% of the way there isn't going to change a thing.
The older I get the more obvious it is that there are no new ideas, there's just new branding.
- caymanjim 6y agoNow that I can see the site, these are all books by people who through a combination of luck, timing, skill, and work managed to get rich. Now they think they figured out something others didn't. No, they were well-positioned--largely through the circumstances of their birth--got lucky, and then had the skill to take advantage of the combination. Now they think they discovered something. They didn't, and they actually have no awareness of how they ended up where they are.
- spiderfarmer 6y agoAnd the things they did learn can all be boiled down to a blog article. Instead they fleshing out simple ideas to 100 pages of examples and repetition.
- hackerbeat 6y agoLol. Spot on. With both comments.
- morgengold 6y agoI largely agree with your position. Nevertheless I would argue that from time to time one can pick up ideas or concepts which lead to a "click"-like effect in the mind. Which ultimately changes behavior. But I'm the first to acknowledge that these kind of things are seldom found in such self-help books. Especially not in these get rich kind of stuff. I completely lost interest in this gossip.
- imshashank 6y agoI really disagree. I think you haven't even tried reading the article or any of these books. To be true I was one of these people who thought all these "self-help" books are quite useless. I used to hate the word "self-help" But these books changed my mindset. Let me share some insights from these books: 1) Fastlane Millionaire Told me that if I want to be a "Millionaire" then it's highly unlikely I will be one by working for others (a job) unless my job is super high paying. Also by having a job I am playing an almost no risk and less reward game. Instead if I just increase the risk profile lil bit my rewards will be must more increased. It's hard to explain everything in 2 lines, hence this books is number 1. 2) Creativity Inc How can creativity be nurtured and promoted. 3) Range I am one of those people who like to do multiple things and mostly mix my different passions and make something new. 6) The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau Startups don't need to be started with a lot of money. People are making it big. 7) Originals by Adam Grant Lessons from others that it is okay to think differently and it is okay to do things others might tell you not to. These are some lessons I owe to these books.
- caymanjim 6y agoAre you a millionaire?