Hello @xyz066! Your article made me think deep, I find it thought-provoking.
I think in the beginning part of your article, you're referring to "self-made" instead of "self-help"? To be 'self-made' means you make your own money, success and way in the world without anybody's help (in your example, the authors of the self-help books). When you say 'self-help', it means you acknowledge that there is something you can do about your life that will help you get to where you wanna go.
I view self-help through the lens of not giving in to the circumstances that you're dealt with. The economy is a great force in as much as gravity in determining the financial and physical states of our lives. But without that urge, if you will, to change or make improvements to the cards that we're dealt with... I think it makes people resigned to their fates? There's no passion to change things from within because all the big changes must only come from some sort of external source?
Viewing self-help as a multi-billion dollar industry is also another lens in which we could view it. Shedding light on the ethics of what these self-help industries do that generate them their billions of dollars is worth another interesting view.
Thanks for this article! Looking forward to reading more from you 😁
To be 'self-made' means you make your own money, success and way in the world without anybody's help (in your example, the authors of the self-help books).
Do 'self-made' people really exist? Are the posts I write daily 'self-made'? I don't think so. I wouldn't write them without you, my audience. And I make them using tools I didn't make myself. And the knowledge contained within them is not mine. I had teachers, writers wrote books and articles before me. Our economy creates the illusion that the computer I use is mine, just because I paid for it. But it took hundreds of thousands of other people, now and in the past, for that computer to be standing in my house. So, unless you're a hermit, living on an uninhabited island, you're not 'self-made'. And there's no such thing as a 'meritocracy'; some of the hardest working and smartest people I know are struggling to get by, and Jeff Bezos isn't a billion times smarter, nor does he work a billion times harder...
Self-help is a broad term and there are many forms of self-help without involving money. If I hardly make the effort to learn reading can I even understand the content of a free e-book? Can anyone actually absorb facts on my behalf if I refuse to do it on my own? If I only eat greasy food, refuse to exercise then expect to be healthy a reasonable mindset?
If I hardly make the effort to learn reading can I even understand the content of a free e-book?
No. But you'll learn how to read a lot faster and with less difficulty if you have a teacher.
Can anyone actually absorb facts on my behalf if I refuse to do it on my own?
No, but there are no facts to absorb unless they're given to you. You could of course invent the wheel yourself, but I'm confident you'll realize that 99.9999% of everything you think you know has been handed down to you.
If I only eat greasy food, refuse to exercise then expect to be healthy a reasonable mindset?
No, but how do you know that eating greasy food and not exercising is bad for your health?
99.9999% of everything you think you know has been handed down to you.
No, but how do you know that eating greasy food and not exercising is bad for your health?
Learn from experience! I was caned if I don't learn fast enough. The truth is my mom only had 6 years of primary school education and no one hired native speaker to coach me yet I scored 8/9 in IELTS. If I just sat there and hope for a miracle, I would not have gained admission into a university.
I overate that walking became pure torture. Climbing up the stairs gave me knee ache and I was panting after just a short distance. Fit athletes have stamina and endurance. One can fake facts but can never fake experience.
Hello @xyz066! Your article made me think deep, I find it thought-provoking.
I think in the beginning part of your article, you're referring to "self-made" instead of "self-help"? To be 'self-made' means you make your own money, success and way in the world without anybody's help (in your example, the authors of the self-help books). When you say 'self-help', it means you acknowledge that there is something you can do about your life that will help you get to where you wanna go.
I view self-help through the lens of not giving in to the circumstances that you're dealt with. The economy is a great force in as much as gravity in determining the financial and physical states of our lives. But without that urge, if you will, to change or make improvements to the cards that we're dealt with... I think it makes people resigned to their fates? There's no passion to change things from within because all the big changes must only come from some sort of external source?
Viewing self-help as a multi-billion dollar industry is also another lens in which we could view it. Shedding light on the ethics of what these self-help industries do that generate them their billions of dollars is worth another interesting view.
Thanks for this article! Looking forward to reading more from you 😁
Thanks so much for responding @thegaillery :-)
Do 'self-made' people really exist? Are the posts I write daily 'self-made'? I don't think so. I wouldn't write them without you, my audience. And I make them using tools I didn't make myself. And the knowledge contained within them is not mine. I had teachers, writers wrote books and articles before me. Our economy creates the illusion that the computer I use is mine, just because I paid for it. But it took hundreds of thousands of other people, now and in the past, for that computer to be standing in my house. So, unless you're a hermit, living on an uninhabited island, you're not 'self-made'. And there's no such thing as a 'meritocracy'; some of the hardest working and smartest people I know are struggling to get by, and Jeff Bezos isn't a billion times smarter, nor does he work a billion times harder...
I agree, in the strictest sense of the word, there should be no 'self-made' people.
Your post is reblogged and upvoted by me. It is a good post. Thank you @zyx066
Thanks so much for the kind words and the support @optimusre !
Self-help is a broad term and there are many forms of self-help without involving money. If I hardly make the effort to learn reading can I even understand the content of a free e-book? Can anyone actually absorb facts on my behalf if I refuse to do it on my own? If I only eat greasy food, refuse to exercise then expect to be healthy a reasonable mindset?
No. But you'll learn how to read a lot faster and with less difficulty if you have a teacher.
No, but there are no facts to absorb unless they're given to you. You could of course invent the wheel yourself, but I'm confident you'll realize that 99.9999% of everything you think you know has been handed down to you.
No, but how do you know that eating greasy food and not exercising is bad for your health?
Learn from experience! I was caned if I don't learn fast enough. The truth is my mom only had 6 years of primary school education and no one hired native speaker to coach me yet I scored 8/9 in IELTS. If I just sat there and hope for a miracle, I would not have gained admission into a university.
I overate that walking became pure torture. Climbing up the stairs gave me knee ache and I was panting after just a short distance. Fit athletes have stamina and endurance. One can fake facts but can never fake experience.