I find it fascinating that self-help books "lost their luster" in the last few years for me as well. Of course, the ethos of positive thinking has its place. However, the incessant self-congratulatory tone and the embedded survivorship bias became both obvious and disturbing. There is a reason why so many fantastic accomplishments are one-off. And the people who were lucky enough to enjoy those accomplishments often, though maybe not always, over-value their ability while under-valuing the positive effects of that luck. This is not to say that hard work and preparation are irrelevant. Of course, they are not! By the same token, it is entirely possible that following the "three key steps..." will not result in the same outcome, automatically. In contrast, a solid philosophical foundation--and my bias will show here--rooted in Stoicism, will make almost any journey, no matter how winding, transverse-able!
I find it fascinating that self-help books "lost their luster" in the last few years for me as well. Of course, the ethos of positive thinking has its place. However, the incessant self-congratulatory tone and the embedded survivorship bias became both obvious and disturbing. There is a reason why so many fantastic accomplishments are one-off. And the people who were lucky enough to enjoy those accomplishments often, though maybe not always, over-value their ability while under-valuing the positive effects of that luck. This is not to say that hard work and preparation are irrelevant. Of course, they are not! By the same token, it is entirely possible that following the "three key steps..." will not result in the same outcome, automatically. In contrast, a solid philosophical foundation--and my bias will show here--rooted in Stoicism, will make almost any journey, no matter how winding, transverse-able!