You pick up a book with a catchy title:
How to Solve this Problem You’ve Been Having… Today!
CHAPTER 1 — Rapport story of how the author totally had the same problem you’re going through.
Writer tells you how he totally gets you because he’s been in your situation. Goes on and on for about 5 pages telling you his first world problems… you start wondering, did I pick up a budget memoir by mistake?
Finally towards the end of the chapter he tells you how there was a light-bulb moment where he found the beacon of truth and how he will share it all in this book. You just have to stay tuned because the next chapters will BLOW YOUR MIND.
Chapter 2 — The author reminds you of the problem you’re having and shares with you stories of random people that you don’t give a fuck about.
This chapter usually pisses me the fuck off because it is so damn unnecessary. The writer just tries to seem more credible by describing the problem in even more detail and then he goes on to share stories of individuals from all walks of life who after reading the book dramatically improved.
This is the equivalent of a patient going to a doctor with the flu and the doctor being like:
Doctor: Yes the flu is so common. You don’t feel well, you have a fever and your throat hurts and you feel nauseous.
Patient: That’s correct so… how do I get better?
Doctor: Yes, yes, I will tell you how to get better and tell you how to prevent it so that you never have it again but first let me tell you about all these patients I saw today who also had the flu and how the flu affected them in all different ways but they were able to recover thanks to me.
Patient: But… I just want to know what will help ME specifically and I want to feel better now.
Doctor: Trust me you need to hear all of these stories.
….
No we don’t need to hear the stories. Just get to the damn point.
Pleasethanksbye
Chapters 3, 4, 5, etc… — Searching for El Dorado
If you actually liked Chapter 2, then I got good news for you. In the rest of the chapters, you will get EVEN MORE stories of random people with actual useful advice sprinkled in there from time to time. However, finding this wisdom will be as arduous as exploring South America in search for El Dorado and you’ll have to dissect these chapters meticulously to find insight. If you’re like me and have very little patience for reading nonsense you will most likely get discouraged and speed read through the rest of the book.
Last Chapter — Hallelujah!
Congratulations! If you’ve somehow made it to the end of this grueling reading process you have admirable discipline and willpower and will most likely accomplish anything life has to throw at you. Either that or you were really gullible and desperate to obtain a truth which you by now realized that the book did not provide you.
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I have read over 20 different self-help books for various ailments. From how to be happy, to business success and reaching optimal fitness… 90% of them are all structured in the same shitty way and they offer nothing of value to readers.
Looking back, the best type of advice I’ve received is not about quantity but quality. I can remember moments in life where certain phrases from close friends and family members caused a big impact and resonated in a way that caused me to change my perspective completely.
The best kind of advice you can get usually will have honesty, connection, and understanding… so perhaps it makes sense that all of these self-help books are set for failure. These books are too lofty in their promises in order to bait readers. They assume that people can just be magically fixed with some revolutionary method. In reality, these books don’t really help anyone because their main purpose is to sell cookie-cutter wisdom without offering any real connection.
To write a book that actually motivates change, authors should dig deep down and connect with their true life wisdom. Share your story without holding back and without seeking approval. Share your words without always seeking profit. Don’t try to constantly hook, line, and sinker your audience. Perhaps you won’t sell as many copies or appeal to every demographic but the world needs more raw and unafraid writers that want to give something real to the world. Be one of them.
