Why Startup and “Motivational” Culture Sucks
I have a problem with “startup culture” and motivational speakers.
Picture this: You’re reading an article about some random white guy who decided to quit his career in law to pursue an ice cream business.
That guy was Justin Woolverton, CEO and Founder of Halo Top Creamery.
Justin goes on to tell you his dream of starting the company and how happy and successful he is today compared to his time pursuing law. But what he fails to tell you is that he had a financial privilege to start the business in the first place, not to mention enormous piles of savings no person of meager upbringings could begin to imagine.
Now, picture this: You’re listening to a motivational speech. The speaker tells you that in order to pursue your dreams, you have to listen to a 5-second hesitation trick in your brain.
That speaker is Mel Robbins, prominent life coach, with one of her videos racking over 5 million views on YouTube.
What Mel fails to mention is that this rule of hesitation doesn’t apply to those who are without a good financial standing, nor does it apply for those who are mentally ill or experiencing a panic attack. It also doesn’t help that in her most famous video, Mel appears to be wearing what looks like designer shoes.
What do these motivational speakers and successful businessmen and women have in common?
1. They’re usually privileged.
and
2. They were wealthy before they became motivational fodder.
As you read your self-help books and motivational speeches recommended by doctors, dietitians, yoga instructors, therapists, psychiatrists, the sponsored girl who drinks SkinnyFit Tea on Instagram and the Amazon best-seller list, ask yourself one question:
Can I truly follow in this speaker’s footsteps if I’m my own human being with my own social, economic, and financial limitations?
You can’t expect to be able to start a business if you don’t already have $150,000 stowed away. You can’t expect your mental illnesses to be magically cured because you listened to a 22-minute TED Talk by a woman who spends more on hair treatments than you do on groceries per month.
The only person who can motivate yourself is you. The only person who understands your limitations better than anyone else is you.
Your ideals can be reached, no doubt about it, but only if you go into it without delusions and without thinking that every self-help book out there is a worthy read, or that every speech will help you become the next Mark Zuckerberg.
Find inspiration where you know it’s worth it. If motivational speakers like Mel Robbins do it for you, then go ahead and listen to their Audible book. Just consider that their standings and circumstances might be highly different from your own.
If the story of Justin Woolverton inspires you, consider his financial standing before you quit your day job and end up penniless in Vegas.
And most of all, above all, remember this: Your main motivation should be your own best version of you.
Now go reconsider those motivational quotes in your bathroom.
