Programmatic bliss on a bittersweet note

I searched on “how to write a book that actually gets published.”
Guess what, it’s all about work, work, work, work, work.

Unless you are a celebrity who just happened to think: “it’s time to come up with a book”. You know the kind: little inspirational nothings with beautifully illustrated — that one is true — photographs. And then you see them sitting on a TV show, smiling and nodding to the summary: “And now you wrote a book. That’s amazing!”.

I find the occurring rate of the phrase “amazing” purely and utterly too much on American talk shows. You’re an actress/model, have a family, just published a book and also started a program for young girls.
I want to say…typical? No, just kidding.
- “You’re amazing!”
Also the at least 10-people team behind you who actually do the work but let’s just keep colouring the black and white message of how you can be anything you want.

Not to sound bittersweet, though: I am familiar with the very different cultural environment they grow up in. It’s basically an automatism by the time they are young adults: of course, you fight as a phoenix. Rise and shine with your motivational coffee mug and throw compliments around as if it was the first day of spring every day.

I do find this a very good attitude towards education. It comes with not just having a more or less stable confidence in life but a unique belief that you’ll be the next writer of the next generation that’ll come up with the next Harry Potter. I can have it, you can have it, we all can. This is how a vision works, standing on a pile of “nexts”. It’s not that close but that feeling! Feeling of how close that dream is and most importantly how you really are able to touch it — now that’s the science of it all!

I guess it must work. Otherwise I wouldn’t be wondering on that right now and I wouldn’t have anything to discuss. Because I don’t have any books to publish — now, that’s for sure. Instead, I am focusing on what really works, rambling on what we — in a little country — want: just a little programmatic bliss.

The perfect happiness to be able to say — and please do imagine this without sounding bittersweet: “You are amazing!”.

….

(No, I couldn’t do it either.)