The Myth of Easy Success: A Critical Look at the Self-Help Industry
Why success is not what you think
"If you can think it, you can have it." "If you can imagine it, you can have it all." If and if and if...! How many of you were once inspired by statements about success and life? The tricks, strategies, steps, procedures, predictions, and so on. You should follow. Success and greatness are not hard and easy all the way but filled with ups and downs. Bless me if you can; life is not science, not math, not physics and chemistry, and not logic and technology. Period!
If you must know, I am not a big fan of today's motivational speakers who claim to make, create, map, and invent success and greatness in some way, form, or year. I don't even buy or read their shallow, self-motivated books that are not time-tested. They only care about their stomach and fame! Peace be unto them!
Some of them go as far as to claim they have hacked life strategies from observing, studying, and reading about great men and women in various fields. It's like history is at their fingertips. May God bless them for their hard work, but I don't buy into their self-motivated movements and speeches. It makes me sick and tired.
Life's success is not all about following successful hacks; it's a mystery itself. Success is unique in its own way, even if I can predict it; I am not certain how sure I am. I can't say it well! We have seen people die trying; does that mean they are not successful or great?
Many times, successful and great men make success look easy when they are comfortably at the top. They make it seem like they never struggled that much, and even if they did, it was like a breeze; they climbed to the top comfortably. Yes, Everest, here I am! But we know how hard it is to climb Everest.
They make you believe that if you think it's hard, then it is! Maybe you have once read in Forbes or New York Times Magazine how a 21-year-old kid or 40-year-old man built a startup or something like that all by himself. They call them self-made millionaires, billionaires, or whatever they want to name it. And I guess we all believe what they say about how they did it. Magical, right?
Please, who is a self-made man? I want to know! Well, I don't blame them; who wouldn't do that? I have watched most successful and great people during interviews, and they narrate their struggles, making it seem like there was no time at all they faced any challenges. They even make their challenges seem like nothing to them, telling their audience how they did it without thinking twice.
They glorify themselves, and I'm not saying that's bad. To them, it was smooth all the way. Mind you, I'm not talking about all successful and great men but a handful of them who take pride (glory) in their own personal hard work, undermining the people who may have helped them along the way. I cherish their wisdom, but it's a very proud one at that! I solemnly respect their huge leap of faith. Amen! It did work for them; glory to God!
Watch out when they interview new celebrities in sports, entertainment, and business, and see how they gush out how they did it right. What they did, how they did it, when they did it, etc., without thinking twice. They even laugh about it, but in reality, they know deep within them how tough it was. They paint success like anyone can get there in a matter of weeks, months, and years if only they're focused and consistent, but success is not all about being focused and consistent; it's more than that.
Should we talk about how demography, place of birth, family class or status, connection, education, etc., play a massive role in this thing called success? They feed people and kids who care to listen to them that you can be anything you want. Pheeeew, that's not true; in reality, you can't be anything or achieve anything you want; there's a limit to everything. So knowing it is all that you need! If wishes were horses, poor men would have ridden horses.
