What’s Wrong with the Nike Ad? And How It Fuels a Culture of Delusion and Insecurity

Putting politics aside, I’m not a fan of the commercial’s message, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

This is the sort of self-help advice that sounds good in theory.

“If people say your dreams are crazy… Good. Stay that way.”

“Don’t try to be the fastest runner in your school… Be the fastest ever.”

“Don’t just become a tennis player… Become the greatest athlete ever.”

“Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they are crazy enough.”

But in reality sets people up for failure.

And not the “failure is good, try again” kind-of-way, but to fail in such a way that they spend the most productive years of their life developing a very specific skill (singing, acting, dancing, skateboarding) only to learn that despite all those hours of “sacrificing everything” they have little to show for it (often becoming a burden on their friends, family, and society). For every…