You know what was great about my time in business school? Not one...not a sole pop business book. Nothing telling us to think like a millionaire or meditate our way to wealth. I'm thankful for that not because I enjoyed reading 10-Ks all weekend (I just gagged a little), but instead because now, I know crap when I see it.
I can tell when I'm being being presented with motivation to succeed vs. being given the tools to do so. I know...clearly...when a book sells association with the concepts as wealth disguised as a path to riches. Honestly though...seeing that doesn't take a degree.
Don't get me wrong. Some pop biz books that are good. I file Gladwell, Nicholas and Godin under that category and none of them promise a thing. They give insight, interpretation, opinion and perspective. No methods to shape the mind, no enticements of a new life...just a different look at a system you might want to navigate.
...So today I read this...list...of principles rich people apparently use when they do their very expensive thinking. I read, I was offended. I questioned if anyone could believe this. Then I realized that some people want so desperately to be rich that they would fund another's trip to the mountaintop just for the sake of being spit on by a silver spooned tongue. I gagged again.
The article ends with this quote:
"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance."
From Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think."
Dude, seriously? Since when is magical thinking a plan? Can I get some stats on how often that works out for people?
OK OK...so this isn't just a business rant. It actually does pertain to BJJ because I'm seeing more and more of this exact same concept creeping its way through our world. More trite little sayings, doled out in SunTzu-esque style, whispering tales of gain just inches beyond our reach...if only...if only we'd believe. It's subtle still, but a fire rises*. Every niche sees it, because niches are built on people doing things they love...and it's a common trope that making a living doing what you love is the secret to everlasting happiness and X-ray vision. Every niche has people that will sell this product...every niche has people that will buy this product.
...and that's all I've got to say about that.
*apologies, but I LOVED The Dark Knight Rises. Expect future references...and images of Bane.
Screw it...
I can tell when I'm being being presented with motivation to succeed vs. being given the tools to do so. I know...clearly...when a book sells association with the concepts as wealth disguised as a path to riches. Honestly though...seeing that doesn't take a degree.
Don't get me wrong. Some pop biz books that are good. I file Gladwell, Nicholas and Godin under that category and none of them promise a thing. They give insight, interpretation, opinion and perspective. No methods to shape the mind, no enticements of a new life...just a different look at a system you might want to navigate.
...So today I read this...list...of principles rich people apparently use when they do their very expensive thinking. I read, I was offended. I questioned if anyone could believe this. Then I realized that some people want so desperately to be rich that they would fund another's trip to the mountaintop just for the sake of being spit on by a silver spooned tongue. I gagged again.
The article ends with this quote:
"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance."
From Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think."
Dude, seriously? Since when is magical thinking a plan? Can I get some stats on how often that works out for people?
OK OK...so this isn't just a business rant. It actually does pertain to BJJ because I'm seeing more and more of this exact same concept creeping its way through our world. More trite little sayings, doled out in SunTzu-esque style, whispering tales of gain just inches beyond our reach...if only...if only we'd believe. It's subtle still, but a fire rises*. Every niche sees it, because niches are built on people doing things they love...and it's a common trope that making a living doing what you love is the secret to everlasting happiness and X-ray vision. Every niche has people that will sell this product...every niche has people that will buy this product.
...and that's all I've got to say about that.
*apologies, but I LOVED The Dark Knight Rises. Expect future references...and images of Bane.
Screw it...
6 comments:
Thank you. It had to be said and it's nice that someone in the know says it :)
and yes, that movie ruled!
So I'm curious. How do you feel about Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill?
KB, I've never read it, but after a quick look on Amazon, the words "secrets" and "magical", references to Andrew Carnegie, and enticements like "you may have whatever you want in life" in the description throw up some HUGE red flags.
Now...that said...it very well could be a case of what Slideyfoot and I were discussing in regard to Lloyd Irvin...a great product wrapped like a scam.
Have you read it?
Yes, indeed. It was actually recommended to me by Lloyd too.
I learned a lot from the book, but it is highly conceptual. I actually prefer that though.
Yeah...though I might not like it, that "style" of marketing/motivation might actually have some merit...but it's one of those things that I think attracts more flim flam artists than it does people with legit motivations.
I understand, if you are focusing on methods. Some methods rub people the wrong way right off the bat.
That's why I prefer concepts because if you understand the concept, the why, you can create the method.
That's true in BJJ, and everywhere else.
Back to the book though, Think and Grow Rich doesn't deal with methods, and it is easy to see the logic even when you think it could have been explained better.
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