I am shocked and disturbed to discover that for every Penguin classic or slim volume of poetry on my shelves, I seem to own many more books on getting rich, getting laid, losing weight, winning fights, raising daughters, stopping smoking, learning a language and treating one’s own knees.
I’m a sucker for self-improvement, a junkie for self-help, a crack whore of self-motivation.
Zice Tony Parsons, “heavy weight hard talker” la GQ, ediţia britanică, într-un text intitulat “The Kings of Self-Improvement”. Evident, subscriu.
Mai zice şi că:
But of course there are no shortcuts to anything worth having. If you are losing weight or learning martial arts or building a property empire worth billions, you do not do it in ten easy steps. It takes a lifetime, not a lunchtime. (…)
We crave perfection, enlightment and an end to all cares – physical, financial, sexual, emotional, spiritual. When I buy a book promising to reveal the short cut to sex / a six-pack / that difficult second million, I know I am wasting my time. I know in my heart that I can learn more from one page of Graham Greene than I can from an entire shelf of books promising to make me richer, tougher or thinner.
But I also know that our desire for more than we have is what dragged us from the trees, and what makes us get out of our bed every morning, and what drives us on every day and what may yet lead us to glory. We crave richer. We crave tougher. We crave peace of mind.
And when is it enough?
It’s never enough until your heart stops beating.
Pline de inspiraţie fragmentele din Tony Parsons; tindem mereu spre mai mult, mai opulent, mai luxos, şi ne îndepărtăm cu o viteză uluitoare de natură şi o seninătate a minţii reală, nu obţinută prin povestioare zen sau ceşti de ceai tibetan.
poate nu calea mai scurta pe care ti-o promite o carte de self-help conteaza ci faptul ca-ti indreapta mintea intr-o anumita directie. Gandesti intr-un anumit fel atunci cand citesti asa ceva. Si citesti, si citesti, si nu prea vezi rezultate… si aici vine partea interesanta: unii abandoneaza si le considera pierdere de timp, altii continua si descopera ca incep sa inteleaga ce au citit cu mult timp in urma.
It takes a lifetime, not a lunchtime.—> Eu am inceput sa inteleg asta atunci cand am inceput a 4-a serie de abdomene la sala cu o profesoara a carei tic verbal este “Inca Zece!”. Stupid? Poate. Dar cu siguranta eficient.
La ce subscri? Ca iti trebuie help ca sa get laid?
Si eu as avea prea multe carti de self-improvement, daca nu le-as imprumuta pe toate prietenilor. Oricum, prea mult self-improvement care numai la improvement nu duce. Mi-a ajuns de sfaturi gen “be yourself” si “be positive”.
Nu toate sunt create egale… unele sunt mai eficiente… altele… mai putin eficiente. Fiecare dintre ele are un anumit ton si un anumit ritm iar tonul si ritmul acesta trebuie sa se muleze pe personalitatea ta.
De exemplu:
Intr-un fel e percepta “Get the Edge” a lui Anthony Robbins si in alt fel “Lead the Field” a lui Earl Nightingale.
Daca ar fi sa reduc tot ce am citit/ascultat din domeniu… as reduce-o la: “Wisdom is in the DOING”. De asta sunt unii care nu au citit nici o carte de self-help si par a stii atat de multe despre self-help… par a fi atat de intelepti. 🙂
There is no short way to perfection, there is no short way to selfimproovement … just some selfproclaimed “gurus” expecting people to recognize their “genius” and follow the prescribed way …
I am still a tuddler … and I have experienced many books (read … but reading a book is similar with experiencing a book)… there is sunch an inflation of waste of paper, bestsellers, and usless books that fills the shelvs of libbraries and stands of book sellers, easy books, books for mass consumption … that will make you confident in your strenght and … not ask for much intelectual effort