Prescriptions work for followers and not for innovators
How many billionaires and millionaires would there be if reading books on wealth made us rich?
How many Amazons, Googles, and Apples would be there if reading founder’s biographies would build successful companies?
There would hardly be few people working in 9–5 if the courses or programs claimed to make you financially free or kick start your entrepreneurial dream.
Unfortunately, these prescriptions used by authors and gurus have been created by stereotyping all of us to incentivize their content.
If you watch this clip of Naval talking to Kapil Gupta MD about how prescriptions will not make you what they claim — you will stop buying books, courses, and the videos that promise you results.
Okay, some of those may help you slightly, but they won’t carve your way for you. It’s easier to apply formulas to technical or have a rigid nature, but do you think we can use the same prescription for our lives?
For example, if you’re looking to know what 2+2 is, you’ll surely get the answer on Google, Quora, or Reddit. But what if the variables are still unidentified? How would a generic formula solve your equation if the variables are missing?
How would a generic formula solve your equation if the variables are missing?
What if you are looking for an answer or path that exists only for you? How do you expect them to solve your problem?
Reading a book by a millionaire won’t make you a millionaire. Likewise, watching the workout video won’t make you fit, as beautifully explained in the tweet above.
No One Knows The Entire Story
I get it. Going all-in in your passion may help me reach my destination quicker, but advice like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth because not every person shares the same enlightenment as the author.
When you say leave your job, you’re ignoring the fact that the reader could be the only bread-earner or have a crazy amount of student debt. You don’t even know their entire story to prescribe them a solution.
Until it’s a personal coach who’s well aware of your current situation and is helping you with a tailor-made approach, you shouldn’t listen to a person who’d telling thousand of other people to do the same. Some due diligence is also required from the readers.
The Lack of Empathy
The thing that these gurus and coaches miss out on is empathy.
Empathy puts you in your audience’s shoes and considers their problems like yours. That’s why content and personalized campaigns tell a story to perform better than the sales-pitchy ones — they have real people dealing with real issues.
As Atticus from the famous novel To Kill A Mockingbird describes
“First of all, if you learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
The Bottomline
Not all content is useless.
If you read how to design a logo on Illustrator or even on Canva, you can do so. However, the content that has helped me the most is technical and about a specific problem. But even then, I had to alter it according to my needs and convenience.
There will always be modifications and redos, but you’re surely learning something by finishing a course or a book. Of course, you don’t become a millionaire by reading a book, but you can learn a great deal about finance.
After taking a course, you may not build a successful business, but you’ll learn how to take the first step to start a company.
Ultimately you’ll have to be responsible for the steps you take and be aware that where it takes you may not be your destination. And nobody else can take that journey for you, which reminds me of a famous song by Natasha Bedingfield.
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
This one thing made me cut down on my content consumption by 80%
Now I only listen to what I need for my research and knowledge, not because I want to change my mind or become rich. I have fallen enough for these gimmicks; now, I am focusing on carving my path.