4thace reviewed Real Help by Ayodeji Awosika
The message is okay, but maybe incomplete
3 stars
I don't recall how this self-help book got on my to-read list, unfortunately. I am not in the stage of life where I can apply the principles being taught here, which are intended for a young person trying to get established. I would say that now happiness is not tied to a paycheck now but self-actualization is important. So the advice to do your research, aim high, make a stab at doing something on your own, refining what you deliver until you find traction are all familiar but not super relevant.
I was a little unnerved at the beginning when he spoke about some people whose fans make me nervous: people like Robert Kiyosaki, Marianne Williamson, Scott Adams, Robert Greene, Scott Adams, and Peter Thiel. But to his credit the author specifically disavows any claim that the road to success is easily attainable or within anyone's grasp. He even …
I don't recall how this self-help book got on my to-read list, unfortunately. I am not in the stage of life where I can apply the principles being taught here, which are intended for a young person trying to get established. I would say that now happiness is not tied to a paycheck now but self-actualization is important. So the advice to do your research, aim high, make a stab at doing something on your own, refining what you deliver until you find traction are all familiar but not super relevant.
I was a little unnerved at the beginning when he spoke about some people whose fans make me nervous: people like Robert Kiyosaki, Marianne Williamson, Scott Adams, Robert Greene, Scott Adams, and Peter Thiel. But to his credit the author specifically disavows any claim that the road to success is easily attainable or within anyone's grasp. He even warns against the "hustle culture" which is more likely to lead to burnout than to a unicorn startup. Mainly he argues against beginning with a defeatist mindset which is a quick path to giving up prematurely.
He is mainly talking about his own experience at leaving the wage slave life in favor of becoming a self-made entrepreneur and aspiring vision leader. While this can be a good place to start, I don't feel he adequately acknowledges those life situations that can put the brakes on forward progress in this manner: no access to capital, being a caregiver, health issues, substance addiction, victims of violence. Sure, there are ways to start a blog or mailing list without putting money down, in between other responsibilities and challenges, but it seems to me to be a fragile house of cards that can fold up after the individual experiences a couple bad days. And just like everybody else in the advice business, he doesn't propose a way to manufacture good luck, which can be the most important thing, more than a rational, Stoic mindset, good as that may be.
The book is written in a good writing style that I think probably appeals to people receptive to its message. It is part of a crowded field of non-fiction advice literature with lots of famous names and might not be a standout among them.