{"id":105170,"date":"2020-01-16T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T19:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=105170"},"modified":"2023-08-11T13:55:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T19:55:41","slug":"self-help-books-do-more-harm-than-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/self-help-books-do-more-harm-than-good","title":{"rendered":"Unpopular Opinion: Self-Help Books Do More Harm Than Good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n      <iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=BIGPOC9431304917\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\r\n  \n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve spent any length of time trying to &#8220;succeed&#8221; in life, then you&#8217;ve probably turned to self-help books at some point.<\/p>\n<p>Most real estate investors have sought out lists of recommended&nbsp;self-development books. Many titles appear on list after list. Once you notice those titles, you might be tempted to read a good chunk of these suggested books and to take the advice of these authors.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll find yourself motivated and confident\u2014but more than likely no closer to your goals than before reading them.<\/p>\n<p>Why is that?<\/p>\n<h2>Consider This: Personal Success Stories Are Anecdotal<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, what self-help books will never tell you is that one of the biggest factors in success is luck. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do authors leave out this detail? Because no one likes to hear it, and it doesn&#8217;t sell books. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure, it also takes hard work, consistency, a positive mindset, networking, and other values you\u2019ve heard described so many times. But in addition to those traits, and arguably most importantly, it takes luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2016\/02\/22\/get-lucky-business-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">3 Habits of Incredibly Lucky People (For Better Fortune in Business &amp; Life!)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is written about extensively in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reputable&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">non-fiction books authored by people who aren\u2019t trying to con you. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0812975219\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0812975219&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;linkId=97bc0825dff26a77aea29f1fcc6c33e9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (Incerto)<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0812975219\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/em>&nbsp;and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0316017930\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0316017930&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;linkId=41988c3792f137b03cc4fa34e58ede0f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Outliers: The Story of Success<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0316017930\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/em>&nbsp;are two good examples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s another case in point: If you live in the United States and make approximately $30,000 per year, you\u2019re in the top 1 percent of global earners. But<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;$30K\/year in the U.S. isn&#8217;t that much, so how did you get to be more successful than 7 billion other people? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You were just lucky to be born where you were. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How about the internet? That place where you can order Uber Eats and buy books. The place where the most information is exchanged these days and where you can read this article. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did you invent it? Did it exist 50 years ago? And does everyone on the planet have access to it today? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, no, and no. So, thank your <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lucky <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stars! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What about hard work? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One hundred years ago, hard work meant caring for a farm\u2014and it sure didn\u2019t pay well. These days, all you have to do is be popular on Instagram to potentially become a multimillionaire. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is that really hard work? Successful entrepreneurs from prior generations would likely disagree. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram probably won\u2019t even exist in 50 years. So, to reiterate, being in the right place at the right time, putting in the effort, and being blessed with a dash of luck is truly the formula for success.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Getting Lucky Within the Realm of Real Estate<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you bought real estate since 2010? If so, you were <em>extremely<\/em> lucky, because in 2008, real estate prices collapsed like never before. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you didn\u2019t participate in real estate until after the crash (like me and so many other people on this site), then you owe almost your entire portfolio gain to luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plenty of people are writing self-help or motivational books about <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/nine-favorite-real-estate-books\/\" target=\"_blank\">real estate investing<\/a> right now. However, few authors are selling the idea that it was simply luck. Instead, they are selling a narrative that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sounds <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plausible, but it\u2019s unfortunately more entertaining than it is valuable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In many instances, I&#8217;d even call it charlatanism: someone claiming to have a special skill or information that they don\u2019t actually have. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Tried and True Drivers of Success<\/h2>\n<h3>Believe in Yourself<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What self-help books <em>can<\/em> do is show you that <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/read-these-books-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">success is possible<\/a>. This is great. In fact, it&#8217;s imperative. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For that reason, I suggest everyone should <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/amazing-productivity-books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">read a few<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And while I stand by my point these books are highly overrated, it would be disingenuous of me to say they possess no value. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s another useful lesson they convey: Your future is in your hands. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For most people, it takes reading a few to open up our brains, to see our potential, and to see what\u2019s possible. Therefore, I do recommend exploring the genre to some extent. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But like most specific topics, once you&#8217;ve knocked out three or so titles, you&#8217;ll know 99 percent more than the general public about real estate investing. At that point, it&#8217;s probably safe to move on.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-105327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/stack-of-books.jpg\" alt=\"self-help, self-development, books, reading, real estate\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/stack-of-books.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/stack-of-books-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Spot the Cons<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does it offend you that the biggest accomplishment for many self-help authors is selling you their book? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gary John Bishop recently wrote a moderately well-known book called <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0062803832\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0062803832&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;linkId=98c00b795c9c51bc5bcad9992317d51a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s basically 200 pages of tough love (of which I admit I\u2019m a big fan). But it&#8217;s nothing any drill sergeant, strict parent, or unsympathetic friend couldn\u2019t come up with. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s made his concept notable, then? Marketing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How about the famous book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0671027034\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0671027034&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;linkId=df9c5a26468efd5b61c74fb557e923dc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Win Friends &amp; Influence People<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=biggerpocke0a-20&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0671027034\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/em>? Have you heard of it? It was written by Dale <\/span><b>Carnagey.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m betting the title and author sound familiar, but you might remember Carnagey&#8217;s name being spelled &#8220;Carnegie.&#8221; That\u2019s because he changed it to resemble the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">actually successful<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, knowing he could ride Andrew&#8217;s coattails. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It worked great, too! To this day, people eat this book up, considering it to be a pinnacle of human understanding. (Full transparency: I even have a copy on my shelf!) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem is that it wasn\u2019t written by a famous and successful business person; it was written by an average conman, who was good at marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Beware of Survivorship Bias<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Survivorship_bias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">According to Wikipedia<\/a>, &#8220;[s]urvivorship bias is the logical error of concentrating on the people or things that made it past some selection process and overlooking those that did not, typically because of their lack of visibility.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Survivorship bias is at the cornerstone of my argument. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This common logical fallacy states that those who survive an endeavor have some significant insight into their success, instead of noticing that it\u2019s simply statistically random. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if the main point of self-development books is that you need to possess a positive attitude, to work hard persistently, and to avoid being deterred by obstacles, then that implies everyone who isn\u2019t successful doesn\u2019t apply these traits. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s not really how the world works though.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2016\/02\/16\/reasons-entrepreneurs-fail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The 3 Main Reasons Entrepreneurs Fall Short of Their Goals<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are plenty of very hardworking people who have unfortunate luck. Maybe they were born at the wrong time or in the wrong place. Or maybe they experienced undue hardship. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;m getting at: the people who have had success have a bias to think that the way they have done things is somehow special, as opposed to their success being a result of luck. What&#8217;s worse, as I stated before, most of the self-help books in print are written by those who aren\u2019t even very successful anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Cast Your Net Wide<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&#8217;ll admit, I am not a lifelong reader. It was only a few years ago when I started reading a lot, but it quickly became a hobby that I obsess over\u2014like I do with everything that piques my interest. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reading is able to both increase and fulfill my curiosity. And curiosity might be one of the best traits a human can have, in my opinion. It\u2019s valuable to want to know how the world works. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, living in the 21st century allows us to satisfy our curiosity like never before. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem occurs when people don\u2019t see the value in having a broad understanding of the world. Instead, it seems people in the \u201cwant to be successful\u201d community are making a mad grab to read every &#8220;success book&#8221; they can get their hands on. But ultimately, what is there to learn in them? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They often provide little to no science, history, or facts to back up their points and are simply one person\u2019s anecdotal experience of achieving success. To read this is not to learn how the world works; it&#8217;s just buying someone else\u2019s story. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be sure, reading anything is probably a little better than spending your evenings watching <em>Shark Tank<\/em>&nbsp;in attempt to understand how a corporation works or watching HGTV to learn how to become a successful house flipper. Based on what I know, n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one of these shows have produced successful CEOs or home flippers. They are lazy entertainment\u2014in my unpopular opinion, just like self-development books.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-105328\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/library.jpg\" alt=\"self-development, real estate investing, investment strategy literature, real estate how-to\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/library.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/library-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>What to Read Instead<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s my general advice for reading: Read everything. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although I spent this article talking smack about a particular genre, my intent was only to influence people to open up to the idea of exploring a wider array of topics and categories. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to know how people work, there are plenty of books available that discuss well-established science on human behavior. If you want to know what\u2019s going to happen in the future, I&#8217;d suggest reading history books. If you want to learn economics, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plenty <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of econ books exist. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if you want to gain specialized knowledge about a particular subject\u2014like real estate\u2014BiggerPockets has a fantastic (and growing) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/store\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">selection of books<\/a> on this genre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2013\/04\/14\/best-real-estate-books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Best Real Estate Books for Your Investing Business<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But as I&#8217;ve said, when it comes to the self-help genre, I think this type of writing often does more harm than good. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s like chasing a high! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You read one of these things and get motivated, but motivation isn\u2019t always directly productive. Before long, you\u2019re in a funk and you need another fix. So, you find yourself searching for the next book to motivate you, repeating this terrible cycle. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s happened to me. It\u2019s happened to lots of people. And it\u2019s a trap everyone should be aware of and try to avoid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/store\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-114267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2.jpg\" alt=\"ad-bookstore\" width=\"706\" height=\"125\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2.jpg 706w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2-300x53.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2-702x125.jpg 702w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Do you read self-help books? Do you find them useful? Why or why not?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Leave your thoughts below.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;ve spent any length of time trying to &#8220;succeed&#8221; in life, then you&#8217;ve probably turned to self-help books at some point. You\u2019ll find yourself motivated and confident\u2014but more than likely no closer to your goals than before reading them. Why is that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14645,"featured_media":114367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7119],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-development","category-biggerpockets-daily"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}