5 am
Me: Sleeping
You: Drinking thrid cup of coffee trying to squeeze in another hour of your favorite podcast

6 am
Me: Sleeping
You: Already feeling tired, yet you have to write your goals for every hour of the day

7 am
Me: Waking up refreshed after 8 hours of sleep and ready to get to work with focus and intention
You: Reading 10 self-help books or trying to awkwardly network with the owner of a scammy ICO

On the weekends
Me: Having a social life
You: Either staying in and listening to 10 hours of podcasts and reading 100 self help books

People Identify Trends and Quickly Capitalize the Market

I will give you an example to make it simpler.

About 2-3 years ago, the philosophy of stoicism was put forward by the self-help community, used as a "method" to cope with the hardships of life.

Quotes like "Don't be reactive" or "Control your emotions" were decorating my social media pages for weeks on end. Lots of gurus jumped on the bandwagon and blew everything out of proportion. You had 20 year old kids, being all serious and walking all full metal jacket, looking through their eyebrows and shit.

I had a friend heavily involved in this and I saw the life completely drained out of him. He became a dull, boiled potato.

Why dance?
Why shout?
Why laugh?
Why cry?

What people didn't realize is that the philosophy of stoicism was meant to prepare you for DEATH. The military is based around this. Soldiers had a death staring in front of them everyday, that's why they needed to block off and ignore any emotion that could trigger their anxiety and go batshit crazy, shooting everyone on the field.

But dorky and chubby Mike, can't really apply this to his day-to-day life. He doesn't have to ignore his emotions when Wendy eats the last muffin. Wendy is fat and he should tell her that. It's not THAT serious. You don't have to muster willpower everytime to avoind conflict. No one is going to kill you son.

(For the pedantic motherfuckers that will bitch about "Muh stoicism", I agree my fellow neckbeard. You CAN learn from stoicism and you CAN use it in your life when you're required to. But there's nuance here...keep reading)

Another example, another trend

Do you know Joco Willick? Gary Varytsyashjeasdhkadha or some shit?

"Hustle! Go hard! No breaks! Work 100 hours per week!".

Here's the "ideal" routine according to people like them:

Get up at 4 am. Drink black coffee and have a paleo meal. Go for a run and hit the gym. Take a cold shower, read a book, listen to a podcast, meditate, do yoga, do breaths, read some more, WRITE IN YOUR DREAM JOURNAL, NETWORK, VISUALIZE SUCCESS...

OK, you get the point. Sure, there's nothing wrong with getting up an hour earlier, but do you REALLY need to wake up at 4 am? Why? You won't accomplish anything meaningful and you'll probably be so tired and without focus, you'll end up sleeping later in the day. They call this the "entrepreneurial nappy time".

Maybe I am being harsh here, but I have experienced these myself. What they accomplish is to create a routine, mindset that it's not yours and will hold you back from taking action.

The Term Self-Improvement Is False, Because People Don't Improve, They Develop

That's what they don't tell you. These "systems" and books and seminars and long hours etc are a projection of the guru's natural disposition. They tell you "That's how I do it, that's the ONLY way. Ignore my genetics, my luck, MY ACTUAL BUSINESS PRACTICES. Buy and follow my overpriced blueprint!".

Don't get trapped into doing what they tell you to do it. Listen to your own strengths and natural disposition. Maybe you're not a meant to be a seller. Maybe your calling is in art. Or maybe you aren't a writer, but you'd do great as a lawyers.

Don't let them shame you in a predetermined path. It's funny, because they mock society for "forcing you to college and a certain way of doing things" , yet they mock anyone who doesn't follow THEIR PATH. Build your own path godamnit!

Look, it's natural to admire these gurus and their authority and feel an instinct to agree with them. If you diverge from a system that framed success inside its value structure, then obviously you'll feel guilty and stagnant.

You should look in the mirror and decide for yourself what you want to do. Work ethic and discipline is a myth. I've written 4000 words today. I didn't need motivation to do it. I didn't need to summon the spirtis of my ancestors. I did it, because it was my choice to write and not because someone told me "it's the best way to make money".

People won't tell you that the older you grow, your natural tendcies will take over no matter what. We can be so naive and selfish thinking of our journey, as a journey of self-improvement and not a journey of discovery.

-Thatredbeardguy

P.S- Mental masturbation, that's what self-improvement means. Making up excuses and putting more arbitrary obstacles between YOU and TAKING action. Most of the self-help crowd are socially retarded nerds, that exuse the fact they have zero personality or passion, because "We hustle!". So if you want to wet your knob and get dat good wapoo,

Read these:

Speak Like you Speak Right Before you Cum
Why People Hate Selling
Rain, Violence and The Shadow Self