The Harm of Prescriptions

(Not the medical kind)

The entrepreneur Peter Thiel famously asks interview candidates the question, “what important truth do very few people agree with you on?” Most people say something like “God doesn’t exist” or “the education system needs massive reform.” These are bad answers because they express superficially controversial truths which many people would agree with. The question reveals that almost no one has a truly rare worldview.

If I had to give an answer I would say this. Prescriptions—by which I mean life advice, how-to’s, “habits of effective people,” tips and hacks —keep people trapped in pain and mediocrity and are a large barrier to living fully.

In my neck of the internet woods, a lot of people are selling writing courses. I see the students of these courses on Twitter sharing the latest essay in their prescribed 30-day streak. Common topics are how to write better, how to develop the habit of writing, making a living on the internet…

The people who lead these courses have a few statistical elements in their favor. A small handful of students may develop a career in writing. They will be the source of the testimonials.

Many more will observe. They are not necessarily serious about writing, but see it as one way to start improving yourself. They think maybe they could do it. They see that distribution has never been less scarce. If only they had a few essential pointers. But what to write about? Well, once this course is finished, you could write about learning to write!

You get attention by selling other people a How-To. How-tos are sugar rushes of possibility.

Prescriptions are like a middle man that removes you from your goal. The prescription becomes the new goal and between it and its related prescriptions, it may well extract a lifetime of unrewarded effort.

Why are prescriptions popular? People don’t know what they want. This is a question that most do not want to take responsibility for answering. Humans are social, imitative creatures — we decide what to want, and how to get it, by looking at what others seem to want and do.

Related posts:

A open letter.. They look like family, Actually, they are family, thank you for all the blessings & troubles you bring along, See you are the top, Yours….

As part of my series about the “How To Take Your Company From Good To Great”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Dineen. Martin Dineen the managing director of MJD Executive, which recruits…

Fred Hampton was a smart and brave young man. He was an activist from his youth, working with the Black Panthers to bring liberation to Black peoples across the country, but mostly in his home area…