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Americans and Self-help

After the Bible, Dale Carnegie's self help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, has sold more copies than any other book in the English-speaking world, leading me to believe that Barnes and Nobles sells more self-help books than anything else. The average person does not think that reading a trashy best selling novel will make them happy, or that Hemingway can reveal a secret that will fulfill them. But self-help books promise happiness albeit indirectly. Consider this: Self-help books do not sell entertainment; they sell success.

People generally do not hate themselves. Actually, people typically love themselves. I am not suggesting that everyone has high self-esteem; rather, I am proposing that people seek their own good or at least what they perceive as their own good. Most people want health, money, prestige, sexual gratification. By seeking these things, people love themselves; nevertheless, many people are dissatisfied with themselves. This discontent springs from their desire for success and can encompass every aspect of life. In our quest to seek our own good, we perceive obstacles. Often times, these obstacles are external, e.g. my boss hates me. But just as frequently these obstacles are internal, e.g. I can't date that beautiful woman because I am too shy. When faced with internal obstacles the individual cannot help feeling a crushing sense of inadequacy. As far as the publishing industry is concerned, these internal obstacles are a gold mine; self-help books offer a therapy for our own weakness. "Read me," they scream, "and you will no longer be inadequate. You will be strong!"

Every culture and nation has its own mythologies, faiths, stories, and histories that give meaning to its people's lives. The Greeks and Romans had their gods. The Muslim nations have Allah and his prophet Muhammad. The Aztecs had Quetzalcoatl and then later Our Lady of Guadalupe. These stories give meaning to people's lives, enflame their passions, and excite their imaginations.

I grew up surrounded by a specifically American faith. I am not talking about Christianity. I am talking about the American dream. Perhaps it would be better to call it an American myth. I went to a fiercely competitive all boys high school filled with students who, for the most part, strongly desired success. My peers shared the same mythology. The myth goes something like this: If I work hard now, I will get into a good college. If I work hard in college, I will get a good job. If I get a good job, I will become rich and marry an attractive women, and-here is where the faith comes in- I will be happy.

Americans see success whether it be romantic, financial, or personal as the road to happiness. As individuals struggle for money, prestige, and sexual gratification, they are often faced with a sense of our own inadequacy. Not everyone will be a CEO. Not everyone was born with charisma. Not everyone can have a Mensa-worthy IQ. Not everyone will marry a super model. These are just the realities of life. The majority will not measure up to this worldly standard of success, but many people are rightly or wrongly (I am not sure which) haunted by the idea that success can or should be theirs if they could just change somehow. And they are willing to pay for change. To wit: this restless drive for success and happiness explains the prodigious market for self-help books in modern society.

Learn more about this author, Francisco Fernandez.
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