Motivational Books

I was reading all those cult bestsellers like Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad” or Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.” Listen, every page just reeks of the same low-grade brain porn. It sounds pathetic: *”Believe in yourself! You can do it! You’re awesome, everything will work out! Here are the secret magic rules!”* — plus a ton of primitive, banal advice.

All this pink bubblegum is a short-term substitute. And it doesn’t work for one pretty obvious reason: in the real world, at the very top, the rules of the game are fundamentally different.

If you look at the history of politics and power, colossal results were always achieved by very specific characters. Not the smiling optimists from business schools, but damaged, insecure, deeply offended sociopaths who were wounded by life.

Just look at this list:

* Pinochet, Hitler, Ho Chi Minh
* Kim Il-sung, Stalin, Lenin
* Pol Pot, Napoleon, Mobutu
* Hirohito, Mao Zedong, Bokassa, Putin

Do you think they were driven by some pathetic, infantile motivation like “I believe in myself, I can do it”? Laughable. Based on historical evidence, their lifelong companions were three other horsemen: **paranoia, resentment, and an inferiority complex**. It was precisely this burning inner criticism that dragged them to the top. They stepped over people with a single goal — to prove to the entire world that they were great, not worthless. And at some point, they actually became great.

Of course, one could object: what about Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, or Leonardo da Vinci? They didn’t have paranoia or a maniacal desire to drown their competitors in blood. Who knows what demons were really gnawing at them from the inside, but the fact remains — you can be incredibly successful, large-scale, and great without obvious mental defects.

But do you know what unites tyrant-psychopaths and scientific geniuses? Neither of them ever read motivational quotes on social media. None of them needed a primitive belief in themselves.

They were all driven by total, fanatical obsession. In some it was dark — grown from resentment and complexes, in others it was bright — born from genuine passion for their work. And of course the genetic lottery — without it, nothing works obviously.

And what are the guys attending motivational trainings and seminars doing in the meantime? They were nobodies, and they remain nobodies. Only now they are “believing in themselves” nobodies.

I am not urging you to start cultivating paranoia right now or to find someone to be offended by. I simply suggest you use your time wisely and not waste it on charlatans selling fake inspiration. The real fuel for great deeds is either dark anger or bright obsession with an idea. There is no third option, and leave the coaches’ smiles for fools.