#23: The Cautionary Tale of Self-Help and Procrastination

The journey to bettering yourself isn't one with an endpoint but because of this endless outlook on constantly striving to improve ourselves, it can sometimes lead many of us to stop dead in our tracks and find reasons to hold off on doing the work necessary. In this episode, John and Steven discuss warning signs of diving too far off the deep in with self help that can cause us to procrastinate. Stay Updated With Our Weekly Ramp-Up Newsletter https://rebrand.ly/hzm0xhq Want To Keep The Conversation Going? Join Our Discord Server! https://discord.gg/AUzsj8hNMH Have A Question You'd Like Steven and John To Answer In A Future Newsletter or Podcast? https://forms.gle/B3q9kJVfyjk5XdM38 Connect With Us https://mtr.bio/slow-and-fast-podcast 00:00:00:00 Later in the episode 00:35 - Intro 01:19 - Episode Overview 04:40 - Self-help introduces the ideal way of being but doesn't allow for any personalization or individual adaptations 07:09 - "Do the Damn Thing!" What does that even mean? 07:53 - A lot of self-help books offer an ideal existence but don't deliver on actionable tactics 10:05 - Self Help sometimes misses nuance needed to actually be helpful 12:32 - Book Rec: Atomic Habits by James Clear 12:57 - Some Self Help authors rely too much on their own story when, in reality, they are the exception and not the rule. 14:58 - Personality matters just as much as the technical aspect of client work 16:59 - Even when things seem to not be working out, keep going. Consistency matters and success doesn't happen overnight 18:39 - Signature plugins are overrated because they only work for that one thing, you have to find your own voice and style 21:13 - On David Goggin's book, Can't Hurt Me and how it didn't work for Steven 22:06 - "Don't follow my example of how I got into audio. I gambled and won and it could have just as easily gone the other way." 22:49 - Don't try and make someone else's story yours. Look at their failures more than their successes and don't make the same mistakes 24:38 - Self Help is like a buffet; you don't have to get everything from the buffet, just the things that work for you 26:26 - Don't fall into the Self Help pitfall of never acting on what you're learning! 27:32 - Don't waste your time reading bad books, 30:06 - Link: Atomic Habits podcast episode and Creative Calling Podcast Episodes 30:59 - What's your approach to deciding what book to read? 31:24 - John's approach: Author recommended lists 34:21 - Steven's Approach: "What weakness do I feel I have and how can I fix it?" 36:20 - What is John currently pursuing in the books he reads? 41:03 - Talking about future business goals when it comes to hiring creatives 45:01 - Outro