The Success Myth
The inspirational guide to defining success on your own terms from the Sunday Times bestselling author
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
"Highly comforting" Alain de Botton, Founder of The School of Life
"This book changed how I think" Annie Macmanus, author of The Mess We're In
"You will not be able to put this book down" The Independent
OUR OBSESSION WITH ACHIEVEMENT IS A TRAP. THIS IS HOW TO BREAK FREE.
Emma Gannon was thriving in her portfolio career, enjoying a happy personal life and to anyone looking in, she was undoubtedly a success... She was also burned out and confused at why she felt unhappy, yet was still striving for more.
After taking a deep look at her own journey, and interviewing many other successful people on her podcast Ctrl, Alt, Delete, she realised that our overly celebrated and traditional version of success is making us lonely, unfulfilled and dispirited. Now she has worked out a way to do things differently, and here Emma shares her hard-won lessons, including:
• how to set goals that are ambitious but not overwhelming
• why the 'tick-box' moments in life often feel anticlimactic
• and how to break free from comparison and the endless pursuit of more
A manifesto to craft work (and life) on your own terms, The Success Myth will give you the belief and tools to walk away from 'having it all', uncovering your individual path to fulfilment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Narrow definitions of success and happiness have left a generation of overachievers burnt out and dissatisfied, according to this stale guide. Novelist Gannon (Disconnected) contends that an image-obsessed, materialistic culture has set readers on an endless race to success without a finish line, eroding their self-esteem, relationships, and mental stability in the process. Gannon calls on readers to revise their definition of success by following their intuition even when it cuts against other people's expectations, and to simply enjoy life in the moment. Her advice includes abandoning an obsession with productivity; managing negative emotions through self-talk and other strategies; celebrating small moments of joy; and pursuing process-oriented rather than results-oriented goals (instead of deciding to publish a book, decide to write every morning). Gannon's points about the damaging nature of today's fast-paced, tech-driven lifestyle are solid but hardly groundbreaking, and truisms like "there is no such thing as a ‘wrong' path because all of life's moments have the potential to teach us something" can feel pat. This fails to stand out from the rising tide of guides to living more serenely in a hectic world.
