Traveling, and therefore spending a lot of time in airports, gives one plenty of time to observe a cross-section of America. The people watching is prime, and the idle time to contemplate life is plentiful.
On a recent trip to San Francisco, I spent about five hours in the Northwest terminal at San Francisco International Airport. There were very few flights coming and going, and it was rather late in the day. Hence, my people watching opportunities were not as abundant as I was accustomed to.
So I spent the better part of two hours in the terminal's tiny bookstore skimming through magazines and reading the back covers of books for sale. After a few minutes of staring at the book shelf, I started to notice a trend in the titles I was seeing.
These are exact book titles I observed:
"You Staying Young"
"You Can Heal Your Life"
"Stop Whining Start Living"
"Your Best Life Now"
"Go Green, Live Rich"
"50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying"
"A New Earth--Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" (currently Oprah's book club selection)
"Awakening the Entrepreneur Within"
"Become a Better You"
"The 360 Degree Leader"
I found myself wondering, could each of these books really offer something vastly different from the other? Apparently so since some carried the NYT "Best Seller" badge on their jackets. A lot of people are paying a decent sum of money to stay young, heal their lives, start living, live their best life, awaken their life's purpose, awaken their inner entrepreneur, and so on and so forth.
My first instinct was to make fun of these potential snakeoil salesmen trying to make a buck by recycling other people's stories of inspiration. But after mulling it over for a bit, I came to a different conclusion.
People want to be inspired. I know I do. I love e-mail forwards that make me take a few seconds out my work day to think (and I mean really think) or a good story that makes my eyes sting with tears I am trying to hold back.
I remember the way I felt after reading one of my favorite books: "The Alchemist." I was moved to think about what I really want to do in life, or as its author Paulo Coelho would say "follow my personal legend." So maybe someone else's "Stop Whining Start Living" is to them what "The Alchemist" was to me. People want to be inspired, and I see nothing wrong with that.
1 comment:
Snakeoil salesman is funny.
My first instinct by reading your blog is that it is sad that these are the best selling titles. These are the stories that sell. It just goes to show our American society isn't ever happy. Why can't the title's of the book be "I am so lucky to live in the best country ever?" Or perhaps "I am more fortunate than the majority of the world". I think Americans in particular need to get real and realize that life isn't so bad and start finding happiness in the simple things.
I was watching a show the other day...which I have heard a lot about...I am a bit embarrassed to admit it but it was "Gossip Girls". This is what our youth is watching. I admit I found it entertaining...but it is about high school girls trying to be rich and popular. It is just another example of what our society promotes...beauty, wealth, fame, popularity. These are the reasons people are unhappy....because even with all these things people aren't happy. They are empty promises towards happiness.
So, I would like to see more authors write books of substance of reality of the real hardships that exist in our world. Then maybe people will stop worrying about the superficial things that ultimately make them unhappy, misguided and then prompt them to buy a book on how to be happy....
Just my immediate reaction but you are right everyone needs inspiration and obviously these inspire people since the revenue from these book sales are obviously coming in...
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