Excerpts

It may seem ironic to start a book on self-help by pointing out the limitations of self-help books but there's no doubt that Samuel Smiles would have done just that. He was keenly aware of the difference between theorising about life and experiencing it first hand and was at pains to insist that Self-Help was a collection of illustrations from life rather than a distillation, a short cut, a magic bullet: 'Useful and instructive though good reading may be, it is yet only one mode of cultivating the mind; and is much less influential than practical experience and good example in the formation of character.'As such he would probably have been horrified to walk into a modern bookshop and see an entire section of self-help books, large numbers of which seem to promise an entirely new life just by the reading of them. Smiles' interpretation of 'self-help' (a term he may be responsible for popularising) was with an emphasis on the 'self ', i.e. that it was by your own efforts alone that you raised yourself from the common crowd. Self-Help is a collection of examples of those who achieved greatness by perseverance, application, and bucketloads of back-breaking hard work. He even frowned on the idea of being helped by others, believing that a path made easier by others would not reap the same rewards.If that sounds austere and Victorian it's because it is. Smiles was the very model of a Victorian man gathering up the stories and attributes of upstanding, industrious and virtuous men for the 'edification' (he wasn't too hot on 'entertainment') of his readers. Because he believed that nobility was to be found in all walks of life, his advice is as much for the leaders of men as for the followers of others. And, since he believed that the 'great' pay as much attention to the finest details as they do to the most important strategy, he offered advice on everything from personal finances to the winning of wars. So this book is about simultaneously helping yourself to be a better person, a better worker, and a better leader.A bestseller since its appearance in 1859, Self-Help went on to be one of the most popular non-fiction titles of the century. Smiles' conclusions that a gentleman was made not born, and that greatness was in everyone's reach - regardless of how humble their origins - must have made for compelling reading at a time when an industrial nation was reinventing itself, its role models and the balance of world power.His time and culture, however, also meant he selected such models from people very much like himself (white, European and male), which seems out of sync with modern business books. With his evident dislike of 'amusement' ('... there is a mania for frivolity and entertainment ...'), I imagine he would have had apoplectic fits over business self-help guides like Who moved my cheese? or Don't sweat the small stuff.Austere, unsmiling Victorianism is pretty hard stuff to digest these days but a great deal of the content of Self-Help has not dated because it refers to the timeless - the essential - qualities of great people. Smiles would not have approved of the Infinite Ideas approach of making his book more accessible, but then in Smiles' day, information overload was when you accidentally bought two copies of the newspaper instead of one. He would, however, have approved of the emphasis on turning learning into practical application; so, perhaps the 'Here's an idea for you' features that accompany each brilliant idea would have helped bring Smiles back onside. He believed that theoretical knowledge without practical application was mere learning rather than wisdom and that the latter was worth far more than the former. So while Smiles would have preferred to make the process harder for you, he would at least have approved of the end goal. Excerpted from Samuel Smile's Self-Help: A 52 brilliant ideas Interpretation by Steve Shipside All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.