The School of Life

Naomi Alderman on the Evolution of 'Self-Help'

Samuel Smiles' 'Self-Help', published on this day in 1859, was one of the most successful books of the second half of the 19th century. It sold more than a quarter of a million copies before Smiles' death – nomean feat since the population of the world was much smaller, and the literate population smaller still - and was widely translated.

Given the author's name - is it possible to imagine Mr Sam Smiles without envisioning a jolly, beaming Victorian paterfamilias? – and the associations of the self-help genre today, what might one expect to find in this volume? An exhortation to love one's inner child? Some encouragements to 'think positively', 'believe in yourself', and a general reminder that 'you're worth it'?

Far from it. The Victorians had a far grimmer - though perhaps more realistic - idea of what it meant to help yourself: work, work and more work.

For the modern reader, 'Self-Help' is frankly pretty dull. Although organised into themed chapters on subjects like 'Application and Perseverance', 'Helps and Opportunities' and 'Money - its use and abuse', there's no real line of argument. Instead it's a compendium of hundreds of stories, all on the same pattern:

1) A young man (and they are almost all men) grows up poor or disadvantaged

2) He conceives an ambition but is repeatedly thwarted

3) Nonetheless, he perseveres, and works extremely hard

4) Finally, success!

'Self-Help' certainly isn't part of our modern 'quick-fix' culture. Phase 3) of this process often lasts for decades. Smiles is wary of genius or prodigy too, saying that "wanting in perseverance, such natures are outstripped in the race of life by the diligent, even the dull.' Better to be somewhat stupid, as long as that encourages you to work hard.

'Self-Help' does contain some intimations of later outcroppings of the self-help movement, in this story of 'affirmations', for example:

"It is related of a young French officer that he used to walk about his apartment exclaiming 'I will be Marshal of France and a great general.' His ardent desire was the presentiment of his success; for the young officer did become a distinguished commander, and he died a Marshal of France."

What did the legions of Victorian readers get from this book? Inspiration, certainly. It's not a book that's meant to be read at one sitting; one can imagine it being read much more as a fortifying tonic a new story of adversity overcome every time you begin to feel discouraged. And with its praise of hard work, one wonders how many copies of this book were given by parents to disappointing offspring.

'Self-Help' has something in common with that modern self-help voodoo, 'The Secret'. That book also promises that unlimited success is just a matter of persistence - and both fail to take into account the randomness of luck and the benefits of family and personal advantages.

But in The Secret all you have to do is persist in thinking positive thoughts. So perhaps we still have something to learn from 'Self-Help' - after all, you can't change your luck, and you can't change your background, but the one thing we can all do is keep on keeping on. That is the rather grim-faced message of Mr Smiles.

Richard Herring on Bad Habits

Rather late in the day we’ve just come across Richard Herring’s wonderful radio series on Bad Habits. The picks for the series are procrastination, lateness, laziness, perfectionism and workaholism. But let's face it there are many more to choose from. We’re very familiar with people who struggle with workacholosm here at The School of Life – they signed up to our Work course in the hope of redemption, but then find they can't tear themselves away from the office to get here in time each week. In the programmes, Herring reminds us that, in Hollywood at least, the overworkers always finally realise it's family that matters. But then confesses with charming honesty, "I've worked so hard I don't even have a family to neglect." Herring interviews a whole range of people who have been involved with The School of Life – Tom Hodgkinson, Oliver James, Jon Ronson among them. You can download all the programmes here. Enjoy.

Photo by Matt Stuart.

 

The School of Life Alternative Job Centre

To coincide with Alain de Botton’s new book, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, The School of Life is reinventing itself as an alternative job centre throughout April. But we're turning the usual way jobs are advertised on its head. Rather than invite employers to advertise jobs for us to squeeze our ourselves into, we’re inviting you to write  an ad for the job of your dreams, and let employers decide if they are able to offer it to you.

The instructions are simple:

Write your personal job ad, which advertises to the world the kind of person you are and what you care about.

Make sure that your ad includes:

•  Your name or pseudonym (and maybe a personal motto)
•  Personal qualities
•  Talents
•  Values and ambitions
•  Anything else you wish (e.g. I want a job that where I laugh a lot, would like to use my Spanish, work abroad, expected salary)
•  How you can be contacted

Send in your ads via this blog, or e-mail them to info@theschooloflife.com. We’ll collate the best entries and post them up both here and on our website. If you want to make something particularly beautiful  feel free to post your ad to us at The School of Life, 70 Marchmont Street, London WC1N 1AB and we'll display it in our shop. 

Throughout April we're also offering 25% off bookings made for our Work course. The course explores the expectations we have around our jobs from both a personal and a historical context. It provides a unique opportunity to reflect on how each one of us can make our own working lives more fulfilling, creative and adventurous. Find out more here.
 
On April 3rd, we’re relocating to The Hub – London’s hotbed of social enterprise – where Alain de Botton will be interviewing seven people who love what they do to find out what the rest of us might learn from them. Find out more here.
 
And finally... we're offering signed copies of The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work in our shop at just £14.99 (RRP £18.99).

Have you taken the day off?

It's estimated that 6.4 million workers have stayed at home today costing the struggling economy as massive £1.2 billion. If you were one of those who used the snow as an excuse to skive, maybe you need to come on The School of Life's work course. Too many of us feel trapped in jobs that are too small for our spirits, and the recession only adds to the fear we may feel about making a change. It needn't be that way. The work course offers a challenging but playful opportunity to explore  ways of reinventing yourself, whether in your current job or in an entirely new professon. Read more HERE.

Nathan Cresswell, a primary school teacher who just took the course this weekend and woke up this morning to find his school closed for the day, just wrote to us to say:

On both days I found that my head was buzzing with ideas on the train journey home to Southend when normally I drift off and sleep through the journey. When I went out clubbing on Saturday night I found that the course had an impact on the way I was relating to people, both friends and strangers and so though the title of the course was work it was actually dealing with things that are far bigger.

The other thing that struck me was that the people on the course listened to each other and there was a tremendous sense of respect for each other that meant you could discuss areas of life with a refreshing honesty and openess. I was also struck by how poignant the final session was when we shared our 3 year plan and addressed our needs to make them happen.

I stumbled on The School of Life website by accident and I could have never imagined what a catalyst it could be for sparking new ideas, thinking with fresh perspectives, enjoying the company of other people and taking part in a stocktake of your life that felt authentic and true.

Roman Krznaric on the frustrations of earning a living

Why should I let the toad work
Squat on my life?
Can’t I use my wit as a pitchfork
And drive the brute off?

Phillip Larkin’s image of a toad is how many of us feel about work. Our jobs too often seem like a burden taking up most of our waking hours, a means to the end of paying the bills and financing the mortgage. No wonder that a 2006 study by the Work Foundation found that 80% of British employees feel overworked, while a survey in 2007 from the OPP consultancy revealed that 60% of people feel their current career falls short of their aspirations. There are, of course, those who love their work, who are excited by its challenges and stimulated by its creativity. But for the majority, work is far too often a toad.

You might think that now is the last moment to be contemplating a change of career. As we are tossed in the turbulence of a global economic crisis, our jobs are more insecure than ever and the prospect of not being able to make ends meet is a genuine fear for many. Change might seem not only too risky, but even indulgent. Yet it is precisely at such moments of crisis that new opportunities can emerge, not only in society at large, but in our own lives. The uncertainties of the looming recession bring into sharp relief the big existential questions of working life: Am I really doing a job that expands my horizons and that is big enough for my spirit? Am I working too hard and too much – and for the wrong reasons? Should I be striving for money, status, or perhaps some deeper sense of meaning and purpose in my work? How can I overcome my fears and develop the confidence to change?

There are many more choices available to us than we realise, more cracks in the world of work through which we can peer to glimpse something more fulfilling. We need to expand our imaginations and remember that there are a thousand ways to live our working lives. Find out more in my essay
Work and the Art of Living which can be downloaded free from my website www.romankrznaric.com.

Roman Krznaric is a member of the teaching faculty at The School of Life and lead designer of the course on Work. The next work course runs on 31st January and 1st February 2009.

Images by Anna Fox from Workstations.