Motivational books are opium for the masses; they only line authors’ pockets

By OYUNGA PALA

When there is heaviness in the air, media outlets tend to focus on what’s wrong and the chorus of bad news becomes an anthem.

In these gloomy times, good cheer is hard to come by. One knows life has gotten tougher when Kenyans start dropping acronyms such as VAT, ICC, IEBC in ordinary conversation.  Hanging in the air is an oppressive feeling of a bully government that is always looking for a new way to shake you down for more money.

 Perhaps, this is why we need those people who think differently. These are boom times for the personal growth industry and the gospel of prosperity. There are those who have made it and cannot wait to share their secrets to success, the ones who have it figured out, dropping nuggets that teach us how to capture our essence. While a fairly good number of people have learnt to contend with their version of the struggle, every once in a while, you run into a feature about an inspirational Kenyan.

The headlines read, “How we made it in Africa?” Read my inspirational story and discover what stands between you and success. The appeal of the message is strong from these peddlers of success, who nag us on about doing better and realising our dreams. The catch being you have to work harder and will it. All you have to do is buy the DVD, sign up for the 12-step program, join the course and your life will be transformed. 

Essentially good marketers, a series of experiences outlining their incredible fortune is packaged and laced with epithets such as, follow your passion, pursue your dream and believe. Thrown in for good measure are quotes from Oprah Winfrey. Making it seem like overcoming the barriers in our life are only a workshop away. All it takes is a little attitude adjustment and you will be on your way to a healthy and prosperous life.

Greed is a virtue. There is nothing wrong with having more than you need. It is a prerequisite to charity these days. The list of paradigm shifters, holistic practitioners, life coaches, empowerment gurus, and inspirational preachers is growing. They all spew out a variation of the same materialistic message. In essence, if you are not rich, you must be resisting. This instigates the dangerously false assumption in this country that rich people are better because they have more. And that a bank account is directly related to being more developed and evolved.

From the lessons about the rich, we learn that a series of positive actions lead them to prosperity. The majority of us languishing in the bottom end of urban survival are partly responsible for our circumstances. Accordingly, if poor people focused on positive thinking, they would be in a position to change their circumstances. If only they could read the book or watch that incredibly inspirational video. Why focus on obstacles when life is full of opportunities. Drop your feelings of negativity and prosper. Read the book and for less than a thousand shillings, you will unlock the secret to eternal happiness.

Now imagine sharing those nuggets with a displaced Kenyan languishing in an abandoned camp somewhere in Kenya, telling him, “Only you are too blame, your earning less is a direct result of your lack of effort and that money is just applied energy…”

That is how you get an arrow embedded in your backside.