I couldnt finish TAGR.
I have a strong evidence-based philosophy that causes this kind of book just sets off alarm bells.
I would not recommend to any skeptics out there.
I listened to the whole book for free on Librevox. Yes, it is a couple hundred pages / hours devoted to the concept of “think positive” but it lacks the empirical or analytical rigor many modern readers demand. We are supposed to take Mr. Hill’s word for most things, and place absolute trust in his anecdotes. To me that reads like a slogan repeated over and over again. It is the “just say no” campaign of personal finance / business literature - “just think positive”. The second half of the book shifts a bit into championing the right-wing politics of his day - unemployment insurance is such a travesty! - and I came to recognize Hill as a probable influence on Ayn Rand.
This insight helped me realize the tension that must have always existed between social reformers and productivity gurus. Each has a competing narrative for why we can’t have nice things. It is either because our society is configured sub-optimally to produce poverty, waste, and injustice, or it is because individuals are wallowing in negativity, excuse-making, and sloth. The social reformers discount the role of personal virtue and the individualistic gurus discount the role of environmental conditions. Hill’s pep talk would probably be easier to digest if one was an upper-middle-class ethnic majority male than if one was a poor single mom who has ever experienced discrimination. This insight into politics was my most valuable takeaway. The fact that Hill’s book is so dated helped me see this in a way that newer tracts about anecdotes and attitudes, like Tim Ferris’ 4 Hour Workweek, could not.
If you do read it, get it for free and to save time skip around in the highly repetitive first half.
