Reading Success Literature

Success is such a bold word, and one which is traditionally associated with the literature of self-help. The great magazine of the self-help movement is called Success, and it is a quality which perhaps best describes the way we all want to be seen this world: as successful people. Those approaching life with an attitude of self-development often choose to see the human journey as a series of successes, opting to maintain "an attitude of grattude" which triumphs at even the smallest gains. Success, so the self-help books tell us, is its own reward. And it seems as though this conviction has been a part of Western culture since antiquity. As the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius put it:

"Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it... Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle."

So, here are a few books from my collection that specifically address success:

The Truth About Success and Motivation by Dr. Bob Montgomery - This 80s book by a Melbourne doctor is quite charming and gruff, and one of the few self-help books with a uniquely Australian voice. Dr. Bob thinks that being assertive might be the key to success.

50 Success Classics by Tom Butler-Bowden - The ultimate collection of books specifically about success, Butler-Bowden provides detailed precis of 50 of the best, providing an invaluable reading guide. In it he included the Chinese classic, Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

Your Success in Five Years or Less by Anita Bell - Another Australian, Anita Bell defines success in terms of real-estate investment culminating in financial independence. In it she describes how she bought her first block of land at the tender age of 16. Quite an amazing lady.

Authentic Success by Robert Holden - I heard Holden speak last year at the Hay House I Can Do It conference in Sydney and he was thoroughly charming. He's kind of cheating a bit here - he is asking the reader to re-define success so as to be able to live a calmer, more balanced life.

Character is Capital by Judy Hilkey - This is a fascinating academic study of the "success manuals" that were sold door to door in nineteenth century America. Hilkey tells us that these early success writers created in their texts a vision of a deeply polarised world which gave birth to a great anxiety about moving up in the world.

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield - Canfield is of course the man behind the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise, and this enormous book is jam packed with practices and ideas that he claims will guarantee success. I  have actually read this book a few times, principally because it is well writen and constructed, and those ideas that I have actually put into place (shamefully few) actually seem to work. Canfield tells us that we should create our To Do lists the night before, just before we go to bed. This way we can start the day running, ticking off the items as we work toward our goals.

Success is Not an Accident by Tommy Newberry - Newberry says we need to write down really compelling goals in order to be successful. 

Chicken Soup for the Soul in Vietnamese

My intense interest in the reading of American self-help in Asia sees me haunting bookstores in Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Bangkok, seeing just what is translated, how it is presented, and who is buying it.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul books are ubiquitous in Vietnam. In my book Destination Saigon I mention how young students in Hanoi sit around the gardens of the Temple of Literature reading them. Bookstores carry shelves full of them, and they are always presented in bilingual editions. I suspect the simplicity of their stories has great appeal for the English-language learner.

Interestingly, they seem to have received endorsement from all of the main religions, because I have seen them for sale in Catholic and Buddhist bookstores alike.

Vietnamese friends who read them, even quite uneducated and unsophisticated people, are enthralled by the stories in the books and absolutely love them. I once watched a young fisherman lie down and read a pile of them in one afternoon, completely absorbed. When I ased him what he thought of them, he said: "They're brilliant. The most fascinating stories of foreigners and the amazing things they do. Foreigners are so interesting..." For him it was total escapism, an adventure in the exotic. The themes and messages of the stories seemed to have no relevance to his actual life. He was reading them as fantasy.

Chicken Soup for the Bilingual Soul

OK, so I don't think they've gotten around to compiling Chicken Soup for the Bilingual Soul yet, but I've been enjoying the parallel text editions printed in Vietnam. They are quite popular here, and the local Catholic bookshop sells a whole range. I'm not sure that Messrs. Canfield and Hansen are receiving any royalties from them either, as Vietnam remains copyright pirating capital of the world.
My Vietnamese friends are a little bewildered by the books - "Just a bunch of stories, really." They say, "Nothing special."
Indeed.
And they also comment on the cultural specificity of the stories. "All well and good for foreigners to do these crazy things," said one friend. "We Vietnamese have to work."
Point taken.