How-to recipes are pandering to your fear

posted by Matt Herron

Frank Chimero on recipes for success:

“Why do we look for recipes? Because we’re risk averse. If we fail, it’s because someone else gave us the wrong recipe. We get to skip on the blame, but can claim the success.”

I have always been vaguely disgusted by the multitude of how-to articles that roam around the blogging plains like empty-eyed, money-sniffing sheep. They are everywhere you look, yet they’re rarely worth the time it takes to read them. They revisit time and again the same tired topics. In a thousand words they will tell you nothing you don’t already know. One thing is sure, though: the sheep draw hungry stares.

“But, there’s money in recipes. If there’s a recipe, that means there’s a secret. And you can sell a silver bullet. The thing is, most people that are giving you a recipe are pandering to your fear. “What if things go wrong?” “

Fear sells, and reading more of those how-to articles won’t help you overcome it. Here’s a recipe that might be worth a penny: read Chimero’s no-nonsense truth, then put your head down and get your hands dirty.

Related posts:

• The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber This powerful short story by Ernest Hemingway is about African Safari and what it means...
• Paul Ford and the Tale of an Inebriated Butthole Surfer The Awl interviews Paul Ford, former editor of Harper’s. I can see where he’s coming...