[Keith]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

You may enjoy 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job and My Wife Won't Let Me Start My Own Business for starters.
Personally I think the job article is particularly snarky, but lots of people have told me it was the nudge they needed to start their own business.

I read both of those and didn't find either of them aggressive and offensive like this one.

I think part of the reason "10 reasons you should never get a job" worked so well was the introduction. You opened it with that cosy family anecdote so by the time you got to the "snarky" bit your points felt like friendly and appropriately blunt advice, and a very effective 'nudge'.

Conversely the introduction for "10 reasons you should never have a religion" had a dry and academic feel, so the first personal attack ("If you have the awareness level of a snail, and your thinking is mired in shame and guilt") came out of left field. It didn't establish the required rapport to be a nudge rather than a judgemental attack.

The content was also overly simplistic. "10 reasons you should never get a job" had ten insightful points to make. "10 reasons you should never have a religion", OTOH, had a couple of great points (#9 - the difference between moral codes and genuine compassion is brilliant) but also grossly oversimplified ones such as "Idiocy or hypocrisy" that added to the 'ranty' feel of the article.



You seem satisfied with the content of this article and your decision to present it in this manner and I doubt I could change your mind about that. But I do find it of poorer quality than the timeless articles I've seen you write. Since this article is a 'big topic' one that could have been great, I find that a shame.

P.S. An aside re: Point#9 - I think there's a distinction to be made between religions that mandate compassionate actions and ones that encourage cultivating a compassionate mentality. But that's a level of detail that's rightly beyond the scope of your article.