Some of us Americans are attracted to self-help books. We cannot help ourselves. Our fathers had copies of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking — not to mention Emerson's Self Reliance — on their bedside tables. Some of us even read them. We were raised on the idea of working hard, setting goals, and we could achieve whatever we wanted. When one is young and eager, these are the kinds of encouragements that keep us persevering. So even when one comes to a point in one's life where success has either arrived or has eluded us, we still enjoy such books. Let's face it, they are positive and sometimes they provide an antidote to all the downers that surround us.

Last year I happened to see an interview with Srinivas Rao, the author of The Art of Being Unmistakable. He had self-published his book on Amazon, and merely the back story of this venture was enough to send me off to download the book.

This is not your father's self-help book. Some of his advice contradicts conventional wisdom but most of it reflects his own version of common sense. For example, his main theme is not to try to emulate others but rather to set off on your own course, follow your own compass rather than a map. That contrasts markedly with the school of thought which suggests that one find a role model, figure out what he or she did that made him successful and follow suit.

Rao had had a career in Silicon Valley and claims that he was not a very good employee and that he had been fired several times. It may be that his entrepreneurial tendencies got in the way of playing the role of corporate toady. He wept when he was dismissed from his last job and went surfing for a few years while he figured out where he wanted to go with his life. Part of what he came up with includes a spirit of altruism: He clearly wants to help others find their own way.

Everybody has a microphone. Do not use it to create sheep, clones and copies of yourself. Use it to help people discover their unique gifts.

. . . maybe we should look for an interesting answer instead of the right one.

Do not try to create. Create!

Yes, I believe that it is every person's birthright to make a dent in the universe. Most people just don't claim it. Others search but can't find it. Those who do find it realize one thing. You won't find it by trying to be better. You only find it by being different.

Like I said, he has some good ideas, some worth pondering. But as "success" books go, this one is okay but I have read better. ( )