How useful can you be?

 kw: book reviews, nonfiction, self-help, advice, sociology

Years ago I had Stephen Covey training according to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I couldn't pass up the chance to read Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The approaches of these two men are quite different; 7 Habits is almost engineering-oriented, being quite analytical, while Seven Tools is anecdotal and geared to setting emotional hooks to motivate us as we read.

In the hierarchy or pyramid described by Abraham Maslow, Esteem (of both self and others) is at the fourth level, after one's needs for physical sustenance, secure dwelling, and a supportive community are met. Esteem, as Maslow describes it, depends primarily on accomplishment. These days, with "self esteem" being treated as a right rather than something earned, it would be better to use the terms "respect" and "self respect" (although "respect" is in danger of being swept sideways also). The most useful people are the happiest.

I was interested in what an art generating program might produce from the overly-simple prompt "The most useful person". These two images are the best offered by, on the left, Dall-E3 (in Bing) and DreamStudio (using its Anime style; other styles yielded blah results, as did other programs).

I am quite taken by the gardening/farming image. I have often thought of farmers as the most useful people. I put primary producers, such as miners, as a close second. In the early 1980's, when over-regulation threatened both farmers and coal mining companies, a popular T-shirt began to circulate that said, "Let them starve in the dark". It made the point succinctly. [Disclaimer: At the time I was in graduate school, and consulting for a gold mining company.] These images, and the others I passed on, show the great importance of the substance used to train a generative model.

Mr. Schwarzenegger's book has, naturally, seven chapters plus an Introduction. In the Introduction he points out that here he will have nothing to say about the scandals that dogged his middle years, because those matters have been overly thoroughly treated elsewhere. This book is about the attitudes he developed over the years, that he feels led him to success as a bodybuilder, health coach, movie star, governor, and philanthropist. His first two Tools are to develop a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, and then to grow that vision as large as possible.

Large visions are necessary. As it is said, you don't get to the Moon by planning to go halfway there. On the other hand, he points out that after aiming and preparing for a big goal, you might have to be satisfied with partial success, at least at first. This isn't like getting stranded halfway to the Moon. It is more like taking possession of a 3-bedroom house you can afford in a suburb, rather than the manor house in a rural countryside you hope one day to have. Consider it a stepping stone, and you have a roof over your head while you work (Hard! That's Chapter 3) at greater things for the future.

I don't plan to outline all the chapters. The advice is practical and the stories are well matched to the recommendations. I was touched in particular by several stories of how he related to competitors and potential opponents. In one singular instance, a bodybuilder had beat him out for a title, and at first he couldn't figure out how. He asked the man's advice, and eventually invited him to live and train together. A competitor need not be an enemy. In this case, the man was a great friend to him. If certain folks became enemies, we don't learn about it from Arnold. This is an admirable attitude.

Here and there I was put off by a bit of profane language. It isn't necessary. There is always a forcible alternative to cussing. Other than that, the book is fun to read, and well stocked with useful advice.