Our addiction to success is making us sick
People (and the planet) are at breaking point for many different reasons. My new book The Success Myth (on how to break free) is out in a few days.
My brand new book The Success Myth is out next week. It’s all about how society’s obsession with productivity, success and achievement is slowly killing us (our souls and our planet). I was under the illusion that gaining an element of “success” would change my life. I thought that once I had tasted some of that nectar of outer and inner validation, my whole life would be better. That a portal to my own personal Narnia might have opened up to me by now. Maybe a marching band when my book became a bestseller? And then my life would be sorted, forever, right? We are conditioned from a very early age to think that we are our achievements — and that our dream life is something just over there, on the other side of the mountain, if we just keep climbing. "Success" will fix everything.
Except it doesn't.
This book is very personal in places, for example how my biggest achievements left me feeling the most empty — but at the same time the book isn’t really about me. It's about the collective sea-change post-pandemic, our changing appetite for success and the realisation that the idea that we will one day 'arrive' is actually a big lie.
No matter who we are, or what we do, I think we can all agree that the expectations of modern day life have increased. We are supposedly meant to be smashing all areas of our lives, at all times. We’re supposed to: have a passion, earn money, keep fit, get promoted, have a hobby, be up to date with current affairs, be a morning person, see our friends, look good, prioritise our family, read self-help, go travelling, make lasting change in the world, put the bins out and have a grand important purpose to our lives. It’s EXHAUSTING.
As a former people-pleasing workaholic, I climbed and acquired, until I broke. No amount of “success” can ultimately save you from the internal parts of yourself you need to work on. How do you undo years of cultural conditioning? How do we learn how to rest? How do we learn to live in a way that feels good on the inside, not just good on Instagram? How do we stop this endless quest for 'more'? How do we put less pressure on our planet? This is what The Success Myth is about.
It includes a variety of research — I have interviewed over 400 people about success — with chapters covering things like happiness, milestones, celebrity, productivity and money. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think it’s my best one yet. It’s practical and the overall message gives me a big sigh of relief. I hope it does that for you too.
After finishing writing The Success Myth back in October, I had a huge nervous breakdown. When I re-read it, it was the perfect book to piece myself back together again. Strange. There is a calmness to the book, a wisdom that I had but wasn’t aware of until after I wrote the last page. Does life imitate art? Did I write the book that I so desperately needed to read myself? Was this all part of the bigger plan? Who knows. All I know is, I am so excited to share this book. It feels different this time round. This book truly helped me during a very difficult period of time and I hope it can do the same for you.
The power of pre-orders
As you know, or may not know, pre-orders can make or break a book. It’s just a little button, but it holds so much power. If you pre-order you will signal to the *industry* that there is interest in the book and then bookstores are more likely to take notice. Pressing the preorder basically is a huge act of support — to support the writers you enjoy to continue writing. If you enjoy my work and plan to buy the book at some point, a pre-order would be hugely appreciated.
Pre-order competition:
If you do press that pre-order button, you can be in for a chance of winning a free 1-hour coaching session with me (as well as being an award-winning author and teacher, I am a trained Wayfinder coach, having taken Martha Beck’s ICF-accredited life coach training programme). I enjoy creating a safe space to help people overcome any stuckness with many impactful tools that help you find your own way forward. Just email your proof of purchase to hello@emmagannon.co.uk to enter! <3
(And btw, if you sign up as a paying Hyphen member and email your pre-order receipt, you’ll be entered into winning a coaching package (that’s five sessions with me). I cannot wait to coach some of you!
The Success Myth will:
🌱 help you to set goals that are ambitious but not overwhelming
🌱 explain why the 'tick-box' moments in life often feel anticlimactic
🌱 how to break free from comparison and the endless pursuit of more
🌱 Help you live a life on your own terms
I cannot wait to share this book with you. 🌱
