I Have Never Been More Proud to Write Self-Help Online

I’ve also never felt more like an impostor

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I want you to understand how it feels to be a self-help writer in 2020.

Not because I want you to be one or because I want your admiration or sympathy but because, whether you realize it or not, you’re reading self-help every day, and if you don’t know where it’s coming from — who, why, what emotional and mental place — you can’t judge it accurately, let alone interpret it well or implement it in your life in a way that’s actually helpful.

My name is Niklas Göke, and I write self-help on the internet. It’s a job I’ve been doing for six years, and I have never felt more proud to do this work than today. I’ve also never felt more insecure about it.

No one on earth sets out to be a self-help writer. That’s the first thing you must know. Have you ever heard a 12-year-old say: “When I grow up, I want to give people advice!”? I haven’t.

You become a self-help writer because you want to be any writer but don’t know which kind. You start using writing to structure your thinking because, well, writing is thinking. You may also use it to process your emotions. Maybe, you just like telling stories to exercise your creativity muscle.