Is self-improvement the same thing as self-advancement?

As a formula for success, winning friends and influencing people has little in common with industry and thrift.

The significance of contemporary self-advancement frameworks lies not so much in their purported objectives as in the angst to which they appeal and the vision of reality that informs them. This vision is that success is dependent on the psychological manipulation of others. All life, even the apparently achievement-oriented realm of work, revolves around the struggle for interpersonal advantage in the deadly game of intimidating friends and seducing people.

Is self-improvement the same thing as self-advancement?

As a formula for success, winning friends and influencing people has little in common with industry and thrift.

The significance of contemporary self-advancement frameworks lies not so much in their purported objectives as in the angst to which they appeal and the vision of reality that informs them. This vision is that success is dependent on the psychological manipulation of others. All life, even the apparently achievement-oriented realm of work, revolves around the struggle for interpersonal advantage in the deadly game of intimidating friends and seducing people.


Incorrect. I could give you an almost endless list of job/professions where improving yourself (your knowledge, skills, verbal ability, etc.) will make you more successful without one single instance of what you're claiming here.

Want just a sampling? Grocer, baker, teacher, land surveyor, contractor, etc., etc. Yes, any of those (and any other) can become crooks but it certainly isn't a requirement to be a success.

Yes, any of those (and any other) can become crooks but it certainly isn't a requirement to be a success.


But what about self-advancement in such scenarios?

But what about self-advancement in such scenarios?

I thought I explained that - self-improvement IS self-advancement. (As in pay raises, promotions, more customers, better lifestyle, etc.)