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Comment by fooandbarify | Hacker News Reader

Hahaha okay, awesome review. Still (and I've said something similar on HN before) for all Tim's giddy arrogance I still think he brings something valuable to the table. Yeah, he thinks his shit don't stink and yeah, he sort of sounds like a walking infomercial but guess what? So does almost every wildly successful person I have ever heard of. (Exceptions might include the likes of Bill Gates.) Tim is out there getting things done (commercially successful author, entrepreneur, etc) while a bunch of bloggers sit around making fun of him for having confidence and for maybe being a bit of an ass.

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Excellent comment.

I like Tim, I consider him a personal friend (take that as a disclosure of bias), but for me the take-away is that success is rarely found on merit alone.

There are a ton of diet books that give the same suggestions as Tim's book, but his will sell because he's out there pimping it and creating buzz. I think that's the bit many on HN don't like but it's how things work.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

no you can dislike the player too. nobody forced the so-called player to do that.

How is it an awesome review? Because it goes hating on Tim without any logical back up? Or debunking of Tim's claims? He doesn't even say he tried any of it. Sounds to me like he just doesn't like him.

Because it's funny, in a roast-y sort of way. And more importantly, it makes it easier for people who completely disagree with the middle part of my post to at least read what I have to say. Ironically, this is similar to a technique which Tim talks about in 4HWW (he calls it the "compliment sandwich" - cheesy goodness) and it's a perfect example of how Tim recycles and condenses old ideas because this basic social tactic has been around forever (How to Win Friends and Influence People, the biblical book of Proverbs, etc).

The problem is not being "a bit of an ass" (embarrassing yourself), it's being "a bit of bullshitter/scam artist" (cheating others).

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