Soft Skills for the Apocalypse

Soft Skills for the Apocalypse

The Paradox of Actionable Advice

Why the only stuff that's universal is terribly cliché

Karla Starr's avatar
Karla Starr
Feb 11, 2022
∙ Paid

Most action-based advice is bad. It’s condescending. (Work hard!) And it’s frequently contradictory (Do whatever doesn’t feel like work!)

Fortunately, it’s not just me —a post I recently saw on Hacker News argued this very thing, making fun of the uselessness of truisms like “Be hard to compete with.” Some other favorites: Follow boring advice. Practice …

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Karla Starr
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture