Indeed, we often need to psych ourselves up to accomplish certain tasks. I'm not saying we should be negative all the time.

My problem isn't so much with having an optimistic outlook. What I'm criticizing is the sophistry that self-help writers often use to cover up the negative facts, such as the fact of how the creator economy works. If optimism blinds you to what you'd see with a more realistic perspective, then that's a problem. And if optimism is combined with selfish ambition and with a salesperson's penchant for outright lying, that's another problem.