Y'know...I was thinking something similar. It's one thing to be humble, but to suggest that one's own writing wasn't "created by my own power" goes a little beyond humility.
I used to speak similarly of my writing, saying that I was just lucky to have been given the opportunities that I was. Then a good friend responded with "lots of people have opportunities...you acted on them."
Life is part opportunity, part luck, part timing, and a big part...hard work. It's kind of a shame that Brockschmidt seems reluctant to credit himself with the hard work that was doubtless necessary to get him where he was. I sincerely doubt that it all "just happened" to him, but that's the impression one gets from reading that passage.
I can only say that if you want to understand what I wrote, you should read and ponder the whole book rather than relying on your impression of a single passage (shame on you for making blanket assumptions about people you've never met). It's important to read the previous chapter because whatever work I had to do was not "hard" for me at all. It was a complete joy. Whatever credit I can take for the book was my continued willingness to cooperate with a flow of energy. But that's nothing special as far as I'm concerned--it's something that everyone should strive for.
Do I have a problem with praise? No...but I have a real problem with people who try to prop others up on a pedestal (as I wrote in the paragraph following the excerpt quoted here from Chapter 11). This is nothing but an excuse for utter laziness. If someone shows you what you can yourself become, it's an invitation but also a challenge because it shows us what we *aren't*. So unless you want to put out the energy to grow, the only other option is to elevate that person out of reach. If we can make them seem "special" enough, then we can safely write them off as an extraordinary person and continue living in our own ordinary ways.
True humility is neither saying "I can" nor "I can't". Humility is letting go of the "I" altogether and seeing yourself rather as a channel for things to happen though you. Then you can really accomplish anything. But then why draw attention to yourself? If good things happen, draw attention to their goodness.
So honestly, I don't personally identify with any of this Imposter Syndrome stuff. People who know me would NEVER accuse me of any such thing. In fact, I've been accused more often of trying to be seen or trying to promote myself!
In any case, I appreciate your pointing this out because it'll help me clarify that part of the chapter. But do try to be more careful with your assumptions in the future.
Kraig: indeed. If I was wrong then accept my apologies. However, I was merely making a small anecdote. Taken out of context, your sentence reminded me of that post that I have written about the Impostor syndrome that I have felt. The intent was merely to point out that such a sentence is a typical example of how one with this feeling can regard themselves, and yes. I did not read the whole book, but I did read a large chunk of it, however, that sentence was meaningful enough to me to blog about it and share it. It was, in no way to criticize you, but rather to try and share a feeling that I felt when I read it. Again, I apologize. In hindsight, this post looks petty and out of context.