Well, you're partly right. I don't think he's using attention in the same way. Sure, it's a self reporting story but let's say that he has mostly handled the internal problems that made him an addict. He even admits he still buys lottey tickets. But in his case he's using his tendencies to help rather than hurt people.
I don't doubt that he's doing some real good; it's the self-aggrandizing style that opens him up to a whole host of issues.
It's a dilemma, for sure, but a guy who's so apt to talk specifics in terms of his income and bonuses doesn't present himself as operating from a place of humility. I know people who went through roughly the same evolution he claims to, but the ones who actually internalized the lesson aren't humble-bragging to the NYT under a byline, but are actually out trying to do good with as little self-aggrandizement as possible.
Like it or not, the way in which he chose to share his message completely undermines it, and it doesn't make his current situation seem too terribly different from his previous ones. Less destructive and more functional, sure, but the dynamic seems largely unchanged.
