Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

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"To be Or Not to Be"

I am posting an article on my blog in the next few weeks about the self-help industry. Those of you who know me, know it will be acerbic.

Specifically, with regard to your little mate, Bob ... here is an interesting website: http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html make up your own mind.

Rgds,
Ric


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Mr. Ric Willmot
Professional Speaker | Consultant | Mentor | Author
Executive Wisdom Consulting Group
W: http://ExecutiveWisdom.com
E: info@executivewisdom.com
Blog: http://ricwillmot.com

Founder of the Society for Executive Wisdom

The Law Firm Marketing Masters podcast rated Ric Willmot as “Au stralia's leading law firm management and marketing consultant” and “One of the Top 10 Law Firm Marketing Experts in the World” for 2012.

hi i read and own Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I think it is a great book with many suggestions and ideas. I would definitely recommend the whole series to any and everyone!!

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http://www.homeberries.com.com
Motivate Kindness

Hoopla..... yeah, that`s a good word for it. 

fluff...

Well, regardless of how true the book is, the guy made a lot of money from it. So what`s the main point of a self-help book? To help the author make himself a lot of money. Looks like it works. :-D

Just because he makes a lot of money does not make him or his message valid or worthwhile.
(And I know you were being tongue-in-cheek, Craig )
Some of you may like to read my article "Say No to Yes-Men" for some perspective before the post on my blog comes live regarding the self-help industry. The article is about 9th down the list.
Rgds,
Ric



-------------------------

Mr. Ric Willmot
Professional Speaker | Consultant | Mentor | Author
Executive Wisdom Consulting Group
W: http://ExecutiveWisdom.com
E: info@executivewisdom.com
Blog: http://ricwillmot.com

Founder of the Society for Executive Wisdom

The Law Firm Marketing Masters podcast rated Ric Willmot as “Au stralia's leading law firm management and marketing consultant” and “One of the Top 10 Law Firm Marketing Experts in the World” for 2012.

When I was a young`un, sittin` on the floor by my pappy`s boots.....wait...wrong story.

Back when I was a kid, my father would often talk about different businesses from the perspective of what we now call "business-to-business" marketing (B2B). He would refer back to the California Gold Rush, and explain that the people who made fortunes were the ones who sold supplies to the fortune-hunters.

From there, I always had a skeptic`s eye for self-help books. They remind me very much of those B2B sellers making money off of mass confusion. As a writer, I don`t at all mind self-help books, I figure I`ll write one myself. But I do look at the books to see if there might be some sort of truth in them.

It really doesn`t matter if the truths are well-known, historic, antique, or even run-of-the-mill. It`s like a nightclub, where by the time you get to the fourth set, everyone from the first set has gone home, so you can repeat the same songs later in the night. So too, people just now entering the marketplace may not have heard what older people consider to be cliches and shopworn truths. As long as they`re still true.

As a philosopher, on the other hand, I consider it part of my job to do as much damage as possible to vapid, platitude-spouting brainstems who suggest that magical thinking, spontaneous burst of meaningless energy, and zero planning have the slightest impact on reality. Books like "The Secret" are fascinating to me as a writer, and utterly ridiculous to me from the philosophic perspective.

Ultimately, it comes down to ethics. No matter what someone wants to sell, there usually will be people who will buy it. That means that no matter how useless a product, some dope will think it`s brilliant. So is there any ethical burden on the product developer? Not in an objective sense, but definitely in a subjective sense.

This topic is a question for comments on the RD/PD book. But it also brings out the overall self-help industry. We could say, "buyer beware," and that`s why forums and newsgroups contribute greatly to educating potential buyers. But even there, the buyer has to know enough to want to be a bit cautious before plunking down their money, right?

Is there an ethical obligation on the part of the self-help gurus to only sell to reasonable people? Probably not. It`s a self-responsibility on the part of the buyers, I think.