Point a) They are really cloying and don't have a bit of reality in them.
Point b) They preach you practices that would otherwise be symptoms of Schizophrenia (Talking to yourself a 100 times that you are "The BEST" and stuff)
Point c) Ultimately they are hinting that you life until now has been a total useless waste of time (Why else would you buy a self-help book ... Duuhhh )
Apart from the fact, that today's modern self help books are a packaged deal selling stories from panchtantra, amar-chitra or the Gita i really don't suppose they would give you anything better than a pleasant good read.
At least that's what was my opinion till i kept on reading the likes of Shiv khera or Anthony Robbins; who would have mis-used the term "POWER within" to make it sound as if each of us are living-walking ATOMIC Bombs.
Everytime i finish any one of those books, i always end up asking myself, "All that is great.... now what should i really do ??" and it always ends up with those diet fabs, when you start with purely salads the first day and end up with Beer in the nights.
But one thing that has really made me wonder is the enormous business potential about the entire stuff; and that's when it all started to make sense... Lets talk of theirs as a Business PLAN
Mission : "To make buffoons of the billions of people around them to believe that they are currently plain Zombies and are not really worth their lives and only WE can change their lives, provided of course they buy our Books, Cassettes, CDs, DVDs, Tickets to the monthly shows, membership charges for the private clubs, host dinner parties, et all"
COMPETITION & Threats : The existing spiritual networks such as GOD TV, saints and celebrities who suddenly have realized about the money in this.
(Just think for a while... the modus operandi of a self-help guru is nothing different from those of a spiritual guru... Both offer to realize your life's worth, and both would give you WISDOM if you give them your money, and both talk in strange conundrums as if we were all in some "Matrix Movie")
Business Potential : If you count the entire Population of the world - themselves and other spiritual gurus - third world countries (who cannot pay) - myself
Marketing Strategy : With the advent of modern technology; their marketing knows no bounds... perhaps a few unique ideas that have till now not been explored
1) Advertise in those 1800-helpline numbers (well, a life saved is $$ earned)
2) Sponsor the annual Ozzfest or other heavy metal bands ( All the wayward youth are HUGE money)
3) Advertise in every Tooth-paste Tubes (Change the title from "Did you brush today" to "Did you listen to me today")
Now that i have given you lot to think about, you might want to mull them over these couple of seriously life-changing books and movies.
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