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MHP368

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I think you paint with too broad a brush , like...the hypnagogic effect from being at a rony robbins event IS THE POINT

Thats why he has no few books vs the amount of live events he does , he got started with nlp and hypnosis and gestalt therapy and yeh jim rohn but anyone can write a goals list or make a vision board or wtf ever.

You pay the 800 dollars and fly half across the country to experience that so you can leave all super pumped up and actually execute or whatever.

I think if you could say anything broadly about the self help movement (negatively) its that the act of reading a book fills an emotional need - the authors know this , its not really a secret (on this forum we call it action faking)

Idk what the angle is now that print sells a lot less but this was huge in the 80's and 90's , look up some of these authors and the sheer amount of stuff they pushed out

I remember when "the secret" got big , they had like entire aisles at bookstores that were just "law of attraction" books regurgitating the same stuff (one series the hook was that the information was being telepathically picked up from an interdimensional being or something?)

Anyway , i'll admit I like reading for readings sake (read that as "I use it to procrastinate a lot") but at least i'm insightful enough to recognize that. One handy rule of thumb I've found is if I have a problem I need to tackle (and the solution involves learning) , "three book limit". Also before reading the first book you have to have done some massive action toward the goal in some other way (never leave the scene of a decision / new goal without having taken massive action)
 
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Madame Peccato

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I don't know where I'd be without self-help. Probably would have stuck a .38 in my mouth in the mid-90s.

Same but without your books.

As for the OP yeah, some people get sucked in and turn into Self-Help Junkies. But self-help is a tool, and as with every tool, it's about how you use it, the tool itself doesn't do you any good or bad.

I have stopped reading self-help books for the most part, because I feel like I was reading more for the sake of reading more, thinking I was doing myself a favor. Nowadays I pick up this type of book only if I plan to immediately implement what it talks about into my life.
 

Adir Barak

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Nowdays I pick up this type of book only if I plan to immediately implement what it talks about into my life.
That's the only way it should be done IMO.
It's still a slippery slope from time to time, getting hyped by a book or concept you can't immediately use, but for the most part I try to learn what I need in order to tackle my current and immediate next problem.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Same but without your books.

As for the OP yeah, some people get sucked in and turn into Self-Help Junkies. But self-help is a tool, and as with every tool, it's about how you use it, the tool itself doesn't do you any good or bad.

I have stopped reading self-help books for the most part, because I feel like I was reading more for the sake of reading more, thinking I was doing myself a favor. Nowadays I pick up this type of book only if I plan to immediately implement what it talks about into my life.

Exactly...

 
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socaldude

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Lol look at the word “self-help” closely. The word “self” is in it. You have to put in the work to help yourself. Not expect somebody to come in and do all the self-discovery for you. Lol. So I’m not sure how that’s a cult.
 

Kal-El1998

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You're right about all of that.

But...

Building a business is real

Being positive and improving your life with your attitude is real

Getting in great shape is real



Suckers get suckered and easily fall into cults and other bullshit, so just don't be a sucker and focus on what's real.
I agree, I'm kind of wondering if there is a bigger issue here with the OP though. Is trying to use this argument because he's afraid of taking action toward business?
 

Angler

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Do you blame a doctor for prescribing an aspirin when you're in need of it, to get better, but then you end up not reading the dosage... and overdose...? Who is to blame, You or the doctor?
Toxic things are medication when taken at the right dosage. Self help is AMAZING, when you're getting your sh*t together and build your life base on it, not around it. You should consider using it as inspiration FOR WHY you should make the next move, not TO BE motivated by it to make the next move. If you need external things to motivate you, you got some big questions to ask yourself. Perhaps reading can inspire you to ask those questions.
Again, it circles back to the importance of YOU, and how strong your identity is. MJ hammers the idea to buy into your own brand(not others) and sell your damn brand(not others), so turn the self-help materials in something transformative. You can admire and be inspire by other brands/concepts/beliefs, but don't let them become your own, not until you give a it a new spin and understand why you want to adopt them. Does it move you forward 2 step and backward 3? Make it yours. That's stealing like an artist. That's not relying on self-help, but being inspired by it and make sh*t happen.
 
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Mattie

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Do you blame a doctor for prescribing an aspirin when you're in need of it, to get better, but then you end up not reading the dosage... and overdose...? Who is to blame, You or the doctor?
Toxic things are medication when taken at the right dosage. Self help is AMAZING, when you're getting your sh*t together and build your life base on it, not around it. You should consider using it as inspiration FOR WHY you should make the next move, not TO BE motivated by it to make the next move. If you need external things to motivate you, you got some big questions to ask yourself. Perhaps reading can inspire you to ask those questions.
Again, it circles back to the importance of YOU, and how strong your identity is. MJ hammers the idea to buy into your own brand(not others) and sell your damn brand(not others), so turn the self-help materials in something transformative. You can admire and be inspire by other brands/concepts/beliefs, but don't let them become your own, not until you give a it a new spin and understand why you want to adopt them. Does it
I don't know every self-help community is a cult. Some of them are and some are legit. The idea behind self-help is to become independent and interdependent versus co-dependent. Self-help implies you help yourself instead of allowing others to try to fix your life for you.

"Help Yourself" implies being an individual separate from a group to become self-reliant or sovereign and self-sufficient.

Where it began in past centuries or decades was quite different then what you see in 2022.

It's a contradiction in the world where everyone doesn't agree dependent on the culture, religion/spiritual community, societal rules, social norms, social issues, social problems, and naturally every country does things differently. Individualism versus collectivism ?

All depends on where one stands in the world. A different angle, perspective, rules, regulations, policies, legal laws, cultural norms, and what they agree up on as a social group that is acceptable in their society.

Books, magazines, informational products are geared towards the "Ideal" of the community and how it serves the population.

You can even find this in sub-populations with in a population.

Since I am from the U.S. I understand the informational products are a major tool we use to educate our society on Medical/Mental Health, Pro-action, Preparation for Natural Disasters, Rescue Operations, Family, Parenting, Relationships, Business, Marketing, Advertising, Finances, and it's just where we focus on Education, Knowledge, Wisdom, Improving society as a whole.

This has it's pro's and con's, this has been my main focus with Social Issues and Social Problems, although the expansive ocean of ideas, beliefs, cultures, has blended together from around the world since the internet has arrived more so then any other time in history.

This pushes humanity forward since the discussions advance humanity to pioneer in a new direction versus where in the past before the internet the information was not accessible to everyone to have an equal opportunity to advance, grow, mature, and be educated as it has been for the first time in history.

Since C0VlD-19 you have had many women and men become more focused on improving their lives and seeing there is a diverse ocean of opportunities, education, and self-improvement of the whole group anywhere in the world.

I would say it's more about labels, niches, categories, titles, key words, but these are just ways we promote self-help.

"Cults can be formed", but this doesn't mean that every informational product or authority is part of a cult.

Cults are formed more for a specific goal, motivation, and intentions might serve a certain purpose and not necessarily for the greater good of society, humanity, or the individual.

You always have legit groups, authorities who may be more focused on the greater good of society, humanity, or the individual.

It is learning to decipher and discern what is appropriate and not appropriate in society.

Social groups determine the rules, regulations, boundaries, and what is acceptable or not within the group. We see people move in and out of these groups since they may at first find it served a certain purpose at the time, but then move out since they find it was not in alignment with their values, or they did not agree with what it stood for, the message, or found it was not providing value to their life, or their goals.

Self-help comes in many forms all our lives. We can say sitting in any school from childhood on teaches us something about helping ourselves and being independent in society.

If you were from a tribe in the past, it's simple to say, you would hang out with some one for example and learn to build a boat, do bead work, pottery, design their clothing, or shelter. You might learn to hunt wild animals. Then you bartered with fur traders.

There might not have been informational products at the time, but still by word of mouth and hands on experience someone taught someone how to hone skills, talents, and gifts.

We've advanced in society. We all know how to read, write, and are educated more then any other generations in history.

It's matter of perspective of how you look at it.
 

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