I have read a lot of books that one could label "self-help" and I learned something important from most of them.
But a book will not change you; they can only share wisdom that you can use to change yourself. You have to experience the state of mind these books are hinting at to really transform yourself. Information alone is not enough.
Many times I have been reading a self-help book and felt that euphoric feeling of inspiration, as if the transformation was occurring at that moment. But it always fades, because transformation does not happen when you are sitting reading a book; it happens while you are living your life, conducting yourself in a different way that you are used to.
Most people who buy motivational books get off on this temporary euphoria (true to the north american obsession with instant gratification) and do not realize how to use this information to create lasting changes to their lifestyles. Thus is born the self-help junkie.
It is action, not information, that changes lives.
Do not blame the books. They only provide ideas. YOU have to identify the patterns in your life that hold you back, YOU have to make the adjustments to your conduct to see changes in your life.
The US is a capitalist country, and therefore it is always more profitable to sell treatments over cures. It is easy to be cynical about this, and it serves no purpose. There are hundreds of fantastic self-help books, but their value depends on the reader's ability to change himself.  |