Smart People

[elainevdw]

In another thread, I was surprised to hear that people were intimidated by the "Smart People" tag on StevePavlina.com. I thought that maybe it needs its own thread, both because of the reactions people have to it, and because nobody seems to interpret it the way I do.

I think it's empowering. And this is what it comes down to:

When you buy a book that says it's for dummies, what are you calling yourself? A dummy!

Do you really want to go through life labeling yourself as a dummy? By creating a site that's for smart people, not dummies, StevePavlina.com allows its readers to have a shred of self-respect.

And as you'll find in many topics regarding personal development, negative self affirmations -- calling yourself fat, ugly, or stupid (a "dummy") -- do nothing but hold you back.

So don't be intimidated by the label -- embrace it!

For reference, below is part of Steve's reasoning behind using the "Smart People" tag.

Personal Development for Smart People

My favorite marketing strategy is to look at what everyone else is doing and then do the opposite, but this of course can only be done with integrity if you actually believe the opposite is better. That’s why I like the idea of using the phrase “for Smart People” in the title — it positions the other books in this field as being “for Dummies” or “for Complete Idiots.” Personally I’d rather have a lot of smart people as customers than a lot of dummies — this worked very well for my logic puzzle games business. Smart customers are more demanding, but they’re usually a pleasure to support because they’re more capable.