Here’s the problem with self-development as a quote-unquote “industry”: the entire success of the “business model” depends on people being stuck and not making any progress whatsoever. That means that, to sell more books/ebooks/courses/seminars/coaching sessions, people have to remain ‘stuck’ and never feel totally ‘developed’ to the point where they can get rid of personal development material completely.

So what happens? The self-development gurus of the world promise more, more, more, more, and more. They come out with new seminars full of “groundbreaking” new ideas that are going to blow your mind and make you into a successful, rich, attractive, smart, savvy, and fun person. They launch their new books that are based on the ideas in their seminars, so people who can’t afford the $500+ price tag to attend the seminars can still get the ideas in book form (and so the author can get on the New York Times Bestseller list). And then there are the people...