It has stuck with me (although its disuse has been my due to my own inadequacy, not any lacking on his part to instill the wisdom.
He was the most energetic, funny, positive, successful, unbiased, and even-handed educator I’ve ever met. Anywhere.

He was also, justifiably, an ego-maniac.

Here’s a website his alumni have dedicated to him:
http://www.kingherold.com/story.html

@ValenciaSon: In my case, you’re on to something.

Again, at the risk of stating the obvious, every book you’ve ever read to learn something, every class you’ve ever taken, every time you’ve asked someone for directions, every time you’ve read the instructions on some piece of equipment or gadget to learn how to use it, every time you’ve asked someone about great places to visit in Spain, or where you can find a good tapas bar, or how to find a job in Spain, every time you tried to get a better job, lose weight, learn a new skill, improve an existing skill, or learn anything, etc., etc. etc., you’ve been engaged in a “self-help” activity or utilized a “self-help” medium of one sort or another.

I’ve never read any of Mr. Robins’ books or any of the other authors that Ben has mentioned, and I don’t know if I ever will, but I would never dismiss them out of hand because they’re labeled as “self-help”. Anyone else, who chooses to, is of course free to do so. But reflecting a little on the examples I’ve cited above, what would happen if the “self-help book skeptics” consistently and thoroughly applied their line of reasoning to all forms of “self-help”?

It seems like you’re the one being too sensitive. As far as I can tell, Ben didn’t ask you to stop posting comments. If you can express your opinion about his post, why would you have a problem with him expressing his opinion on your comment? Also, if you feel free to say that you haven’t read all of his post, why would you have a problem with him saying that he hasn’t read all of your comment?

Unless of course, I’m being overly sensitive, and you meant everything as a joke.

Yes, it could also be a point of denial “Hey, I don’t need any help/input.” Usually women are more likely to look for help than men. Correct me if I am generalizing. (I Know you would anyway…)

I still have all my books from Dr. Vincent Peale, who wrote the bestseller “The Power of Positive Thinking” and many others.

He also wrote some interesting chapters on how to keep enthusiasm going. It does tend to leave after a while.

Next weekend I will be in New York City and if I happen to stroll by Dr. Peale’s church
http://www.marblechurch.org/
I will step in to take a look.

Having success is a matter of attitude, not only facts. Keeping a good attitude produces amazing results at times.

Being cynical/sKeptical seems to be more of a male trade anyway. Did I just open up another can of worms?

I understand what you are saying . I think it was film producer Samuel Goldwyn who said “The harder I work the luckier I get”. Certainly “luck” is a factor in all our lives but it requires certain qualities to spot a gap in the market and fill that gap with a good product or service.

It’s just that after listening to your podcasts etc. that you come across as self-confident in an approachable kind of way. Not as someone that needs that much motivating! I guess we all need motivating to some degree . For sure I have my own set of issues. Certainly I get a lift out of reading an inspirational article about something or watching good documentary on TV. Anything I feel is “preaching”, or with a style that I can’t relate to, tends to bring out the cynic in me!

I am now more convinced by your argument. No I wasn’t expecting you to provide exact figures, just saying that your sales have tripled within a few months of applying what you have been learning is sufficient.

I think the problem with just saying things like “it has made a great difference” is that it is an entirely subjective comment – I’ve met people who say “business is going really well”, even when they are losing money. I think that making a point of quantifying how things have improved draws peole’s attention.

I don’t see anything to feel guilty about, especially when it comes to marketing. You are providing a service, and the more potential customers who are aware of the service the better. It is entirely up to them as to whether they part with their money. Furthermore, since I imagine your business plan is based on encouraging people to keep coming back to buy more podcasts, I expect it is not really in your interest to rip them off.