Saturday, May 16, 2009

Take the Money and Run

Tonight I watched a rerun of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. It's an episode from Season 2 entitled, "Con-Text". The basic storyline is about a confused young man who is manipulated to commit murder by a greedy self-help guru.

Now, I'm not going to suggest that every self-help program out there is sleazy. I'm sure there are a few of them that really believe all their own pr. That said, the founders and stars of the successful ones are making tens of millions of dollars convincing people that each needs to be helped to realize their self potential by handing over oodles and oodles of money.

Why do people allow themselves to be suckered into these kinds of nonsensical programs? You don't need someone like Tony Robbins to help you "unleash your power within". There are no secret formulas to life. There are no shortcuts. All an external source can do is help you to actualize their own external ideas.

Almost anytime someone tells you that he/she can help you unlock or free yourself for x number of dollars, run the opposite direction post haste. I don't care how reasonable their advice or program may appear to be. More than anything else, it's money-making racket -- your money into their pocket.

In this same vein, if someone tries to convince you that he is a prophet, Jesus-reincarnated or God's special friend, make a mad dash out the door. Even worse than your typical self-guru, these individuals want not only your money/possessions but also your undying allegiance. I think it can safely be said without exception that such individuals are conniving crackpots.

You don't need any of these folks to you find yourself. You are the only with the power to do this. So save your money for something more worthwhile.

2 comments:

  1. you mean I CAN"T make money on the internet while I sleep? Damn igt.

    ReplyDelete
  2. According to Bill Maher's movie Religioulous (there's one for the spell checker) there is a guy who claims to be Jesus. I also saw a video of a group of streetpreachers who went up against a group like this who actually tried to convince them it was true.... how's that for the blind leading the blind... very scary (run AWAY)

    ReplyDelete

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