What’s Wrong with This Picture?
It’s estimated that Americans spend $11 billion (that’s a b—billion)
a year on self-help products—everything from books to DVDs to
diet pills—while American companies spend over $400 billion a
year on professional development programs for their employees.
Personally, I think those are very low estimates; especially when
you consider all the weight-loss programs, exercise equipment,
business books, and everything else you could put in the category
of self-help.
(Yes, I know there are a lot of other, fancier terms for this:
personal
growth, self-improvement, professional development, etc.
But for now, let’s just agree to call it self-help, OK?)
Actually, I call most of this information SHELF-help—because
that’s where most of it goes—on the shelf along with all the rest
of
“We are urging parents, who are anxious to see their children and
wards, to allow medical doctors and government’s rescue team to do their
work in rescuing and protecting the lives of the victims.
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting
when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of
this mistake at one time or
another. An uncle of R. U. Darby was caught by the “gold fever” in the
gold-rush days, and went west to DIG AND GROW RICH. He had never heard
that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been
taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with pick and
shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite. 
A
brother and sister had made their usual hurried, obligatory
pre-Christmas visit to the little farm where dwelt their elderly parents
with their small herd of horses.
