Self-help books suck

[Dionysus]

Has any self-help book ever helped you? I’m very curious, because I think the majority of them are full of fluff and bullshit.

I find them to be very impractical and vague. They focus way too much on attitude and not enough on skill and technique. The few that is practical, the information is common sense! Stuff that I already know.

Common themes that self-help books focus on that I think is a crock:
*You will succeed if you just try hard enough
*Every thing will fall in its place if you just be yourself
*Hard work and being a good person will get you far in life (it can help, but it is not the magic bullet)
*Get a promotion/Find you husband/Build a mansion in 30 seconds or less!!!
*Too much emphasis on motivation, attitude, and self-esteem/confidence
*People are generally good and have your best interest
*The power of positive thinking (no pun intended)

Now, not every single self-help book falls into the above categories. One book that has helped me in leadership, strategy, and competition was The Art of War.

I’ve learned that in order to help yourself you have to learn from real life experience and observations of other successful/happy people.