Why the Self-Help Industry Is Built on Lies

TL;DR

The self-help industry is riddled with fabricated backstories, exemplified by Napoleon Hill (author of Think and Grow Rich), who never met Andrew Carnegie or wrote for FDR/Woodrow Wilson—he had a long fraud and theft record. Despite this, the book contains proven concepts like writing down goals and persistence.

Key insights

• Napoleon Hill's entire origin story for Think and Grow Rich—meeting Andrew Carnegie, being commissioned to interview 500 successful people, and writing speeches for FDR—is fabricated with zero proof;
• Hill used the book as a "front door offer" to upsell an expensive multi-volume course (The Law of Success), an early example of an open loop marketing tactic.
• Jay Shetty's claim that a monk told him to leave the monastery and go to America is considered equally fabricated; his credentials (degree, monk stint) are questionable.