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Why Rich Self-Help Gurus Can’t Help You

The rich self-help gurus live in a completely different world.

Eric S Burdon
Published in
10 min readJun 28, 2023

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Flowing brown hair, a nice dress shirt, and a groomed beard. The image spilled onto my screen as a strong Texan accent could be heard. One look at the man and I recognized him immediately.

It was Matthew McConaughey. Otherwise known as MM.

I remember him distinctly in his role in The Wolf of Wall Street and immediately thought, “Oh that guy. Guess he’s doing self-help stuff now huh?”

*Clicks Skip Ad button*

The ad was all about a live event MM created a few months back called “The Art of Livin’” which like so many other events before this was designed to change your life forever.

Out of all the events that self-help gurus offer, this was the one.

With the tagline “Stop settling, and start livin,” the messaging was strong and compelling. It captures the whole idea of self-improvement paired with the motivational gusto that these big events bring.

It truly embodies the self-improvement industry. It has the oomph that it needs and tells people this is it. This is the moment when your life will change forever. The event to end all events.

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Eric S Burdon
Purposeful Life

I write (and sometimes do videos) about self-help for those who don't like self-help. Complete with the occasional memes and riffs on the industry that I love.