67 Comments »

Nikki said:


“You are ruining peoples income, sites like this should be banned.”
Er, yes. The former, because they are scammy d-bags ruining other people’s lives and promising gold unicorn turds. The latter, well, that’s only the opinion of those who are being called out on their deceptive and illegal practices.
“What the bloody hell is the point of this site anyway? It doesn’t sell anything so is just a waste of time.”
So any website that doesn’t sell something is a waste of time? According to whom? (Well, other than the eloquent poster that I have quoted of course). That sounds like a scammery thing to say (scammery – I like that term, it may not be English, but I like it).
The argument is flawed and therefore moot. But then that doesn’t stop the scammers, con-artists, and other general d-bags.
*sighs*
Keep up the good work SD!
WINNER!! ::   +17
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 7:08 am

E=MC^2 said:
Salty this is hilarious. Any mother with a son like you would be proud. Even if you were living in her basement, which I’m sure you’re not, but if it were true, so what? At least you’re making an honest living. Hard times can befall anyone, even the richest of the rich have ended up on the street and to make fun of someone’s financial hardship is really lame, especially considering that most of these scammers are hurting so bad they have to come on here and make fake comments about how this blog damages all the poor affiliates’ income. LOL what a load of shit. That’s like saying “Stop going after big drug cartels, because you’re ruining the small time dealers’ lives by cutting into their income.”
Atleast the drug dealers are actually delivering on what was promised, which makes you dbags less the bottom of the bottom. Good workz Saltz Saltz. I for one am a proud fan!
P.S. If you ever need a place to stay, we have an extra couch. Stay as long as ya need.
  +4
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 7:44 am

Profits must be dwindling said:
The dissent must be eating into some of their legitimate profits, since we already knew piracy via p2p has been for some time (yes, sad to think there are TONS of people that jump on pirated torrents of these internet marketers products, but that’s perceived value for you).
Even the “puahate” forums has become a hotbed for bagging on that other scammy “seduction / sex / dating” niche, to the point where so-called “seduction gurus” go on there calling them all losers that will never get laid.
  0
[Reply]

oh wow! Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 9:43 am
@Profits must be dwindling, so you like others here believe you van violate copyright law and steal from someone because you don’t like them? If their products are so bad why not just NOT buy them? Stealing through torrent sites would indicate to me you love their stiff so much its worth risking jail time to get it illegally. And it validates the claims by the scammers that youre actually just pissed that you can’t afford it. Sort of handing them their own defense when someone asks the tough questions and they answer that its jist the whining of a bunch of losers. What do you do if you dont like ypur neighbor — steal his mower? Moron! Y When you violate the law to get back at a criminal you become one too.
These assholes need to be taken down but the people with the power to do so won’t listen to a bunch of theives complaining about theives.
  -1
[Reply]

bob Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 11:10 am
@oh wow!, Take a breath. Nobody but scammers themselves would even attempt to dismiss ALL the good people here who have been ripped off (along with their advocates), simply because of some random, unrelated, drive-by commenters. But they try.
  +2
[Reply]

Poop Chute Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
@bob, And here comes the inevitable “you must be one of THEM” that often follows anyone who makes a comment you don’t agree with.
Hey — I’m just trying to keep some of the good folks here from falling into the trap of becoming criminals themselves in the name of stopping criminals.
You appear to not care. Perhaps YOU are a scammer trying to lure the good people here into getting trapped in the same cell you’re inevitably gonna wind up in.
Same logic you’re using. I think a real scammer would think it through that far. Could be could be.
Get real.
It’s not cool to steal. Intellectual property is PROPERTY. Someone created it and they own it. You have no right to steal it whether you hate the person, feel they are a criminal or whatever reason you might have.
And a lot more than ONE commenter here has mentioned the torrent issue, drooling at the idea that those “expensive” courses are so readily available free to people willing to be thieves.
I care that someone would fall into such a trap. Apparently you don’t.
LOSER!! ::   -8
[Reply]

bob Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
@Poop Chute, Are you smoking crack?
I did NOT endorse stealing, and the original commenter did NOT appear to endorse stealing. They simply REFERENCED something that appeared to be taking place.
You’re a jackass for trying to put words into the mouths of others. What’s your real game?
I was simply stating this, you idiot:
This blog is not wholly represented by any ONE commenter, including the one you pointed to, or even me.
YOU can’t legitimately discredit an entire post or group of people by singling out individual comments like that and trying to tarnish the entire, unrelated lot.
Now, go crawl up your name.
  +1
[Reply]

the voice of reason Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
@Poop Chute,
Sorry, poopchute, but it’s a “sky is blue” fact (however much people would like to pretend it’s not) that the internet isn’t going to be constrained by the niceties of “respecting intellectual property.”
Fuck the social media sites, and fuck the porn world. That shit is just noise to what the internet really is–one of the truly astonishing pivot points of human history. I am talking on the same scale of the invention of the wheel, the discovery of the printing press, and the development of numbers.
A thousand years from now, this time–right now–will still be talked about as one of the turning points that catupulted Man forward.
The Guttenburg press is the only thing that comes close to what the internet is going to usher in. The Guttenburg press ended the massive centuries long void of human development and achievement, and it ushered in the renaisance centuries of endless breakthroughs and exponential advancements in knowledge.
The internet absolutely shatters and dwarfs the impact moveable type and mass produced books and information had on human development.
You cannot comprehend just how big a deal the internet is. The answer to anything–abso-fucking-lutely ANYTHING–is available literally within 30 seconds…whenever you want to know.
It’s too big. It’s too powerful. It’s not going to be constrained by the fact that “hey, someone spent time to create this information.” It’s just not. Fuck Piratesbay and the other free for all torent sites. And fuck movies and music. I’m not talking about that crap–and neither are the people making the point of how easily available these courses are.
Piratesbay is sooooooooooo first generation. Now, there are specialty torrent sites devoted 100% to business products. Managed so info is findable in 10 seconds, with only one up of a product, not the bullshit hodgepodge of a dozen versions of a product. 24,000 business products (ebooks, audio, courses, seminars you name it) all categorized and downloadable within minutes. Another site is devoted 100% to self improvement. 21,000 products by everyone you can imagine. Another is devoted to just educational products. 27,000 products.
Sorry, but just like the leaders of Alexandra who demanded that ships sailing into port turn over any scrolls onboard for copying so they could be added to the ancient library of Alexandria, the internet is simply not going to be denied.
I’m not saying it’s right. It’s not. But it’s the reality. It’s the reality TODAY. What’s it going to look like in five years? If you hold yourself to a higher standard of martyrdom and want to shell out money to buy these programs, then more power to you. I feel the pang of guilt, actually. But, am I going to deny myself the knowledge dished out by two titans of copywriting (no, not faggot Kern or Pagen–legit heavyweights) just because their courses cost $5000 and $7500 dollars? Am I going to sit on the sidelines and say “oh gee, I wish I could get a taste of what was dished out during XXXXXXXXXXXX’s $25,000 seminar (yeah…that’s the real cost of a real seminar–these dickhead $2000 course players are NOT the biggest swinging dicks when it comes to pricey products)?
Nope, in about 5 hours, I had all three courses on my hard drive–and they’ve helped my blast my business higher by a factor of at least 4x.
So get real. the internet is too big. It’s too powerful. Like I’ve said before; we are living through an era that will be talked about not only 1,000 years from now. We’re living through an era that will be talked about 5,000 years from now.
  -3
[Reply]

poop chute Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
@the voice of reason, Sorry, VOR. Just because it’s EASY to steal doesn’t make it right.
It’s easy while you’re on vacation for me to go to your garage and steal your mower or tools.
Yes, the Internet is “big and powerful.” Yes it has changed history and how we do things forever.
The xerox machine made it easy to steal written works. The computer made it easy to steal music. A key to your house would make it easy for me to take everything you own.
It’s still theft.
Are you telling me, with all the “free information” on the Web from so many people, you actually defend stealing information someone doesn’t want to spread around free?
Just imagine a world without fiction. Without RESEARCHED, investigative news. Without books.
Knock down the fence of intellectual property rights and you knock the intellectual out of the world.
Theft is theft.
On another subject — no — I’m not smoking crack. I was just trying to “play” the part of @owow! above and tripped myself up on the wording. It came out wrong.
I agree with @owow’s point though. Theft of intellectual property, however “easy” you might feel it is, is stealing someone else’s livlihood and — look it up — it’s a violation of law that can land you in trouble.
It doesn’t hurt these assholes at all that you’re stealing a digital version of their products and you’re only looking desperate to have them when you do.
Two idiot points, two idiot points, two idiot points in one.
At least — I THINK that’s what @owow was saing…
  0

RunBrunsonRun Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
@the voice of reason, the only difference between you and the scammers like Dice is that you are willing to admit that you’re a thief.
But it’s okay because this is “one of the truly astonishing pivot points of human history” and “the internet is simply not going to be denied”.
  +4

Dale Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
@poop chute, You spent all that energy in response to ONE of the most famously off-their-rocker commenters that shows up here? What’s the point? You don’t need a comment box for that, you need two chairs in a coffee shop. VOR is a closed loop, subject to frequent overheating.
  +3

SD Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
@vor & poopchute ::
Why don’t you two get a room? You can snuggle … then you can talk at each other for a couple of 20 hours … then you can each masturbate to the sound of your own droning voice … then more snuggling.
That would be a win-win … especially for me.
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 7:49 am

Dave Q. said:
Ironic, indeed.
I just ask myself, “Why would they even bother to comment? What would cause them to violate their own standards by ‘stooping to your level’? (at least according to the context of their tirades)
They are as transparent as glass.
Dave
  +5
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 8:35 am

Martypants said:
Dang, if I knew I’d get mentioned so lovingly in a post, I would have sent you PLENTY of hate mail by now, you twisted little scrap heap. You’d better watch yourself Salty – you’re on my list now…and it is the only one I didn’t accidentally give to Deiss yet. And just where is your Mom’s basement anyway? Sounds like I need to come over some time, and see you wallowing in all that well earned shame. Just watch it pally – you’ve been warned. Obviously.
WINNER!! ::   +14
[Reply]

you gotta be kiddin Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 10:29 am
@Martypants, lol a pasty blanched gay boy pretending to be an internet thug classic!! FAIL
  -1
[Reply]

Jay Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 11:32 am
@Martypants,
Your supposed to be a professional business man, perhaps you should start behaving like one.
@Salty,
Your doing great work here exposing these scammers, great things will come your way.
-Jay.
  0
[Reply]

Louis Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Folks, haven’t you noticed the comment attributed to “MartyPants” doesn’t really fit here, given all his previous supportive comments? Something’s off about that!
  +2
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 11:55 am
@Louis, @Jay & @you gotta be kiddin I have a sneaking feeling that if Martypants had had access to the sarcasm font he would have used it.
WINNER!! ::   +8
[Reply]

Martypants Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 11:58 am
@Cosmic Connie, Ah, Connie. You make me happy again. :)
WINNER!! ::   +7
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
@Martypants, Good to hear. I got misinterpreted here once too when I made a sarcastic remark about Death Ray that someone thought was an actual defense of him. In fairness to Louis et al., sometimes it really is hard to distinguish the sarcastic from the d-baggish because, let’s face it, so many real shills make comments here all the time.
  +4

Hippo Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
To Cosmic Connie:
Yeah, I think that was me. Very hard to tell sometimes.
I myself am particularly dense.
  0

Louis Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
@Cosmic Connie, That was my second guess. ;)
  +2
[Reply]

you gotta be kiddin Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
@Cosmic Connie, Martypants if it was indeed a sarcastic remark I’ll be the first to apologize. Perhaps, we’ll need to use the commands for future posts. Please accept my apologies.
  +4
[Reply]

Martypants Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@you gotta be kiddin, Thanks – no need at all to apologize though – I certainly know what I am potentially stepping in commenting out here. :)
But so there is no mistake: I am a HUGE fan of this site, its mission, and the fun that happens here in the comments every time SD rolls out another one.
  +6

Jean D Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
@Cosmic Connie, Once again the diplomat in you saves the day! :-)
  +4
[Reply]

Jay Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
@Louis,
Maybe he’s being payed, he most likely needs the money. His business is an epic failure, his site gets less traffic than my worst affiliate site.
-Jay.
LOSER!! ::   -4
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
@Martypants ::
… or … you could just be my Mother.
[Reply]

Martypants Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
@SD, what can I wear? and I assume it means spankings.
  +5
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
@Martypants ::
I’d hope that since I’m a known “super lib” … you’d be a Montessori Mom … no spankings … or guidance.
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
@SD, @Marytpants: That’s right; spankings are for the likes of Steve Pervlina, who recently got “spanked by eBay” (his words) when they removed his listing for 60 minutes of personal coaching from the D/s master himself. Perv said the bidding had gotten all the way up to $1,000 before the listing got yanked.
  +4
[Reply]

Louis Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Just to reiterate, MartyPants was simply showing a little sarcastic humor. ;)
  0
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 9:11 am

you gotta be kiddin said:
I’m still laughing at Martypants trying to scare anyone on this blog. What are you the pink gay mafia? You look like you got off the short bus in your larval stage. Silly maggot.
  -3
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@you gotta be kiddin ::
I wouldn’t mess with the gay mafia … they might come over and reorganize your kitchen.
[Reply]

Martypants Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
@SD, I’ll give him a Caesar haircut he’ll never forget. (Snap!)
  +3
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 10:43 am

Hippo said:
Your site doesn’t sell anything, so it’s a waste of time???
Disseminating free information to help people save themselves from being scammed–how is this a waste of time?
This site is a breath of fresh air.
WINNER!! ::   +12
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 10:43 am

Unicorn Army said:
Salty, I am a little disappointed that the Boise Boiler Room rasslin’ teams ‘roid rage outbursts were overlooked here- their rants were hilarious.
  +3
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
@Unicorn Army ::
Nah … they’re up there. “Dildo in ass … bullets in head” is the proud contribution of the loving Morons from Boise.
[Reply]

Unicorn Army Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
@SD, Ah yes, there they are… those were some good times we had in your mom’s broke-ass basement.
  +4
[Reply]

spoonfaceboy Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
@SD, Hey … I’m from Boise. Actually, I’m from Florida. Actually, I came from a uterus in Florida. Anyway, I live in Boise now. In a uterus.
Didyaknow – ClickBank makes its home in Boise? Mormons make great internet marketers.
  +3
[Reply]

Wonka Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
@spoonfaceboy, Mormons, ah yes…and a disproportionate number have oddly appeared on this blog and/or deserve to. I’d suggest you move back to Florida, and take that uterus with you.
  +2
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 11:44 am

Cosmic Connie said:
Dear Salty Droid:
Your composite hate mail sounds very much like some of the stuff I’ve received over the years for my own worthless, not-selling-anything blog, except my detractors don’t make reference to my balls, seeming instead to be enamored of a certain word that rhymes with “runt.” Also, to my recollection no one has speculated that I live in my parents’ basement, a completely baseless speculation in any case since both of my folks are dead, and, with the exception of a brief interval in Colorado a few years ago, I have not lived in a part of the country where houses even *have* basements since I was very young.
Actually, I kind of miss my parents’ basement. And basements in general.
But I digress. As Nikki above said, “Keep up the good work, SD!”
WINNER!! ::   +7
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
@Cosmic Connie ::
The mother’s basement crap is very much an IM thing. Heard it at least 50 times … it must have been in the Rich Jerk e-book or something.
Fuck basements man … where do you think spiders come from?
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
@SD, In my neck of the woods, spiders come from garages. I just leave their webs there for the most part, though, and I tell everyone they’re Halloween decorations and that here in the sticks we celebrate Halloween all year long.
  +3
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 12:06 pm

Bryan Neuman said:
Yo Salty! As long as you keep providing facts, links, and humor, I’ll keep reading. It’s not like you’re pushing product, using NLP tactics, or forcing me to believe some mystical secret, trick, or talking unicorn. You’re helping people think for themselves and learn new curse words at the same time. That and you’ve been spot on with your James Ray coverage in my opinion. However, I’m still not sure if James Ray and Steven Democker really are boyfriends…
WINNER!! ::   +11
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
@Bryan Neuman ::
… we’d have to see them tongue kissing to know for sure.
[Reply]

Jean D Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
@SD, That Jimmy sure is a whore. What’s happening between him and Billy Harris? Marriage on the rocks? Or has he left him for Genpo Roshi aka Dennis? Maybe it’s free love 60s style.
WINNER!! ::   +9
[Reply]

Stoic Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
@Bryan Neuman,
I for one am always grateful for the opportunity to learn new curse words.
Thanks, Mr Salty.
  +6
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 12:45 pm

Carlon said:
SD,
That’s totally awesome. I just take my hate mail and slap it on my site. I get the strangest comments by email and a lot of cryptic comments of hate. And I think I’m tame by Droid standards.
http://dontstepinthepoop.com/hate-mail
  +4
[Reply]

Hippo Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
@Carlon,
Now, you know you’re the one who warned me away from “Who Moved My Cheese,” so you can pretty much just rest on your laurels if you want to.
  +3
[Reply]

Nikki Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 7:54 am
@Carlon, I’ve just had a look at your hate mail, and I find it really hard to read! I’m used to sentences, a certain amount of grammar, some level of structure…but then maybe I’m just old fashioned. I can’t even work out what they’re complaining about – it’s just name-calling and incoherent mumbling!
Surely, if one is going to propose an argument and wish to take down the opinion of another, then it should be a well-written and coherent response rather than the ramblings that we’ve seen on your hate mail page and above in SD’s post?
This makes my head hurt. I’m off for a cup of tea & a lie down.
  +3
[Reply]

Carlon Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 6:23 am
@Nikki, It goes to show the level of intelligence of my haters. I’ve been waiting for some good hate mail. But those are typical. I can’t understand hardly any of it. I thought maybe English was not their first language. It’s a possibility.
One of those guys went on a forum complaining about me and got a lot of reassuring answers that affirmations DON’T suck. Of course, those people were all “affirmation coaches”.
Their advice: don’t listen to people who say affirmation suck.
IN return, I got long rambling hate mail that basically says, “Affirmations do work; you just aren’t doing it right”.
That’s what they ALL say in essence. If it doesn’t work, then you’re not “doing it right.” But give me $x and I’ll show you the right way.
I think I’m in the wrong business.
  +1
[Reply]
# 4 August 2010 at 8:22 pm

Hippo said:
OFF TOPIC–Regarding Tony Robbins:
I don’t know where to post this, but Tony Robbins’ new TV show has been cancelled after two episodes.
I didn’t watch it, but am relieved nonetheless.
WINNER!! ::   +7
[Reply]

Bryan Neuman Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 11:51 am
@Hippo,
That’s not surprising at all. James Ray kind of ruined the self-help industry and the Law of Attraction for everyone right now. And with all the negative national press he’s attracting, these people should be more pissed at James Ray than Salty.
WINNER!! ::   +7
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
@Hippo, I caught the last twenty minutes or so of the second episode this past Tuesday night. It was all so contrived. In this one, Tony orchestrated a “breakthrough” for a couple suffering from the type of marital/money problems that are all too common in this lousy economy. The couple’s business had apparently failed, so what Tony basically did was hook the husband and wife up with people who helped them get real jobs. Oh, and he brought some of the couple’s other family members together for a big tearful hug-fest and pep talk. The family members parroted some motivational cliches as Tony nodded his approval. Good work, Tony. Now do that for every other person in the US whose life has been decimated by the Great Recession and then maybe you’ll have my admiration.
The cancellation couldn’t come a moment too soon, IMO. Shame on NBC for trying to pass off a lousy infomercial as “reality” TV. Even by “reality” TV’s deplorable standards this was a new low.
WINNER!! ::   +8
[Reply]

Hippo Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
@Cosmic Connie,
There was one commenter at another board who snarked that women aren’t interested in the human potential movement, they only want to watch “Jersey Shore.”
It’s too bad that real self-help tools are mixed up with the fake ones, and it’s hard to tell which is which sometimes.
  0
[Reply]

SD Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
@Hippo ::
… finally … a reason to link to PerezHilton … it’s a dream come true ….
http://perezhilton.com/2010-08-05-nbc-cancels-tony-robbins-show
LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-robbins-20100803,0,6357127.story
“Last week, the premiere of the reality show, in which Robbins, internationally famous life coach and friend to President Bill Clinton and numerous other celebrities, tries to help ordinary people who can’t afford one of his $4,000 seminars overcome overwhelming problems, delivered one of NBC’s worst debuts ever…”
ha! … has-been
[Reply]
# 5 August 2010 at 10:06 am

SyndicateExposed said:
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
SaltyDroid…
Is most likely poor, jealous, ugly, fat and unsuccessful in all parts of his life.
So all he does is bitches and moans at all the rich, successful and happy folks.
To him – everything and everyone who is rich – must be a scammer.
He is a loser who will amount to nothing in life… You’re just a self-righteous dickhead that won’t ever make a fucking penny in their pathetic life…
Fucking negative parasite…
All the people on this site are BETTER THAN YOU… They are superior and elite compared to you… You are their servant… and you deserve a good ass whipping for being such a naughty piece of low class shit…
LOSER!! ::   -11
[Reply]

Walt Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
@SyndicateExposed;Ugly, Tsk, tsk.
SD has more supporters than you could ever possibly imagine (and quite a few well-placed ones that some of the douchebags would be absolutely floored to find out about).
Your mentally-challenged comment made me laugh and laugh. Why? Because it’s a ringing endorsement that SD, and justice, are winning!
  +2
[Reply]

_cartman_ Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 12:54 am
@SyndicateExposed,
“Is most likely poor, jealous, ugly, fat and unsuccessful in all parts of his life.
So all he does is bitches and moans at all the rich, successful and happy folks.
He is a loser who will amount to nothing in life… You’re just a self-righteous dickhead that won’t ever make a fucking penny in their pathetic life…
Fucking negative parasite… ”
Hmmm….why are you bitching and moaning if you are so rich, successful and happy?…and that choice of handles (do you feel like you were exposed?)…..someone’s projecting…..
  +4
[Reply]
# 5 August 2010 at 11:22 pm

Webmaster Chronic said:
Happy 20 months bleep bloop
Good stuff!
  0
[Reply]
# 6 August 2010 at 7:27 am

Deiss Affiliate said:
@cosmic Connie what are some “real” self help books?
  0
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 9:30 am
@Deiss Affiliate, Heck if I know. In fairness, though, I haven’t actually said anything here about “real” versus phony self-help books. I simply remarked above that the bit of the Tony Robbins “reality” TV show that I saw was contrived, and Hippo replied to my comment by saying (in part): “It’s too bad that real self-help tools are mixed up with the fake ones, and it’s hard to tell which is which sometimes.”
Though I often snark about self-help, I recognize that to a large extent the value of self-help materials is in the eye of the beholder. And any given beholder might change his or her opinion about a book, product, event, or guru over the course of time.
For example, an enthusiastic attendee captured on video immediately following a workshop about, say, how to build your own little empire might gush that it was the ultimate life-changing event, that he got tons of good ideas, and that he definitely got his money’s worth. That video will be up on the Net in perpetuity.
But will our hypothetical attendee be so enthusiastic six months down the road? Even if he fondly remembers the event and the people he met, will the ideas he picked up at the workshop really have helped him achieve the financial independence he dreamed of? If not, where does the problem lie? Did he just blow the whole thing off after the workshop high wore off? Did he try one or two things he’d learned, and then perhaps he got too distracted by “real life” to continue? Or did he genuinely try every technique he was taught, and keep at it, only to find that the market for his great product idea was already saturated, or that the product idea was kind of sucky in the first place, or that the SEO tips he’d paid to learn were already obsolete even as he was learning them, or that he didn’t have the right buddies in the industry, or…? Well, you get the idea.
Then again, even if he’s not yet lord and master of his own empire, he still might have picked up some useful ideas that keep him motivated as he works on building his dream. Maybe he is able to retain just enough motivation to pay for the next workshop in the series (which of course is what a lot of workshop leaders are banking on).
The point is that, apart from instances of actual and provable fraud, it’s rarely quite as simple as being “real” versus “fake.” My general view these days, though, is that much self-help material is snarkworthy until proven otherwise, so perhaps I’m the wrong person to ask about real v. fake in this area. :-)
  +5
[Reply]

Hippo Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 10:55 am
@Cosmic Connie,
I probably should have clarified what I meant by “real” versus “fake.”
Getting a temporary sense of euphoria which has no long-lasting effects is “fake.” I am talking about a useful tool that has provable, long-term effects.
Which leads me into another of my boring personal anecdotes.
I don’t know any other way to explain what I mean.
I was a fat teenager. I heard from a co-worker that hypnosis had helped him overcome his nervousness at taking the State Bar exam, so I decided to try it to see if it could help me with weight loss.
The person doing the hypnosis was a psychologist, a Ph.D., and, after about three months of once-a-week therapy, I was able to overcome compulsive eating, got my weight down, and have maintained it for nearly 40 years.
Now, I am not going to suggest that hypnosis works for every problem, because I know it doesn’t, but in my own case, I would categorize this therapy as “real” because it had provable, long-term effects.
Now, by contrast, let’s say I went to a Tony Robbins seminar and did a fire-walk. I might feel euphoric for 15 minutes, then go home, and realize that nothing had changed. So, in this case, the fire-walk might have given me a false sense that I had more abilities than I did before, only to find out later that this was untrue. So, this one would be “fake.”
I’m not sure if I explained anything very well, and may just have made things more confusing.
WINNER!! ::   +7
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
@Hippo, You explained it very well, and your anecdote was not at all boring. It does illustrate the point that even though the value — or genuineness, if you will — of self-help products or techniques is to a large degree subjective, there are also more objective ways to measure that value. As you noted, provable, long-term effects are much more credible than transitory euphoric highs.
  +5
[Reply]

Deiss Affiliate Reply:
August 7th, 2010 at 5:00 am
@Cosmic Connie, Thanks, I am with you on the skepticism of self-help books. Bob Dobbs is all I need. The video event testimonials are sickening. Retards, I mean people give these in exchange for free bonuses in the heat of the moment. Or they just fall for appeals to authority ( in crowd/out crowd) stuff and start the gushing.before the event is even over.
@hippo good story and clarification
@mop head very nice. I tend to agree that good relationships are the best self help. And salty’s blog is emotionally helpful for the reasons you state.
  +4
[Reply]

mop head Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
@Deiss Affiliate, REAL SELF HELP is about ordinary people sharing their personal experiences in overcoming something very difficult or painful in their life. Everybody’s got a story, whether it’s cancer, a divorce, parents dying young, they were adopted, they were born with only one leg, and on. People who blog and youtube their life stories are in my opinion the real self-help. They don’t charge money, they just share their experiences freely for all. That is value and that’s quite useful, IMO.
I feel truly sorry for the poor soul that said that this blog was useless since it had nothing up to sell. Has your life value really boiled down to how much money you have in the bank?? What shell of a personality you’re stuck in. Sucks to be you. Not all the money in the world can help your self loathing and fear of losing everything you hold dear. You’ll be in for a rude awakening when one day you realize you can’t take any of that with you where you’re going.
  +6
[Reply]
# 6 August 2010 at 7:41 am

jacqui said:
I knew if I read this again, I was gonna get mad again. But I did it anyway. I wonder why I don’t listen to myself more often?
  +1
[Reply]
# 7 February 2012 at 5:23 pm

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