Self-Help = Help Yourself

Common Sense > Guru Nonsense

Confession: Once upon a time, I had more self-help books on my shelves than candles on my birthday cake. My nightstand runneth over like I was starting a motivational book club.

Like too many of us, I thought other people had all the answers. I believed the right combination of buzzwords, bullet points, and bullshit morning routines could somehow unlock the mystery of being human.

Spoiler alert: they didn’t. At least not for me.

No matter how hard I tried—or how many books I read—I was still left to my own devices to figure things out. Turns out, the only “system” that works is the one you build yourself.

Eventually, I woke up and realized most of these so-called “gurus” were just selling recycled advice wrapped in a shiny new cover. Many were just as lost and confused as I was—just with better lighting, better branding, and a book deal.

Cut to yesterday, when I noticed Matt D’Avella—one of my favorite YouTubers and one of the few self-help-adjacent creators I still trust—posted a new video calling out “The problem with self-help gurus.”

In my experience, a lot of these self-appointed “gurus” have more issues than National Geographic and start believing they’re Jesus. Or Oprah.

The grift is real. So are the grifters.

All these years later, I still can’t believe I wasted $15 on a book of bumper stickers and bad advice. As for the so-called “documentary” that came out with it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger cinematic turd disguised as enlightenment.

While I’m very much anti-guru, I’m very much pro-guide.

I don’t want to read the work of a guru. I want to read the work of a fellow traveler, someone who doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out but is willing to share what they’ve learned along the way: fumbles, stumbles, and all.

There’s a big difference between someone who’s learning with you and someone who’s preaching at you. One shares their truth; the other sells a template.

In my book, real growth isn’t about following or worshipping someone else’s wisdom. It’s about finding and trusting your own.

For the record, common sense has always and will always beat guru nonsense. Please take that Cult Of Personality bullshit elsewhere.

Keep calm and namaste on!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who’s spent some time in the self-help aisle, so I’d love to hear from you:

• Which guides do you trust?

• And what’s one lesson that’s actually made a difference in your life?

Drop your thoughts in the comments. Because real self-help can start with honest conversation.

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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

• Uncovering Steve Fox (Aidan Wharton)

• Is Social Media Still Social? (Andy Adams)

• What I Really Grieved When I Went Deaf (Waymon Hudson)

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ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 29

BIRTHDAYS

• 1891 = Fanny Brice = American actor and singer

• 1911 = Alonzo Hanagan = American photographer 🌈

• 1925 = Dominick Dunne = American journalist and author

• 1935 = Isao Takahata = Japanese filmmaker

• 1942 = Bob Ross = American painter and television host

• 1943 = Don Simpson = American actor, producer, and screenwriter

• 1945 = Melba Moore = American singer-songwriter and actor

• 1947 = Richard Dreyfuss = American actor and activist

• 1948 = Kate Jackson = American actor, director, and producer

• 1957 = Dan Castellaneta = American actor, voice artist, comedian, and singer

• 1958 = Ann-Marie MacDonald = Canadian writer and actor 🌈

• 1959 = Finola Hughes = English actor

• 1959 = Nicole Conn = American filmmaker and writer 🌈

• 1961 = Randy Jackson = American singer-songwriter and dancer

• 1964 = Yasmin Le Bon = English model

• 1967 = Joely Fisher = American actor and director

• 1967 = Rufus Sewell = English actor

• 1971 = Winona Ryder = American actor and producer

• 1972 = Gabrielle Union = American actor and producer

• 1972 = Tracee Ellis Ross = American actor and producer

• 1973 = Michelle Brooke-Marciniak = American basketball player 🌈

• 1977 = Jon Abrahams = American actor

• 1979 = Andrew-Lee Potts = English actor, director, and producer

• 1980 = Ben Foster = American actor

EVENTS

• 1787 = Don Giovanni, with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, premieres in Prague.

• 1929 = Black Tuesday: The New York Stock Exchange crashes, ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and eventualy contributing to the Great Depression.

• 1964 = Biggest jewel heist; involving the Star of India in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City by Murph the Surf and gang.

• 1969 = The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.

• 1981 = Gimme A Break! premieres on NBC.

• 1990 = Keeping Up Appearances premieres on BBC1.

• 1994 = Mariah Carey releases her holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” as a single.

• 1998 = ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of the STS-95 space shuttle mission.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚

• National Cat Day

• National Hermit Day

• National Oatmeal Day

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PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY

BOB ROSS = PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN

“I don’t intimidate anyone. Instead, I try to get people to believe in themselves.”
Bob Ross