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The Self-Help Industry’s $9.9 Billion Dollar Secret
The first self-help book I ever read was Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
I bought it in an airport book store on my way to Basic Training. You’re not allowed to bring books to Basic except for one religious book, like a Bible or a Quran.
When I arrived at the in-processing facility and stood in line where the Drill Sergeants were dumping everyone’s bags and searching them for contraband, I started to sweat thinking about this “illegal” book I had stuffed in my duffel.
When it was my turn, the Drill asked if I had any contraband. I blurted out “No,” before I could even think about it. He dumped my bag and the book slid out.
He picked it up and looked at it.
He bent back the cover and flipped through the pages. He glared at me as sweat beaded on my upper lip. He smirked, looked left and looked right, and slipped the book back into my bag. The smile disappeared and he shoved the duffel back into my chest and motioned me through.
His eyes told me that he was a Covey reader too. And that this book had changed his life. And he hoped it would do the same for me. He didn’t say any of that, of course. I just read that in his eyes. They told me this book was as important as the next guy’s Bible.
