It is easy to be cynical about the self-help movement in America. According to Marketdata Enterprises, the industry grossed over 9.5 million in 2005. This includes self-help books, speakers, seminars, institutes, infomercials, stress management programs and dieting. Although critics of the movement denounce self-help as a pseudo-science, the culture of self-improvement has long been part of America's reverence for practical advice.
History
Samuel Stiles published "Self-Help" in 1859, but the philosophy behind it can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac," published yearly in serial form between 1732 and 1758. A century later, Ralph Waldo Emerson began lecturing on similar themes of self-improvement at the approximately 3,000 Lyceums and Men's Clubs that sprang up throughout the United States between 1830 and 1850.
Effects
Between 1850 and 1914 magazines took up where Emerson left off. The circulation of popular monthlies like "Munsey's" and "Ladies' Home Journal," both of which appealed to an ethos of "cultured" self-improvement, increased significantly. By 1898, "Munsey's" circulation jumped from 40,000 to 500,000 in just six months.
Significance
In the twentieth century, Dale Carnegie's "Win Friends and Influence People" has carried on the tradition of self-improvement, selling 4,844,938 since its publication in 1936. According to dalecarnegie.com, seven million people have completed the program (see Resources).
Misconceptions
Although self-help gurus like L. Ron Hubbard are often characterized negatively as scam artists and charlatans (as in the AASF's "Scammy Awards"), the tradition of self-improvement continues today through respected scholars such as the late Peter F. Drucker (see Resources).
Expert Insight
Mark Twain once said, "All you need is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure."
