So I am a very small business owner and have taken many self help courses and taken notes on a huge number of self help teachings from almost all the top names in this stuff. Although some of it has been helpful, reflecting on it some of this stuff is arrogant trash and at odds with reality and Scripture. I plan on loosely listing ideas I have heard without sourcing it. If you have read the books and listened to the seminars you will quickly spot some of it.

1. “If you took all the wealth and evenly resdistributed it among everyone evenly after a small amount of time everyone would have the same they do today.”

Oh goodness where do I start. This is a way for rich people to tell themselves they are worthy and deserving and holier than the poor. This is stupid and uninformed on so many levels. And by the way I remember the speaker trying to say that someone did a “study” to conclude this. Yeah? How did that study look? You redistributed all the money evenly without us noticing? Lol. The Bible teaches that many of the last will be first and the first will be last. Why? Because being in business I have seen an innumerable amount of people gain wealth faster because of their willingness to deceive and cheat. Many companies love lying to customers and employees and constantly making promises they have intention to keep that are only designed to benefit themselves at any cost.  It is not rare or abnormal for dishonest people to prosper in this world. No it is not true that all poor or middle class people would be in the same position if their parents sent them to Harvard. I am shocked someone would have to be told this.

2. If you expect a good thing to happen to you it will. If you expect a bad thing to happen to you it will. The “law of expectation” as it is called.

Another stupid idea. Now I do believe that we should think about good things, the Bible tells us as much in Philippians 4:8, but the Bible also tells us to be “wise” in Matthew 10:16. In the book of Acts you will see sometimes when persecution was coming the Christians would find a way to escape (Acts 9:25 as one example). They didn’t try to “happy thought” it away. And they also didn’t bring it upon themselves by thinking negative thoughts. Did a mother getting hit by a drunk driver bring that to herself? Someone who has a tragedy happen in their family, is that because they weren’t happy thoughting enough? Is it possible to happy thought wars away? This idea is so stupid and ignorant anyone trying to push it should be punched in the face. Why? Just so they can be asked why they were thinking a thought that caused it to happen to themselves.

I will end it here for now and add, goal setting and writing things down is some of the best advice I have had reinforced by some of these self help programs. Much of it is people pretending to be smart saying extremely dumb things that have no basis in reality, but some of it is also very beneficial advice that is actually practical and useful. But please don’t try to convince yourself there is no bad that can happen if you only expect good, be honest and rooted in the truth.