The New ‘Gurus’
Sep 14th, 2013 by Jinja
It’s been all over the interweb: Bellum Tan is Rich Dad Asia™ ! Come to our seminar!
… I will pass.
Some, however, have a more opinionated view on their value. http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/helaineolen/2012/10/10/rich-dad-poor-dad-bankrupt-dad/
Cambodia has never been short of motivational leaders.
That’s why we have our very own ‘Ministry of Cults and Religions‘. (I wonder if the seminar will register?) Religion may have been the ‘opiate of the masses’ in the past, but in these our more skeptical society we place our hopes and dreams in a new breed of savior.
In the past I’ve criticized ‘get rich quick‘ schemes.
http://jinja.apsara.org/2005/01/pyramid-scheme-cambodia-style-cows-not-coins/
http://jinja.apsara.org/2005/03/coin-companys-sales-tactics-bring-cash-questions/
And I must confess, being from the USA, many of us are… addicted to self-help books about time and money.
I enjoy scanning them, picking out what useful tidbits I can, and finding out the real underpinnings of their philosophy. Are they NLP cultists? Skinner rat men? For example:
Anthony Robbins‘s followers burnt their feet walking on hot coals.
Tim Ferriss doesn’t really have a ‘Four Hour Work Week‘. (That’s his admin hours.)
David Allen’s time-management philosophies have some common sense, but I’m not a big fan of his guiding philosophy.
I doubt any of the people above would be willing to have their teachings be put to a rigorous, structured test.
I’m no expert, but it doesn’t take a genius to distinguish between motivational speakers and between financial advisors.
Right. I’m off to check the latest column by Andrew Tobias. 
