The self-help genre has been around since ancient Egyptian and Greek times, yet according to Jessica Lamb-Shapiro, author of Promise Land: My Journey Through America's Self-Help Culture (2013):

"Despite its ubiquity, it’s hard to say whether or not self-help books really help anyone. There is very little scholarship on the subject. Publishing statistics claim that 80% of self-help book customers are repeat buyers, which could indicate that they are not helping. Some suggest that buyers of self-help books don’t read more than the first twenty pages, if they open them at all. Just the act of buying a self-help book is reported to make someone feel better."

The self-help community often suffers from both an instant gratification and an entitlement mindset. People are constantly being told, "You deserve X" - just because you want it. And you should have it now."

While one notion is that self-help books don't work, the bigger problem is that the person most likely didn't actually do the work – let alone read the entire book. And then of course there are the snake oil sales people who offer nonsensical advice to the desperate, the lonely and the naïve – who then blame the reader/student if their advice doesn't work for them. 

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When the latest trending self-help topic doesn't "fix or save" someone from themselves (or make them rich beyond their wildest dreams), then it's onto the next Big Thing. Then that Big Thing is marketed, cherry picked, scrutinized and ultimately found lacking by the reader or the reviewer. Opportunists in the multibillion-dollar self-help industry rake in the big bucks until that wave passes, and then move on to the next one. Much of the criticism of the self-help industry is therefore justified. Many so-called "prophets" care more about profits, and I and countless others have had direct experiences with self-proclaimed "enlightened gurus" and big name players in the self-help/personal growth industry who revealed their hypocrisy when no one was looking – and often their abusive, unethical behavior. 

Telling you to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty and actually earn what you want (even though it may take some time) is avoided simply because it doesn't sell as well. Instead we are told to put it on a vision board and we will simply "manifest" what we desire – and if we don't it's our own damn fault. Groupthink reinforces both these and self-indulgent, self-focused mindsets – and if you've plunked down thousands of dollars in pursuit of self-enlightenment, it's usually hard for your ego to admit you've been conned. The heart of the matter is that inward-bound practice only also reinforces a "me-me-me" culture that is more concerned about self-gain than helping others succeed as well.