In a September interview with The New York Times, bestselling author, podcaster and research professor at the University of Houston Brené Brown was asked about the world of online self-help gurus and her place in it.
“I think there are a lot of well-meaning, well-intentioned, well-trained people in that space,” she told the interviewer, “and I think they make up about 30% of that space.” Another 30% of people offering self-help content online are “underqualified” and only sometimes helpful, she said.
“And I think there are 40% sheer grifters. Everything they say is predatory advice-giving,” she said, offering the example of caster oil and brain teaser ads promising life-changing results.
People might put her in any of those different categories, depending on who you ask, she said. “I always tried to be very, very careful when I was in that space.” And she’s since tried her best to leave.
At some point, she realized people were chopping up points she’d made to create provocative, advice-giving clips. “There was a moment when I made a very specific, tactical ‘get the hell out of Dodge’ decision to not be anywhere near that space,” she said.
