I know of Jay Shetty, but I’ve never heard his podcast or read his books. I know that he’s quite popular, and there have been questions about his past. What fascinates me is why such people who loosely preach some form of “self-help” become popular despite the questionable nature of their advice, their disingenuousness, and the outright grift. I’m not saying Jay Shetty is a fraud – I don’t know. But I’m fascinated by people like him.

What fascinates me is the continued popularity of self-help despite the painfully bland advice. The fact that books that tell you to fold your blanket after you wake up and wash your ass after taking a shit continue to be bestsellers is funny and tragic at the same time.

I get that these books, talks, and podcasts make it seem like they have answers and there’s money to be made in exploiting people’s hopes, fears, dreams, insecurities, and anxieties. Hell, I work in finance and I see everyday how base emotions drive people mad, but I’m still fascinated nonetheless. Being a self-help guru is probably the only AI-proof job?His recent interview in The New York Times and an older piece in The Guardian.