Don't Fall For These Personal Development Scams

December 13th, 2007

Over the past few decades personal development has become a huge industry, and in recent years the internet has fueled the surge of new products and programs devoted to self-improvement. Unfortunately, the tremendous growth in the industry has opened the door for scam artists hoping to make a bundle of cash before anyone realizes their products are useless.

These companies attempt to lull prospective customers into a false sense of security by littering their marketing copy with catchy phrases that sound high-tech or scientific, despite their so-called science being nothing more than made-up nonsense. You've all heard the buzzwords before. (Can anyone say "quantum"?) They fill their advertisements and web sites with pseudoscience and hope consumers will be hypnotized by the apparent magic of it all.

Yesterday someone sent me a link to a personal development web site so I could check out a video featured on the site's home page. In the video, the host explains how her company's system can release your subconscious fears and transform your life by "tapping into the quantum field", and their method is supposedly an effective cure for all your problems because "every single perception you've ever experienced is stored as images in the water molecules in the microtubules of your brain" and "those images are projecting onto the quantum field and reflecting back at you."

I'm sure neuroscientists around the world would cringe upon reading such claims. Quantum physicists probably would cringe right along with them.

Did you notice how in just a few brief sentences she managed to incorporate enough buzzwords to sway many viewers into believing her method is based in real science? Quantum fields, molecules, microtubules, she's got it all covered. In the end, what she's actually selling is nothing more than a guided visualization technique.

Another company — this time selling brainwave entrainment MP3 files — describes their products as featuring "the sophisticated new technology of isochronic tones" to stimulate the brain. The word "isochronic" sounds very high-tech, doesn't it? Unfortunately for them, and for anyone duped into buying their products, there is nothing new or sophisticated about isochronic tones. An isochronic tone is simply a pulsing tone in which the length of the tone and the length of the silence between each tone remain steady or repeat in a specific pattern. The same effect can be achieved with a drum or other instrument, and the method has been used in drumming sessions for many years (and likely for many centuries). High-tech, indeed.

The founder of the above mentioned company also claims to be a "Certified Brainwave Entrainment Specialist" and even includes a handy little photo of his certificate on his web site. What's the problem with his claim? There's no college, university, or regulating agency that certifies anyone as a "Brainwave Entrainment Specialist". It's a title he made up and bestowed upon himself.

Yet another company claims to be able to tune up your biofield through the use of "non-Hertzian frequencies" (conveniently deployed in the form of tiny pieces of metal jewelry selling for two to three hundred dollars each). For those unfamiliar with the term, a Hertz is the basic unit of measurement for frequency, just like a degree is the basic unit of measurement for temperature. Therefore, if you have a frequency, it can be measured in Hertz. If it can't be measured in Hertz, it's not a frequency, it's something else. To say you have a "non-Hertzian frequency" is akin to saying you have a "non-degree temperature". It's pure nonsense.

I have no problem with companies selling guided visualization techniques or personal development programs. There are some very good products out there and I even endorse a few of them. I work in this industry and have great respect for people and companies who devote their time and resources to researching the human potential. I simply don't like it when dishonest companies make a deliberate effort to bury the reality of their product in nonsensical jargon in the hopes of convincing people the product is based on some new untapped field of science. These companies aren't on the cutting edge of science. They're on the cutting edge of marketing.

That is one of the worst aspects of the situation because, while they take advantage of unsuspecting consumers and that in itself is bad enough, they also make things far more difficult for companies selling effective products that are based on legitimate scientific research. The unconscionable behavior of these companies taints the marketplace and gives the entire industry a negative reputation, making it much harder for those of us who develop legitimate products to be taken seriously.

Next time you come across a personal development product and feel tempted to buy it, stop and ask yourself whether or not your desire to purchase it is based on the legitimate research presented by the company or instead is driven by persuasive marketing copy with a bit of pseudoscience worked in.

Be an educated consumer. Do your research first and make sure the company is reputable and their product has enough real science to back it up. A few minutes of research up front can save you plenty of money, not to mention the time and effort you would've wasted on using an ineffective product in the hopes of attaining the promised results.