The ultimate aim of any modern corporate is growth with profit maximization. Growth is the first and foremost characteristic of nature and its products which include modern societies with all their industrial, agricultural and service sectors and above all the research organizations to cater to the needs of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Governed by the laws of the universe and nature, societies, markets and above all human life are in the constant churn of development in the realm of creativity and innovativeness.

As more and more people are becoming success concious, they are taking to self-help books. But relying on them doesn't seem to really help.

Last week I was with my friend at the Connaught Place market in Delhi. We were about to leave the market when it started raining heavily. Just to avoid the rain, we entered a book shop where we found a great collection of self-help books with titles like: You Can Win, Born to Win, Power Unleashed, Seven Steps to Success, to name a few. All these titles sound very impressive and are compelling enough for anyone and everyone to purchase them, especially if they are trying to make their lives successful. While I was skimming through the pages of one of the books, my friend asked me if I had read You Can Win by Shiv Khera. I said, "Yes I have read it."

He further asked me if the book had helped. Surprised, I asked him why the question. He replied in a low voice that he had read many such books by various authors, but they never actually helped him. His remark ignited my thought process and I began to ponder if that was true. Do self-help books help? By this time, the rain had subsided and we left for our homes. But the question remained at the back of my mind. Why don't self-help books help? I asked my friends, colleagues and others who read them, and very interestingly, the observation was that 9 out of 10 people felt that self-help books do not help.