Help Yourself with the Self-Help Books!

A student went into a bookstore and asked the salesgirl, "Where is the self-help section?". The salesgirl immediately replied, "If I tell you, it will defeat the purpose." So, please help yourself!

Many people buy self-help books, read them but seldom know how to help themselves. Many readers would expect the author to tell them exactly what to do like a recipe. Self-help books usually provide us with broad principles and guidelines. They must be read by drawing together our own background knowledge and experience, and then applied to our daily situations or scenarios.

For example, in my book, "15 Forgotten Secrets That Will Make You A Better Student", the second principle says, "Appreciate what you have in life". What I usually encourage the children to do after reading it, is to think of how this principle can be applied to their daily lives. For example, they could learn to appreciate their parents by offering a cup of water to their parents when they come home from work.

I was away to the Philippines intermittently for a period of about nine months with varying length of stay each trip. I was always very touched each time when I returned to Singapore. My children would always make a simple card out of an A4-sized paper, write and colour on it, "Welcome Home, Daddy!" and leave it on my desk. It is a simple and economical way of expressing their appreciation for me. It makes me feel good and appreciated.