Celebration should not be equated with easy. This isn’t a Field of Dreams story. The ghost of personal development past may have been willing to accept a prescription for happiness or increased confidence or a smaller waistline. Today’s audience has been burned by feel-good promises. They’re open to new ideas but hesitant to trust.

Power has shifted from a brand or personality to the consumer. Although people like Howes and Bernstein have avid fan bases, it’s easy to become irrelevant when the flow of information is constant. The message, rather than the messenger, reigns supreme. The bigger the industry, the more messages available.

“Experiment. Try on different teachers, approaches and modalities like you’d try on a half dozen shirts at a store,” “See which feels best, which messages resonate, which leaders align with your values, your style and, most importantly, help you create the results you want.”

For those trying to make a name in the industry, success finds those who are willing to take risks and meet people where they are. Facebook was once the be-all, end-all of social media. Millionaires were born out of once-popular micro-video app Vine. For the consumer trying to discern between “good” and “bad” content, intuition is key.

“You’ve got to have a goal,” “And you’ve got to hold yourself accountable at all times to, does that advice, when implemented well, actually move me toward my goal? If it does, great. If it doesn’t, then it’s by definition bad, and you need to discard it.”

Personal development, no matter how you define it, is woven within the fabric of American society. But the message has also been amplified because of a modern need and the power of social media. It’s the teacher struggling with a student who doesn’t want to learn and finds a video about motivation from Bilyeu. It’s the college dropout who feels hopeless and turns to a Facebook live video of Hollis explaining how the simple act of a morning routine can change your life. It’s the newly jobless person picking up this magazine in search of ideas for a personal reinvention.

“We want to live in a world where all 7.4 billion people at least understand what a growth mindset is. If they choose to reject it, so be it,” “But we want it to be that pervasive.”

The idea of self-care is accessible, needed and never riper for the taking. Political, social and economic issues may evolve, but they have been a fact of life since time immemorial. Our responses, our small place in this world and how we choose to live can be, in many ways, up to us.

Personal development gives the tools. In the 2020s, take what you need and leave the rest.