Self Help...Or Cult? Know Before you go.
Tara’s Episode Notes:
In this episode…we take a look at self help & how important it is to educate yourself before you commit to following anyone that promises to help transform your life…in any way. The Self Help industry is an 11 Billion dollar industry…but it’s highly unregulated.
In our story…we are high-lighting a fallen self-help guru and what happens when you blindly put your faith in someone that, sadly, doesn’t have your best interest at heart. That individual is James Arthur Ray. Here’s a snippet gathered from Wikipedia, that we used as one of our sources. Listen in right here on our website, or head to your your favorite podcast platform for rest of the story.
James Arthur Ray (born November 22, 1957) is a self-help businessman, motivational speaker, and convicted felon. In 2011 James Arthur Ray was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide, after his February 3, 2010 arrest for causing the deaths of three participants in one of his New Age retreats. He served two years in Arizona state prison and was released under supervision on July 12, 2013.
A former telemarketer, Ray taught Stephen Covey motivational seminars while employed at AT&T and claimed he later worked two years for the Covey foundation; however the company has no record of him as an employee or contractor. In 2006 he appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and was one of several narrators in the film The Secret. He also appeared on the Today Show and Oprah.
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Tara’s Other Sources:
The Verge Article By: Matt Stroud
The Guardian Article By: Andrew Gumbel