Why I don’t read any of Napoleon Shill’s books

Came a question about Napoleon Hill: === Hi Ben, Reply guy here. I’m just wondering why you’re dissing Napoleon Hill. I thought he was someone you looked up to. You used to listen to his recordings, no? Or was that someone else? I’m also wondering where you got the idea that he died dirt broke. Wikipedia says he had some setbacks but nothing about dying broke. In fact, another source says he was worth about 1 million. === A. That's not being a reply guy, that's simply asking a legit question. Reply guys are a totally different animal. B. Following is the way I understand it. Verify or not at your pleasure: * Hill was making minimum wage and struggling towards the end of his life when Clement Stone hired him. * The Andrew Carnegie story about him is completely exaggerated at best, or an outright lie at worst (some of his biographers say there was a meeting but that Hill’s writings were totally exaggerated about it, while others say there is no evidence Carnegie and Hill ever met at all, if that tells you something) * Clement Stone hired Hill out of pity after seeing Hill’s ad selling his typewriter to make some money to stay afloat * He may not have died broke, but he was broke before Clement Stone hired him * One could say selling his typewriter was more profitable for him than transmuting sex or starting a mastermind or doing anything else he taught in Think and Grow Rich * I always found Think & Grow Rich to be extremely overrated * I’ve never heard a single Hill recording nor do I care to I’m not saying everything he wrote is crap. Even a broken clock is right twice per day. But the above is not even going into the shady stuff he was allegedly involved in. Here’s another book-related question: (A woman replying to an email I wrote recently, about why I didn’t recommend any books about leadership written by women in an email a couple months ago) === Does it really matter if you and other authors write books "for men”? A wonen that have the ambition to succeed would not care if you write he instead of she. I don't get that he she nonsense because the point is to succeed. Do women think that if you write a book for he, she would not benefit the same way from that book? === I don’t pretend to understand it either. But to throw some blood-soaked chum to the outrage sharks: The only book I can think of that I’ve read from a female author in the past year is “Bandersnatch” — which, ironically, is all about some men (the Inklings writers group, mostly about Tolkien & C.S. Lewis) and doesn’t talk about women at all. Irony almost writes itself on that one, doesn't it? And here’s some more irony: I don’t know if she wants me naming her. But one of the most “militant” feminists I know up in this business once told me almost all of her customers are guys, and that a lot of women simply don’t buy her products, trainings, seminars, etc even though there are quite a few on her list. In fact, there was a "women-only" (which I thought was a good idea initially, I'm all about exclusivity) copywriter mastermind type deal going on a few years ago (the name of which was derivative of a seminar created by a man and that had all male speakers, since we're talking about irony...) Maybe it still is around, I don't know. But it was the kind of deal where "no men allowed!" was the selling point, along with being a safe place or whatever. But you know what? They also invited in men who LARP, er, I mean identify, as women to join. And I remember wondering if that was just a virtue signal or a "loophole" in the rules to boost sales..? The world may never know.. Okay one more book question. The publisher of my Enoch Wars novels and Villains books Greg Perry, asks: “Assume I have read absolutely NONE of the biographies you’ve mentioned in your daily emails over the past few years. What are the Top Three you suggest? I will pick one to use up my final audiobook credit.” The list is long but distinguished. And it probably spans dozens of books. But in his case, I recommended (more than three): * “Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson * “Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination” by Neal Gabler * “Sly Moves” by Sylvester Stallone (not 100% biography) * “Andrew Jackson” by HW Brands * “12 Lives of Alfred Hitchcock” (must reading if you are a Hitchcock fan) Speaking of bios: The upcoming “King-Sized” (28 pages vs the usual 20 pages) January Email Players issue is heavily influenced by not just a bio (not listed above), but the entire life history — from childhood unto his last breath, literally — of someone who I believe was very likely the single most influential and famous brand of the 20th century. It teaches an especially powerful way (literally anyone in business — brand spanking new or seasoned pro) to potentially profit during harsh economic times so that your business doesn’t flail and wither away, but can instead grow and prosper the worse and more “f’d” up things get, with a customer base that is potentially far more rabid about listening to you, buying from you, and following you the farther the rest of the world sinks into despair. It’s not about milking money from misery. It’s about “transmuting” that misery into joy and peace of mind. Both for you and your customers/clients. But I have got to warn you: This one is not really a “how to” issue, as much as a “what to do” issue that requires thinking, introspection, and individual adaption to your specific business, situation, and market. I cannot do those things for you, any more than I can wipe your nose for you. Let the goo-roo fanboys take note. They will be especially disappointed by the almost “Pollyanna-ish” info inside that, I believe, can potentially blast a smart business owner’s sales & influence not just to the next level, but another 5 or 6 levels above that, even as the rest of the marketing world proceeds to keep doing what they’ve been doing, getting the same poor results they’ve been getting, while constantly chasing the same nonsensical bright shiny objects they’ve been chasing. That mean ol’ deadline is in a couple days. Subscribe while the subscribins’ still good right here: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( Ben Settle This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2022 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA