I sit here hesitantly.  Should I really get into this subject, potentially ostracizing my future membership base?  Despite my mixed emotions on this post, here goes nothing:

Is it me or are there 1,000,001 members on Twitter claiming to be able to fix your life?  There seems to be a palpable "I make people happy", "I make people rich", "I make people healthy" vibe on several of the profiles I have visited.

I keep asking myself, what is it that annoys me so much about these peoples' pages?  I like self-help, I believe in balance, prosperity, and a healthy lifestyle.  Is it the way they are marketing themselves?  Then it hit me, these people are no different than the person at Starbucks that gave me unsolicited advise when all I really wanted was someone to talk to.  They are external reminders of that part in me that purports to have "the answer" to everyone else's dilemmas. 

Here's a timely example of what I mean: 

A friend who often comes to me for advice was distraught back in early January.  He had just lost his job that morning and needed someone to confide in.  I listened to what he had to say, and then, I suggested that he immediately start focusing on his next steps.  I said that he needed to put the layoff behind him and focus on sending out resumes, dozens and dozens of resumes.

After that conversation, I felt empowered.  I felt like I knew how to apply the solution to any problem.  I thought, if I lose my job, there will be hidden benefits that come with it - focus on the positive in everything Derek.  You will get to learn the lesson of the impermanence of all things, detachment from material possessions, etc. etc.

Then the next week rolled around, and I received an email from the CEO of my company saying (in my words): 'we will have to reduce the workforce by 10%'.  Panic ensued.  It was no longer a theoretical situation that I could pontificate and wax-philsolphic about from afar.  The bottom line is that I am no guru when it comes to potential calamity in my own life.  I never have been, and I don't know that I ever will be.