Guru Ratings
Charles Givens
Bad.
Remember my ratings criteria. I’m not judging these gurus on “global” or moral values, but very specific criteria. Many of my favorite books would be rated “bad” by my criteria for self-help (probably, because they are not self-help books). My ratings don’t reflect how well an author met his own goals, but how well they met my criteria for useful, accurate self-help.
Charles Givens disappeared from the public eye when his firm was sued and he was indicted for fraud. He died in 1998. His advice is dangerous.
His book titles sound too good to be true, and they are.
Wealth Without Risk (1993)
Just one example: “Buy disability insurance only if you are in poor health or accident prone.” But no insurance company is going to sell disability insurance to someone in poor health. And how do you know if you're accident prone? An accident is an accident because you don’t know it’s coming!