I find self-help programme advertising always seems to offer so much, you just 'have' to buy it.
Take PhotoReading for example, the advertising says, blast through books - 25,000 words p/m - greater comprehension - improve memory - sharpen concentration - get through information at least three times faster. etc. It's hard to resist!
The reality of course is that the courses always need so much more commitment than we would originally agree to give, for example .... a standard text book would still require 10-15 hours of study using the PhotoReading whole mind system! would I still have bought the course if I had been told?
These days I find out all I can about a product before buying - the internet has made this possible - forums like this at LSC are invaluable and loads of other sites where you can get the view of others with experience of a system/course.
At the end of the day - it was the advertising that sold me on the idea of for example, PhotoReading, it did its job and introduced me to the amazing world of self-help, body and mind improvement, the search for excellence. Thank goodness for the ad men, we do however, need to develop the ability to sort the wheat from the chaff!