What is personal development? Check out a popular definition at the WIKI. The basis for self-help is often self-reliance, publicly available information, or support groups where people with similar problems join together. Personal development is a difficult topic for many people to take on. There is fear about those things that lurk under the surface. People don't like to ask themselves the difficult questions or examine why they do the things they do. I know this. I see it all the time. It is much easier to just continue the status quo than to challenge. But you need to if you want to grow.