I have never been a fan of inspirational and motivational books. I believe life is practical. There is no 'do-it yourself manual' and it is demented to have someone live many flight hours away telling you how to live your life. I once tried reading Robin Sharma's The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari following the buzz after its release. To be honest, the only motivation I got was to go for a refund from a my book vendor.
My main reason for chewing bone with these so called 'life-fixers' is that they all revolve around more or less the same thing - bettering yourself, positive attitude and unlocking your inner self. They aim at generalizing life. I am of the view that everyone's situation is unique.
Perhaps I'm being a tad harsh, perhaps there are people who have turned their lives around after reading these books. If you get fired today, and a book tells you not to worry as everything happens for a reason, and six months later you get a job, a better boss and better colleagues, one of whom ends up being your spouse, then you will deck the halls with praises for the author.
"Oh, the book was right, Joel Osteen knew exactly what I was going through," you might say, after which you run to the shop to buy more books. In all honesty, it is not the book, it is all you and the choices you make. In reality, all the book does is state the obvious and convince you that you didn't know it. Most of us buy these books when we are stuck in a rut, when we are really emotionally vulnerable. It is this emotional vulnerability that the author exploits, and once you are hooked to the words of these 'life-gurus', you end up buying more books, DVDs, and colorful stickers.
It is my opinion that the only formula to life is living. You make mistakes, learn from them and grow wiser with every setting sun. Let no one deceive you that a book, written by one man with dollar signs on his eyes, can give you a crash-course in life.
I mostly agree with you. I feel many motivational books are very superficial and they're no substitute for experience. Most of them make me want to vomit - they're so saccarine sweet.
However what you call "exploiting someone's vulnerability" might be hand-holding and supportive for someone else. When someone's in a difficult & stressful situation, they may not see the straight-forward practical advice that you would be aware of.
Have you considered a career as a self-help author? Maybe with the straight-shooting gonzo style that you have here. It would be a great difference.