People like Maxwell Maltz

Maxwell Maltz (March 10, 1899 – April 7, 1975) was an American cosmetic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics (1960), which was a system of ideas that he claimed could improve one's self-image leading to a more successful and fulfilling life. He wrote several books, among which Psycho-Cybernetics was a long-time bestseller — influencing many subsequent self-help teachers. His orientation towards a system of ideas that would provide self-help is considered the forerunner of the now popular self-help books.

Maxwell "Max" Maltz was born March 10, 1899, in Manhattan's Lower East Side, the third child of Josef Maltz and Taube Elzweig, both Jewish immigrants from what was then known as the town of Resche in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today Rzeszów, Poland).