I've seen this kind of talk used to sell scams like Amway. See

https://www.amazon.com/Amway-Motivational-Organizations-Behi...

A definite bad smell.

You mean, talk like this?

> It’s only worth pursuing an independent career path if that’s something you really want, and even if it is, I’m not promising that it’ll make you rich. Probably the reverse. For all the billionaire startup founders we read about, I can introduce you to dozens of people who, as a result of starting their own business, are the poorest they’ve ever been.