1. Socrates – He was likely history’s first “self-help” writer. He taught people to seek ultimate truths by questioning conventional wisdom and examining their own beliefs. He said folks shouldn’t accept opinion as fact.

2. Sophocles – Another guy with no last name. He created plays that usually centered on a single heroic character who chose an unpopular course of action. This dramatist may have been the first “niche” marketer.