Actions DON'T Speak Louder Than Words?

"Do as I say, not as I do" is something we have ALL heard our parent say. Naturally, they want their kids to be better than themselves and achieve bigger things. So when my mom hounds me about college applications (though I have many already done) I don't think "Oh, she has never even been to college, all she has is a high school diploma''.  I think "Wow, she loves me SO much".
Is it okay when an author does this?
Not in a loving gesture to a close friend or family member, but in a philosophical set of rules for millions of readers? A small movement among libertarians?
Ayn Rand has written several books that contain objectivist principals, The Fountainhead being the focus in this post. Two of many tenets of Rand's Objectivism are that the purpose of one's life should be to pursue their OWN happiness- and tying in with that, laissez-faire capitalism is the only social/economic system that embodies these individual rights. This is shown in The Fountainhead through Roark, he could be a dictionary definition of selfishness. Even though he may have had his reasons, let's face it, he truly is only interested in his self. Society means nothing to him, opinions and criticisms mean nothing. He destroyed Corlandt homes, not to lash out at society, but to quell a pain within himself. Even when he fell in love with Dominique, he still wouldn't be with her till it was in his favor, he would not make any sacrifices for her.
Rand wrote these principals, expressed them in her book, but does not live by them. This is where do as I say, not as I do becomes hypocrisy. Who you love is considered an extension of yourself. The man she loved and married, Frank O' Conner, sacrificed his acting career, dealt with her affair with Nathaniel Branden, and invested himself in her interest. He did not pursue his own happiness, but hers. The extension of her being clashed with her own beliefs. Or were they even her beliefs? She, herself, defied Objectivism when diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Social Security and Medicare which are not present in a laissez-faire economy are acceptable. Even if she wasn't a hypocrite, it proves how weak her beliefs were. It she truly believed in Objectivism, the thought of death would not have made her sway.