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What GURUs are really selling you...

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Roli

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I used to fell for the boomer gold bugs guru community. Mike Maloney, Jim Sinclair..
Lol, you are describing a friend of mine.
Not producing value and hoping that the world burns in flames is not a good wealth strategy. Lesson learnt.
Haha, again, describing my friend.
There was a american dude with 200k followers in youtube back in 2013. Back then 200k was really a huge number. He sold his family business of car dealership and converted all into silver bars, with some for ammo and canned food. He literally went crazy and his marriage ended up in divorce. Never heard about him again.
Mmm, a cautionary tale which I shall retell to my friend!
 
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heavy_industry

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It’s to say it is a shame that actual truthful entrepreneurship is ignored in favor of bullshit “steps to success” programs.
Have you ever seen a guru preach from his library or boring desk, instead of dancing in front of a Ferrari?

Has any one of those clowns presented the real monotony and arduous process of building a large scale project?

The general population is not interested in any of that.

All they want to see is Event. Event. Event.

Dopamine! Fun!

Even the basic process of daily workflow has been glamorized and turned into an event, which is now called "the grind" (lol).

In the guru industry the packaging is 99% of the product.
You can sell literal dog shit, if your presentation is good enough. Rent some fast cars, dress in a suit, and make up a bullshit rags-to-riches story to be relatable to your audience.

I'm not a big fan of this industry (to put it mildly), because it's essentially a worthless scam hidden under the disgusting lie of "I want to help other people".

But there is one thing that gurus got 100% right, and we all have to learn this lesson: know your target audience.
 

Kevin88660

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Lol, you are describing a friend of mine.

Haha, again, describing my friend.

Mmm, a cautionary tale which I shall retell to my friend!
I could start a whole thread about this, “wasted” years indulging in zero-hedge style doomsday intellectual p0rn.

Every 1-2 month you are told about impending bank failure, comex running out of physical gold and China/Russia announcing to back their currency by gold.

Skills learnt including niche economics/finance subjects and iodine test/water weight test of bullion bars.

To be fair, the gurus in that community aren’t manipulative to sell courses, but rather got the believers into a cruise that sails to nowhere.
 
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Kevin88660

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Have you ever seen a guru preach from his library or boring desk, instead of dancing in front of a Ferrari?

Has any one of those clowns presented the real monotony and arduous process of building a large scale project?

The general population is not interested in any of that.

All they want to see is Event. Event. Event.

Dopamine! Fun!

Even the basic process of daily workflow has been glamorized and turned into an event, which is now called "the grind" (lol).

In the guru industry the packaging is 99% of the product.
You can sell literal dog shit, if your presentation is good enough. Rent some fast cars, dress in a suit, and make up a bullshit rags-to-riches story to be relatable to your audience.

I'm not a big fan of this industry (to put it mildly), because it's essentially a worthless scam hidden under the disgusting lie of "I want to help other people".

But there is one thing that gurus got 100% right, and we all have to learn this lesson: know your target audience.
Putting aside the morality, I doubt if that is even good business.

High customer acquisition cost with no recurring purchase and plenty of haters.

We only know those big names who made it.

Youtube and Google are probably laughing to the bank from the guru ads revenue.

There are decent business and entrepreneurship articles in Medium. And they do sell some forms of legitimate low cost personal productivity tools.
 
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N.S.

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I wish the truth made bank, but it doesn’t. My radio show has made approx negative $1500 in the last 12 months. :rofl:

Me- “Hey, try hard and work your a$$ off to build something scalable, I believe in you.”

The world- “where is that dropshipping course, maybe I should be a copywriter.”

Me- “I’m just going to record a show whenever I feel like it now.”

I don't listen to any other podcast. Just your radio show.
@Kak I just followed your show on Apple based on this and @Antifragile 's message. I'm seeking the truth and things that will actually help me, not short term dopamine. Looking forward to giving it a listen. Thanks.
 

Isaac Odongo

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TLDR; Gurus sell easy hustles like dropshipping that are trash opportunities selling trashy imported goods from China.

Meanwhile, if you sell those shitty courses to 1,000,000 fools who buy the BS, you make bank.

Nothing has changed in 40 years.

We have the Unscripted series with us, with principles that are sure and practical. If we have really understood these principles the gurus should be stinking with their information.

Don't take what they cook and serve, find out how the cook and serve. Find out why many fall victim to their traps. If you don't give a damn about ripping others, go ahead, use what they use, not what they say.

Come to the forum. Pay attention. Real serious attention. Read. There are people here who have posted great content.

Why should buy what a guru sells yet you can get something greater here?
 

Spenny

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I like the article but it has tinges of victim mentality in it which is gross. I think the real wake up for celebs not caring was the Travis Scott debuckle.

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3x6QXm63zBo


These guys will dance on your grave and not give a shit. People forget that they are there to entertain you & not be your friend. I can't blame them, parasocial relationships are a very real thing.

The best I advice I heard: observe them, see the techniques, study the techniques. Why are people watching this? How can I learn?
1679401934164.png
  • Appealing to FOMO - being a "1%er"
  • Wishful identification with audience - "I'm 23", flashy cars, handsome guy
  • Using money
  • Tutorial style - "How I'm going"
  • Appealing to big trends with large audiences - dropshipping, stupid monkey jpegs
  • Snappy & short writing "300k", "100k" "LITERALLY ANYONE CAN DO"
Overall I get the message is "I'll get you rich quick & easy". Superb marketing.
 
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Kevin88660

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I like the article but it has tinges of victim mentality in it which is gross. I think the real wake up for celebs not caring was the Travis Scott debuckle.

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3x6QXm63zBo


These guys will dance on your grave and not give a shit. People forget that they are there to entertain you & not be your friend. I can't blame them, parasocial relationships are a very real thing.

The best I advice I heard: observe them, see the techniques, study the techniques. Why are people watching this? How can I learn?
View attachment 47758
  • Appealing to FOMO - being a "1%er"
  • Wishful identification with audience - "I'm 23", flashy cars, handsome guy
  • Using money
  • Tutorial style - "How I'm going"
  • Appealing to big trends with large audiences - dropshipping, stupid monkey jpegs
  • Snappy & short writing "300k", "100k" "LITERALLY ANYONE CAN DO"
Overall I get the message is "I'll get you rich quick & easy". Superb marketing.
Youtube English speaking “money making” channel creators are most selling a personality rather than quality of the message.

If you come across as humble, likeable and not challenging other people’s ego, while showing some track record of success you are more likely to have a bigger audience. It is more of the “I am your good friend and coming here to help you” that kind of vibe.

Not every creator is like that but among those who have a big audience many are.
 

Nick Catricala

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TLDR; Gurus sell easy hustles like dropshipping that are trash opportunities selling trashy imported goods from China.

Meanwhile, if you sell those shitty courses to 1,000,000 fools who buy the BS, you make bank.

Nothing has changed in 40 years.

Thanks, MJ, after many many thousands of hours and dollars lost, I finally come to the same conclusion.. a little late, but I feel soo much better knowing that I know and I am no more in a weaker state to accept what they are selling.. thanks to you and other Fastlane members, I finally woke up.. THANKS a lot once again
 

SeeYouAtTheTop

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Many of these youtube gurus, especially the ones in their late teens to early/mid 20s, look very douchey.

Also good to see Alex Hormonzi on that guru list in the article. Always knew something was off with him. If one smells like a guru or talks like a guru, he IS a guru.


"Like their younger counterparts, these men often espouse deep mistrust of higher education and government, encouraging followers to devote their time and money to learn how to market themselves and their entrepreneurial ventures."

So basically most of this forum lol
Have to disagree here.

I've had the chance to work with Hormozi and can say he's actually really helpful. The guy is hardcore intense and quirky, but most wealthy people I know are like this.
 
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Kevin88660

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Have to disagree here.

I've had the chance to work with Hormozi and can say he's actually really helpful. The guy is hardcore intense and quirky, but most wealthy people I know are like this.
Saw his videos before. Pretty legit.
 

Saad Khan

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I wish the truth made bank, but it doesn’t. My radio show has made approx negative $1500 in the last 12 months. :rofl:

Me- “Hey, try hard and work your a$$ off to build something scalable, I believe in you.”

The world- “where is that dropshipping course, maybe I should be a copywriter.”

Me- “I’m just going to record a show whenever I feel like it now.”
I started listening to your podcasts 3 weeks ago and I'm hooked. Every morning at 6 am, I go out for a run and I listen to your podcasts.

Right now, I'm devouring the leadership and mindset series you recorded.
 

Kak

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I know a lot of wealthy people.

I don’t know a single one that says an expensive internet course helped them do it. Not one.

All of them have good books to recommend, and a few have podcasts they like.

Let that sink in.

There is no shortcut. There is no easy button. There is knowledge and grit, or there is lack of knowledge and grit.
 
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Vigilante

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I know a lot of wealthy people.

I don’t know a single one that says an expensive internet course helped them do it. Not one.

All of them have good books to recommend, and a few have podcasts they like.

Let that sink in.

There is no shortcut. There is no easy button. There is knowledge and grit, or there is lack of knowledge and grit.
Agreed.

I think you can buy yourself a job.

If you take a look at all of the Amazon guru courses, for example, that was a money making scheme for the instructors. For the tens of thousands of people that went through the training, only a few of them ever ended up wealthy, successful e-commerce business owners as a result.

The wealthy, successful, e-commerce business owners that I know from this forum like @biophase built their businesses, one brick at a time.

I’ve never met anybody that took a course on how to get Rich that got rich.

Do I think you can learn a skill with the class? Yes. I just took some classes. Will the classes make me rich? No. The application will but the classes will not.

If you sucked as an entrepreneur before the class, you will suck as the entrepreneur after the class.
 

WillHurtDontCare

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Also good to see Alex Hormonzi on that guru list in the article. Always knew something was off with him. If one smells like a guru or talks like a guru, he IS a guru.

He admitted that his goal with the content to make money. He said that it's a long term funnel to have companies come to him so that he can invest in them.

Nothing has changed in 40 years. in human history

Cavemen probably sold magic mammoth tusks (made from sticks & clay) that would give the user a village of beautiful women, meat, and berries. A book on the long history of scams would probably be interesting and hilarious.
 

DCG

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One general rule that I see if they are "gurus" is whether they say the hustle they are promoting is easy, because that means everyone will do it and you probably won't make much if any money. It is possible to get rich quick but it's never easy
 
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Black_Dragon43

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Luckily all you now need to market and sell this life now is an internet connection, cell phone to tape yourself and a few bucks to rent a huge mansion + several hot cars.
Two of my best friends are professional directors who work with influencers. Do you have any idea how expensive doing this is? It would cost you at least $30-40K to execute well… maybe more.

The truth is the most of the gurus do have money. Maybe they don’t have millions from say dropshipping or bitcoin or whatever. But they still made solid money, >$300K/year profits. And the retards who buy their courses (not an insult, since everyone is a retard when they first do something, including I), would LOVE to make even that >$300K/yr.

truthful entrepreneurship is ignored in favor of bullshit “steps to success” programs
Or maybe it’s because people are sick and tired of “get a job” or “slave away to get an education”. They want to make money, and they want to make money today.

The bottom line is that any path is hard. It will be hard to become a world class brain surgeon who makes $300K+/yr. And it will be hard to become a world class copywriter who makes $300K/yr or start an ecom biz that brings you $300K/yr.

And in ALL those cases, 99% of people who try will fail, because they’re stupid and lazy.

The difference is that it takes 10+ years to become a brain surgeon, while you could be a world class copywriter in 2 years by locking yourself in your house and not going out or meeting your friends for those 2 years. And at the end of that time period be making $300K/yr.

And the reason it takes 10+ years to become a brain surgeon is because you have to slave away under grandpas who barely know what they’re doing, but they got there before you, and they’ll make sure you’re not going to compete with them anytime soon, regardless of how good you are.

Most of the traditional industries and businesses are the same. Old farts hold all the power and they won’t let you get rich and take their money away. Associations, laws, etc. Lots of ways to do it.

As I said, most people ain’t gonna do it. Because they’re lazy, stupid and like sheep. If you’re lazy, stupid and like sheep, following a “traditional” path is a safer bet for ya. The odds, as @Antifragile would say, are better.

@eTox bought one of my ecom courses, took the knowledge, found great products, and broke $1.5M+ in sales last year by dropshipping. The money is there. Another buddy of mine took the course, and crushed $1M+ in sales, 20% profit margin, sold the biz to a retard for $300K. All in 1 year! For most people here having $500K cash in the bank would be beyond their wildest dreams…

You can make money fast. But you gotta stop listening to people who tell you to think big, when thinking big for them means getting anjob or investing in your education for years. That’s not thinking big. That is having a slave’s mind, and playing the (safe) odds.
 
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DCG

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Two of my best friends are professional directors who work with influencers. Do you have any idea how expensive doing this is? It would cost you at least $30-40K to execute well… maybe more.

The truth is the most of the gurus do have money. Maybe they don’t have millions from say dropshipping or bitcoin or whatever. But they still made solid money, >$300K/year profits. And the retards who buy their courses (not an insult, since everyone is a retard when they first do something, including I), would LOVE to make even that >$300K/yr.


Or maybe it’s because people are sick and tired of “get a job” or “slave away to get an education”. They want to make money, and they want to make money today.

The bottom line is that any path is hard. It will be hard to become a world class brain surgeon who makes $300K+/yr. And it will be hard to become a world class copywriter who makes $300K/yr or start an ecom biz that brings you $300K/yr.

And in ALL those cases, 99% of people who try will fail, because they’re stupid and lazy.

The difference is that it takes 10+ years to become a brain surgeon, while you could be a world class copywriter in 2 years by locking yourself in your house and not going out or meeting your friends for those 2 years. And at the end of that time period be making $300K/yr.

And the reason it takes 10+ years to become a brain surgeon is because you have to slave away under grandpas who barely know what they’re doing, but they got there before you, and they’ll make sure you’re not going to compete with them anytime soon, regardless of how good you are.

Most of the traditional industries and businesses are the same. Old farts hold all the power and they won’t let you get rich and take their money away. Associations, laws, etc. Lots of ways to do it.

As I said, most people ain’t gonna do it. Because they’re lazy, stupid and like sheep. If you’re lazy, stupid and like sheep, following a “traditional” path is a safer bet for ya. The odds, as @Antifragile would say, are better.

@eTox bought one of my ecom courses, took the knowledge, found great products, and broke $1.5M+ in sales last year by dropshipping. The money is there. Another buddy of mine took the course, and crushed $1M+ in sales, 20% profit margin, sold the biz to a retard for $300K. All in 1 year! For most people here having $500K cash in the bank would be beyond their wildest dreams…

You can make money fast. But you gotta stop listening to people who tell you to think big, when thinking big for them means getting anjob or investing in your education for years. That’s not thinking big. That is having a slave’s mind, and playing the (safe) odds.
Gurus are kind of like the fake natties of the financial world
 

ZackerySprague

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IMO there's nothing wrong with paying for courses.

The problem is when you are paying for the transformation that the guru is promising...

And thinking that it's EASY to get there.

If you are just paying to learn a skill or get coaching from someone that is legit, then courses/coaching can be such a high ROI thing. You just need to have a high enough BS meter to determine if the person has good intentions.

And enough life experience to know that it takes a lot of persistence to get to the results the top students get.

@Fox is a great example. Sells a really solid course that is super worth it IMO. I have got a lot from it.

But if you go into it expecting that it is easy to make a lot of money, you are dumb.

I mean - for christs sake, people spend $997 on a course and expect to make $10k a month, without a shit tonne of effort.

Yet people spend 10's of thousands on a degree, years of their life, and know they aren't guaranteed a lot of $$$.

lol.
I didn't mean to come across as very biased. From past experience, I just became very skeptical about courses. I had a bad experience from a guy called Jaime Higuera.

He has a YouTube channel where he promotes how to create an "Ecommerce Agency", but truth be told he wasn't actually running a legitmate Ecommerce Agency one's you can find now days like AdKings.

I hired a Web Designer, who's a really cool dude and friend of mine that I don't speak much to at the time when I purchased a course from Jaime. The Web Designer stated that he was still in the process of re-vamping his website (Jaime's in this case). I became skeptical when you saw him post his earnings. It was very sproadic, but it wasn't until students of his actually came to me asking how much they paid him to get into the course.

I guess their's marketing techniques out there where you could try to see if a person would spend an entire paycheck (In which case I did) just to get into their program. I paid $2,500, other students reported giving him more or less.

All the techniques were the same, but no practical examples. But eventually the community started to take notice of what he was doing (selling courses and not actually having a real ecommerce agency in this case) and even some teachers that worked with him in the past such as Tal didn't like his behavior and left. It was very detailed and well-thought out. I guess the main concern for community was just the sheer fact for the amount they were spending and how it wasn't consistent. This was the feedback I received during that time.

But I don't let this experience stop me from buy courses. I now just don't spend more give or take $500 on a course now. I just make sure they are actively or have practiced what they teach otherwise, I move on or no longer learn from their course.

I'm just a believer of giving out free value. I wouldn't want someone to pay me for what I know, I'd rather give it out for free. Give them advice on something that maybe I can help them out with, thus creating better relationships with people.

One good example of this was helping my friend go from being a Costco Baker to his very first ever Remote IT Help Desk job. He took my advice and went with it and boy am I so proud of him haha jumped for joy when he told me he got the job. Practically screamed into the phone. Tried to get him to learn TMF , but he wasn't interested. Not that I am and advocate for jobs, he wanted to learn how I got currently one, so I just old him what I knew.

I don't want to feel responsible for a student's failure to achieve a desired result if they paid for a course in the thousands to me, instead I'd probably just make a really long YouTube video and give the information out for free would be the best value I could create for an audience or market segment.
 
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BizyDad

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Have you ever seen a guru preach from his library or boring desk, instead of dancing in front of a Ferrari?

Yeah. I mean...

View: https://youtu.be/Cv1RJTHf5fk


Isn't that kinda this whole script? :rofl:

I don’t know a single one that says an expensive internet course helped them do it. Not one.
I’ve never met anybody that took a course on how to get Rich that got rich.

Really? I mean law of averages. Y'all don't know anybody that went to a Rich Dad course? A Tony Robbins course?

I know at least three people that are worth well into eight figures that did at least one course back in the day. In their early twenties. When they were still trying to figure things out.

Does someone like @GuitarManDan count cause he went through @Fox 's school. Okay, he might not be rich *yet*, but he's on his way. Please don't tell me Fox ain't a guru.

I'll put it like this. I asked the first guy I ever knew that legit spent a lot of money on courses and then ultimately went on to "make it" if it was worth it. He told me...

"Bro, 10k courses or big dollar masterminds are like anything else in life. You are going to get out of it what you put into it.

Most people don't put in the work, so it doesn't matter if they're buying a big dollar course, or borrowing a book from the library. Winners are going to win. Losers are going to lose."

Edit: Here's some marketing help @Kak

7fdef5-overlay.jpg.png
 
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G

Guest-5ty5s4

Guest
Yeah. I mean...

View: https://youtu.be/Cv1RJTHf5fk


Isn't that kinda this whole script? :rofl:




Really? I mean law of averages. Y'all don't know anybody that went to a Rich Dad course? A Tony Robbins course?

I know at least three people that are worth well into eight figures that did at least one course back in the day. In their early twenties. When they were still trying to figure things out.

Does someone like @GuitarManDan count cause he went through @Fox 's school. Okay, he might not be rich *yet*, but he's on his way. Please don't tell me Fox ain't a guru.

I'll put it like this. I asked the first guy I ever knew that legit spent a lot of money on courses and then ultimately went on to "make it" if it was worth it. He told me...

"Bro, 10k courses or big dollar masterminds are like anything else in life. You are going to get out of it what you put into it.

Most people don't put in the work, so it doesn't matter if they're buying a big dollar course, or borrowing a book from the library. Winners are going to win. Losers are going to lose."

Edit: Here's some marketing help @Kak

View attachment 47807
I agree that winners are going to win no matter the course or content they consume. That’s why I think they should keep their money and put it towards their business or investments rather than an overpriced, POS course or seminar ;) or get one that’s a good value.

Some of those courses are absolutely ludicrously expensive. I mean eye wateringly overpriced. The sellers have to be in the back rooms making fun of the buyers. I would not be able to stomach it.
 

Kak

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Really? I mean law of averages. Y'all don't know anybody that went to a Rich Dad course? A Tony Robbins course?
You’re slightly strawing here. I said I don’t know a single wealthy individual who attributes their success to a course.

MJ mentioned going to walk on coals in one of his books, and I know MJ, but… If I recall correctly, he ultimately decided it was stupid and useless. Maybe this wasn’t MJ.

Heck, I bought the Grant Cardone sales course years ago. It was like an OK book I’ll never read again for 20x the money.

I may know some people who have attended something or bought something, but I don’t know anyone that had the life changing, pivotal, moment of clarity that snowballs into whatever the guru promises.

And, if there was such a program… It would be absolutely everywhere in short order, and worth every penny, but there isn’t.

My point remains despite your nitpick. I can get any one of these wealthy people to go on and on about various books that have been helpful along the way, I too have them to recommend. I have never, in my life, had a wealthy person recommend a course, program or seminar, unless they were the one selling it.

And please don’t drag @Fox into this again, this isn’t about him. It’s about people with the shortcut mindset that want their hand held, and embrace the fictitious notion that they can turn the art of business into a methodical process.

@MJ DeMarco if the coals story really was you, do you mind sharing if you would do it over again? Would give up everything you learned there for the inflation adjusted price of a Tony Robbins event?
:rofl:
 
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Last edited:

BizyDad

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I agree that winners are going to win no matter the course or content they consume. That’s why I think they should keep their money and put it towards their business or investments rather than an overpriced, POS course or seminar ;) or get one that’s a good value.

Some of those courses are absolutely ludicrously expensive. I mean eye wateringly overpriced. The sellers have to be in the back rooms making fun of the buyers. I would not be able to stomach it.

Ask yourself who pays for that level of course.

Then ask yourself who pays to go to the next level that that course is selling.

You know, some of them sell an even bigger package after that.

Now ask yourself if you want to be in a room with people who can pay that kind of elite price to improve themselves.

What could you do if you had that kind of opportunity in front of you? :bulb:

If you don't have a good answer, then keep your money in your pocket.

But maybe you should be...

THINKING BIGGER. :rofl:

Hey man, I wouldn't pay for the course either. I treat that stuff like Red Bull. I never have, I never will.

You’re slightly strawing here. I said I don’t know a single wealthy individual who attributes their success to a course.

MJ mentioned going to walk on coals in one of his books, and I know MJ, but… If I recall correctly, he ultimately decided it was stupid and useless. Maybe this wasn’t MJ.

Heck, I bought the Grant Cardone sales course years ago. It was like an OK book I’ll never read again for 20x the money.

I may know some people who have attended something or bought something, but I don’t know anyone that had the life changing, pivotal, moment of clarity that snowballs into whatever the guru promises.

And, if there was such a program… It would be absolutely everywhere in short order, and worth every penny, but there isn’t.

My point remains despite your nitpick. I can get any one of these wealthy people to go on and on about various books that have been helpful along the way, I too have them to recommend. I have never, in my life, had a wealthy person recommend a course, program or seminar, unless they were the one selling it.

And please don’t drag @Fox into this again, this isn’t about him.

Fair enough. I was lumping your and Vigilante's comment together.

And to be clear, I think there's such a thing as a "good guru". I don't think most gurus fall in this category, but I believe @Fox does. Dude's got a guru sounding book title, a YouTube channel, a Facebook group, and he's selling a course. If it walks like a guru and talks like a guru...

My point is his course is helping people achieve success. That's not "dragging" anybody. That's a proof of concept.

And there's people on this forum who are going to and already do directly attribute the Fox School for their success.

And you know them.

So it does happen... But in the grand scheme of things it's rare.

But why you no like my meme endorsement bro? I'm putting my 333 power score on the line to grow the Kill Bigger Radio Show. ;) People, go listen to this dude.
 
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Xeon

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So how many people here have bought a Bugatti as a direct result of consuming Hormonzi, Becker, Hamza, Iman and Vaynerchuck's content, or well on your way to? One thing is for sure : these guys are on their way to buying their 4th custom-built supercar while living Dan Bilzerian's lifestyle all thanks to you.
 

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Screenshot 2023-03-22 at 05.58.13.png
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Screenshot 2023-03-22 at 06.24.33.png
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Damn Buffet got scammed with that $1k speaking course.

Poor fella has been thinking for 60+ years that the skills you can pick up from a course can be useful.


---

In all seriousness, courses are just another form of information.

If you have a problem with courses, but not books, podcasts, forum posts etc - then that doesn't add up.
Either information is valuable or it isn't. Going after the medium makes no sense.

Plus the video course format is the best approach for some topics. Good luck trying to learn any of the following from a book: video editing, new design tools, audio skills, social media platforms that change by the day, sales tonality.

When done right a video course can show + tell = a lot more effective for teaching.

Here is a good take on courses from Alex Hormozi...


He puts courses right where they should be - valuable, but not some life saving purchase that does all the work for you.

To put this in action, I have applied for a $4,000 course (well cohort) from Paddy Galloway.

Who is that? The #1 Youtube strategist guy who has worked with Mr Beast, RedBull and many top creators.

He has been a big part of them getting millions of views a day on organic content.

So... is this a scam or a waste of money? Obviously not, but it wouldn't be worth it for many people to take this.
They just aren't going to get a ROI and they would have been better off just applying some free content first.

---

If people can't see that yes some courses are bad, but also some other courses can be good - then that is only on them. It would take a very strong bias to ignore 1000s of solid course creators making valuable affordable content.

And the same logic applies to all the "guru" products... let's say a mastermind.

Would a 20k a year country club membership be a scam?
No, for a lot of people it makes sense.

Then apply that same same logic to an online (or in person) mastermind for entrepreneurs.
Or are people only allowed to network and make connections if they are playing golf?

----

Once again... the problem is shady people, not courses.

Scam artists also exist in property, finance, health, e-commerce, shipping, politics and every other industry out there.

But I will admit courses and masterminds etc do attract quite a few of them ha.

Anyway it not like this topic hasn't been covered before and the same points made.
 
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Fox

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And just to throw this in here, to show life on the other side of the fence...

Screenshot 2023-03-22 at 05.47.11.png

This is day in and day out of running a legit course.

- You give people who aren't ready yet lots of free advice.
- You tell people who are not suitable that they don't need this course (like above).
- And you look for the few right people who you can actually help.

But then, once the right people join, they do actually have to show up and do some work.
These are just skills, which only work if people use them and stick with them long enough to get results.

And it is actually a pretty fun business and when you run it right, it's cool to help a lot of people in some small way.
 

Andy Black

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I dunno. I'm only half-heartedly skimming this thread. I think we've argued courses to death. I just find it sad so many automatically judge people because they have a course, book, podcast, or whatever.

I find it odd that teaching a man to fish is noble but the teacher is looked down on.

"Those who can't do, teach". Come again? Have you tried teaching, creating a course, or running a community? That's *hard* work. I find doing much easier than teaching. Teaching business especially involves untangling people, and as my gran used to say: "There's nowt stranger than folks."

Anyway... just my 2c.
 

heavy_industry

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Every single time I took a high-quality course, my life improved and revenue went up.

Courses + books + university lectures posted on Youtube are everything you need to get a world-class education in anything.

The problem with financial gurus is not that they are selling courses, because that's not what they are doing.

The business model of gurus is not selling educational products. They are selling you a dream. A fake promise. A scam.

The "course" is just used as a means for justifying a transaction, and transfer the money from you to them.
 
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I have applied for a $4,000 course (well cohort) from Paddy Galloway.
Ooo. Nice! Bet your YouTube channel grows because of it. The best bit is *you* will grow because of it.

I've not bought any courses in years but spent thousands on various Google Ads, project management, IT, and knowledge management courses. Most in person, some online.
 

Andy Black

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I wouldn't want someone to pay me for what I know, I'd rather give it out for free.
If you got paid you could build a business around it and serve more people and serve them better.

I had a little paid Google Ads community before I joined this forum. I didn't enjoy running it and much preferred doing the work and writing the odd article.

40+ *free* articles later and people in this forum were asking for a paid course. Why? Because they wanted to get a campaign running quicker than the 18 hours someone said it took them to go through my free content.

Should I make that course free, or should I charge for it so I can at least pay for the software that hosts the course?

Ideally I earn enough per customer to run ads and get the course in front of even more people. (I had a wee go but didn't try too hard as growing a Google Ads membership isn't on my business bucket list.)

IMO, making something free could mean you're doing people a disservice because you can't help them as well and at scale.
 

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