The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

How deep does this "FAKE GURU" market actually go?

ALC

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
99%
Jul 19, 2017
506
502
27
France
The Fake Guru market is getting much bigger each months, unfortunately.

But you have to be able to make the difference between someone who's selling his knowledge (and expertise) or fake content.

I've bought 3 courses this year because i wanted to expand my knowledge and i don't regret it because i've found anything i wanted in these 3 courses.

Selling a course when your master your craft is just a matter of making sure you got an other solid income source.
And in itself, is a good one because your margin is way higher than anything else on the market.

If one day i'm in a position to sell a specific knowledge because people are asking me to, i will without a doubt, if time and situation allows it without being time consuming.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
Hey All,

Just a bit of a rant/curious what peoples opinions are. How do you all gauge business courses, business gurus/personalities online, advice, etc? Who do you like, and what do you like about them? Or do you avoid the whole online business guru/advice/courses market all together?

I know MJ had a section on this but I've noticed how difficult it is to tell if people are legit. IE: I looked up to guys like Daymond John and watched all his interviews, but then I noticed he's licensing out his name to do online webinars on "making money" in my city. I was just watching Shark Tank and he was blatant doing product placement for a phone. Why would someone so successful bother? Same with Grant Cardone - seemed legit at first but why are these guys charging $4000 for seminars on sales? You don't seem to ever see guys like Mark Cuban or Elon Musk selling courses or doing product placement for an extra buck.

Is the internet an unreliable place to find these podcasts,courses,advice, etc? All one big upsell?
Great topic, and I've read tons of gurus' books and bought WAY too many courses. Whoever said wantrapreneurs are the easiest market to sell to is so right, and I'm an example. But I'm also a student of marketing, and I've learned a lot from the gurus. We can debate their integrity and the value they deliver, but many of these guys know their sh*t as far as marketing goes. I think the gurus and bro-marketers have chosen to be the guys selling picks and shovels to the gold-seeking prospectors, and it's a tried and true approach. Yeah, there's a ton of crap, "pay to play" access stuff and recycled drivel, but it's not all bad. Whether it's Tony Robbins selling recorded interviews with Frank Kern, Ryan Deiss, Eben Pagan, etc., Russell Brunson upselling to his Funnel Hacker live event, or Richard Branson hosting Joe Polish and his Genius network members at Necker Island for a hefty fee, as a student of marketing it's all interesting and and informative thing to study. I think it becomes problematic when the lines between what's authentic and what's bs bro-ish are blurred in the buyer's mind, so I try to ferret out what's valuable to me. My thought is if I can learn something from them and use those powers for good and not evil, I will. I just try to stay mindful.

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee."
 
Last edited:

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
"I'm a millionaire, just buy my course". Hmmm sounds legit.

I bought a few courses in my earlier days. I wouldn't recommend buying 95% of the courses out there. Why? Because they don't usually teach you how to offer anything proprietary. Something UNIQUE. The Purple Cow.

I'm sure you know how it's super trendy right now to be starting up your own Social Media Marketing Agency(Thanks Tai Lopez!). Literally EVERY DAY I get some inexperienced guy calling my biz with the same pitch probably given to them by a guru...

"Just to prove my worth I'll run FB ads for you without charging any fees for now, you just pay the ad spend". EVERY DAY I get these calls and I hate it. I admire and respect the hustle, but there's no unique selling proposition there.

Build a biz that offers something proprietary so you don't have 1,000 other people giving the exact same pitch. You'll have less competition(especially at the higher end) and will be able to command a higher price.
Spot on! Still chasing the proprietary pot o' gold here!
 

TreyAllDay

Whatever it takes
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Feb 9, 2016
560
1,743
33
Edmonton, AB
Can you imagine Jeff Bezos having a paid mastermind group or running Facebook ads

This is EXACTLY what I mean

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

TinyOldLady

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
214%
Oct 27, 2017
169
362
Germany
(Google "5 Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferriss" by Penelope Trunk if you care to learn more).
:arghh: I wish I didn't google this and never heard of PT (who is apparently a pseudo guru too). Judging by her blog posts she needs help :inpain:. Also this post about TF reads like she is upset that he didn't call her after "the coffee" or is just envious.
 

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
I think he's nailed it.

It's been reinforced for me by other folk's observation and my own experience.

One of the models that folks espouse is teach'em what to do, maybe not HOW to do it, but even if the how is taught, you can still sell them the EASIER way to do it on the back end (this includes DONE FOR YOU or some sorta SAAS tool, perhaps).

It's an old take on moving the freeline.

Do what you must, but realize, MOST of the stuff out there is repositioned, repolished, rehashed stuff that isn't new, per se, but is new to you, maybe.
"Moving the free line." That was Frank Kern, right? Or Eben Pagan?
 

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
I think the cause and effect is the other way around though.

There's a large demand for all that stuff. So many directionless people. So many crowd-followers. It's a ripe market. These guys are a creation, not a cause.

It's an age old case of selling shovels.
First you get on the bandwagon early enough that you can make good money with it.
Then people start to hear about the bandwagon and pile on.
At that point it's not worth being on the bandwagon. But you now know the bandwagon trade inside out. So you sell to the pilers-on instead of being one of them.

The best reason to avoid copywriting (and social media marketing etc) is that you decided to do it because people on the internet said it's a good way to make money. By the time that happens, you're just catching a ripple -- the pebble dropped 10 years ago.

But no one teaches this rule. Which is why for instance people will get aggressive when you call crypto a pure bandwagon, or still be dreaming up "killer apps" in 2018 despite current average app store downloads of zero, or be starting an affiliate marketing blog. They want to run on faith and the comfortable certainty of doing what other people claim works. And so they buy shovels, which the rich guys sell to them.

Instead: better to pay attention to the process behind how they got rich. How they got the front-line trend information. The fundamental differences in how they behaved. That's their real value.
Excellent observation. To paraphrase the Great Gretzky, "Skate where the puck is going, not to where it is."
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
Fake gurus are one problem, and the general low-quality of online content is another.

You look for information how to start a business, you get an article written by a freelance writer who "researched" the topic and wrote an article based on somebody else's article based on somebody else's article. You surely know a lot about business just because you wrote fifty listicles for business websites (this applies to big publications like Forbes, too).

You look for nutritional advice, you get regurgitated advice from freelance writers who did their "research" by googling other similar articles. I feel like throwing up when reading another BS article with the same fitness myths that were debunked three decades ago.

You look for advice on how to invest, you get advice from a guy who's a finance freelance writer - not an investor. Yeah, tell me how to invest money in the stock market while you don't even have a brokerage account.

Quora is a perfect example of this, too. People posting there aren't freelance writers, but their articles are written in the same way - based on something they learned by googling it. But I guess that people feel good reading something they already know about - it makes them feel smart and is comfortable (like listening to a song you've already heard hundreds of times before).

I find it harder and harder to find solid how-to content written by an expert. More and more often, articles are outsourced to freelance writers who don't grasp even the basic fundamentals. But they're good at copying and pasting (while making sure that they use different words) and their rates are affordable, so it's all good, right?

I'm curious: when was the last time you read a truly original piece of content? I feel like at least 80-90% of stuff I'm reading nowadays is something I've already read before.
We're drowning in information and starving for wisdom. "57 channels and nothing on" - The Boss
 

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
Hahaha how about every one of them?

Wholesaling real estate might be the biggest guru scam of them all. Wholesaling is something that can very well make people a lot of money. But those people are people with DEEP industry knowledge and YEARS of experience in a very specific market. They must also have a Rolodex stuffed with so many contacts that it is the size of a car tire.

That is one thing I also write off immediately. I don't know of anyone online claiming to be a wholesaler that ever actually made any money, and when they claim to be a wholesaler you can assume they aren't. Everyone on bigger pockets claims to be one. It is like the entrepreneur guru scam, where now everyone you meet is a "social media marketer/affiliate marker".

The only wholesaler I ever met that made money was someone I met through a family member of mine, this family member actually is a successful real estate entrepreneur. The wholesaler he used had worked for decades in the commercial real estate market in southern GA/northern FL markets. He worked at a REPE firm and after he quit he had more contacts than he knew what to do with. It was very little work for him to have deals come across his inbox that he could easily get and sell to others. He wasn't do it to raise money, he was doing it because it was very easy work in retirement because of his experience and network.

The whole mini-industry around wholesaling courses is an oxymoron. It is all about "investing in real estate with no money down!" That is how it is pitched. Investing with no money is an oxymoron. "Investing by wholesaling" is an oxymoron. Investing is putting your money into an asset that you now own that makes money so your money works for you. If you aren't investing any money, and don't own anything, and are constantly hustling to find deals to sell, you haven't invested at all.

Wholesaling is like Real Estate Investing as a career. It can't be your first career, you must have built up knowledge and a network for wholesaling. And REI requires money, so you can't start your career in investing with no money to invest.
Care to name names?
 

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
The gurus aren't in the business of doing what they're selling. They're in the marketing business, and damn good at it. And BTW the guru's don't give a f#@k what any of us think. They're probably not on forums slagging off others, they're too busy creating the next product for the market place. Tony Robbins is not qualified at anything, he just says "I have a PhD in success. Of the people who go to a Tony Robbins event, only 4% follow through on what he teaches. So, whose fault is that? Also 4% success in any area of life is typical, because everyone wants the result without the effort. Those who go to a Tony Robbins event are usually considered quite successful in their own business, so everyone's gullible to something. Besides, people don't go to learn, (they think they do), they go for the bragging rights to tell everyone the went to a Tony Robbins event, and maybe some networking.

Shiny object syndrome will never change. Like the head of EST said, "Everyone's walking around with their umbilical cord in their hand, looking for somewhere to plug it in.
If people want to blame someone for spending money with these guys, look in the mirror. That's the person who decided to buy. The biggest reason people don't get results, is not the product, it's their lack of implementation. Don't forget, there is usually a money back guarantee with what they sell. So; you've got 3 choices, 1. Implement what they sell you. 2. Ask for your money back. 3. Shut the f@#k up and learn the lesson.

The gurus, work their asses off to put together what they're selling (common sense), like a well oiled machine. Take a lesson from them, copy the process, rinse and repeat.
Be accountable for your own choices.

"BECOME the Wizard, and BEWARE of the Wizards".
Amen! Werner Erhard of EST, right?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

biophase

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
474%
Jul 25, 2007
9,121
43,261
Scottsdale, AZ
I'd like to add my own experience and thoughts about Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferriss.

Ramit Sethi:

I found Ramit through Ferriss some point in late 2013 and signed up to his newsletter back then. Bought his $2000 course Zero to Launch back when it first came out in April 2014 and used it to launch a course that has since made me about $120,000 (over 4 years mind you). Later I also bought his Call to Action course on copy writing and another one on "Mental Mastery".

His material has provided me with a ton of value, but I still unsubscribed from his list earlier this year because:

  • He was selling/pushing a new course almost every month, which in itself isn't bad, but the new courses were on topics already covered by previous courses. Why do I need a course on creating sales pages when that's already part of the Call to Action course?
  • The last course I bought was Mental Mastery ... $297 for about a dozen short videos that had nothing but common sense advice (I asked for and received a refund for this). His advice for mental issues were things such as:
    - Topic: "From Lazy to Driven: The Secret to Hard Work..." Solution: Just do hard work. Make working hard a challenge.
    - Topic: "Effortless Discipline" Solution: Imagine how you'd act if you already had
    discipline
    - Topic: "How to be more confident" Solution: Pretend to be someone more confident
    Other course participants were swooning about how oh so awesome and life-changing the course was to them.
  • His ever increasing list of courses made me question whether he's really someone to listen to on that topic (he has courses on Fitness and eating for example) or whether he just keeps pushing out courses to maximize profit
  • Many of the testimonials he uses to sell his courses are from people that have either already had a successful business before or a successful career. Those were the folks making 5-figures or more per month. They certainly didn't start from Zero.
And the final reason is something that was mentioned throughout the guru-thread by Lex: Ramit owes his success to his book fame, but he makes it seem like anyone buying his courses can get the same results without a NYT best seller and industry connections (to people like Tim Ferriss). Ramit's first big course launch was after his book had brought him (inter)national attention so if he were to genuinely teach people how to copy his success he'd do courses on how to game the best seller lists.

The main benefit I received from taking his courses was the major push in having to take my business seriously after spending so much on the Zero to Launch course (I have yet to find unbiased reviews of it online).

Someone that has already gone through their FTE à la UNSCRIPTED will already have more than enough motivation and can get the same information I paid $3000 for either in books for less than $300 or maybe even for free in this forum somewhere.

Tim Ferriss:

I read 4HWW way back in 2009 and to put it in MJ's terms, it planted a virus that slowly began eating away at the SCRIPTED mentality. I still think it's a useful book, but the shortcut-mentality did hold me back for many of the years that followed.

I later learned that Tim seems to have used a whole bunch of shady/manipulative tricks to market his book before launch (Google "5 Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferriss" by Penelope Trunk if you care to learn more). Integrity is very high on my value list, which is why reading about this behind the scenes f*ckery was disappointing. In summary:

  • Tim made his first money selling useless supplements to unsuspecting students and later athletes (to the tune of 30k / month) ... again, integrity?
  • Tim researched the heck out of needs/wants/burning pains the 9-5 crowd had and came up with a book idea, then did travelling and a whole bunch of (questionable/unsubstantiated) stunts like kickboxing champion and tango champion to show how awesome this muse-idea can be
  • Tim then promoted the heck out of his book using questionable methods. Knowing this guy it's probably no exaggeration to say he nearly killed himself with the effort put into the promotion.
  • Now he's set up for life.
I ultimately stopped listing to his podcasts because it became intellectual entertainment. I wanted to focus more on action and less on consumption. His frequent name-dropping ("My good friend [insert famous person here] always says that ...") as a means to borrow prestige also became annoying.

If there are any questions about either of the two or the courses I mentioned, let me know.

Does Tim Ferriss sell business courses?
 

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA

TreyAllDay

Whatever it takes
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Feb 9, 2016
560
1,743
33
Edmonton, AB
This is what I mean - not sure how to explain why a billionaire is doing these courses.

dj.png
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DrunkFish

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
151%
Mar 25, 2015
182
275
29
Missouri
Spot on! Still chasing the proprietary pot o' gold here!
What would you offer that is unique for a Fb Ad service? Typically its worth it because you add a source of new revenue for your business, so it's a no brainer as long as it performs, what would the USP be for that? We make a video for you instead of a dumb stock photo, for example?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
What would you offer that is unique for a Fb Ad service? Typically its worth it because you add a source of new revenue for your business, so it's a no brainer as long as it performs, what would the USP be for that? We make a video for you instead of a dumb stock photo, for example?
This is what I mean - not sure how to explain why a billionaire is doing these courses.

dj.png
He certainly doesn't need the money - none of the sharks do. Yet, there they are on Shark Tank. And they've all written books, they give endorsements, speeches, etc. In fact, Barbara Corchran did a commercial with a local Realtor in my town, and she did a recorded endorsement of real estate guru Cody Sperber that he uses to hawk his wares (and I'm really curious to know what they paid). I think the sharks know the show won't last forever and they're trying to build and diversify their respective brands. I also think that relatively few moguls have the talent and desire to create their own cult of personality. Those who do become very visible, but they are few. Daymond may just be milking it, or he may actually deliver some value, but in the end he is the real deal.

The whole fake guru path is different. They have learned that they can flip the success celebrity model on its head by using social media to create an image first, then make money off the pseudo-credibility that image conveys. In short, they focus on the packaging, not the product.

Unfortunately, the democratization of information has made this way too easy. Andy Warhol was a prescient man, indeed!

This would segue into the larger problem of media manipulation, fake news and the political morass in which we find ourselves, but that's for another day. However, I would highly recommend "Trust Me, I'm Lying," by Ryan Holiday, for anyone interested in going deeper into this sh*t.
 
Last edited:

NuclearPuma

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
222%
May 3, 2015
192
426
I noticed something very interesting lately. Alot of books that I have read in business and in sales by popular authors they ALL say something in the book like "Make sure you keep learning, read books, go to seminars, listen to audiobooks", then 2 pages later they mention their course/seminar! Which is over $1000 they will teach you sh*t that you could learn for free. They are trying to take advantage over ignorant people in my opinion. I think a good idea is to read what they teach then just Google it, there is no need to pay $5000 for a course.

I just finished skimming through this thread and want to share my own experience regarding the above. This is a long post but I feel relavent.

Here is my own story excitement then dread; of finding a true gem of information that filled a gap in the market, followed by dread that the author was positioning to become a course selling get rich change your life guru:

So I have sort of a hobby interest in behavioral psychology and have read over a dozen books related to psychology across willpower, habits, marketing, persuasion, mindset, and even some that toe the line between real science, and self help pseudoscience.

But what I look for is actual research and study based scientific data and behavioral studies.

So, after all this reading, I kind of had developed my own thesis on real behavioral influence or behavior change that I hadn't seen any book out there that really emphasized it. It was like any underlying unstated theme in many books however.

I felt there was a gap in the existing published books that could layout my thesis and really be helpful to people. I've even Day dreamed about writing it myself and maintaining a related blog. This is important to my story and experience.

So then I'm listening to another related audiobook I picked up and early into the book I realized this was the book. This was it! This was book that tied together all of the others and was focused on that unstated underlying theme I touched on above. I was really excited thinking wow this was the book that needed to be written. What was missing was that few books focused on how strongly we are influenced by our environment and external factors though they all touch on it, few have it the proper focus, I think environment deserves a lot more focus and attention for behavioral change and improving habits than was out there.

And finally I found the book that touched on this and made this the primary focus of the book. And the author was a PhD psychologist so I get validated in my theory since now this PhD psychologist is basically wrote the book I get needed to be written.

And so I'm listening happily to the audiobook thinking in my head "yes, exactly!" Many times to the author's premises and suggestions.

But then he started to talk about his personal story and that's when dread kicked in.
I'm like "Whoa, what??".... "wait your in a 'mastermind' group??"

"Wait, you paid $25,000 to join this mastermind group that kicks you out of you don't 10x the admission price and increase your income by $250,000 in the first year?"

And he explains his PhD research was in the "sunk cost" effect: a greater tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made.

So now he telling his story how he knew from his research studies about the power of the sunk cost effect and how he needed to invest something tangible in his dreams and surround himself with a new more challenging environment and people....

I wanted to throw up. Now he is here priming all the readers to seperate with their money. And he is in these "mastermind" online marketing guru circles. I haven't finished the book yet after getting to this point. All the value in the first half of the book just probabaly being used a primer for his own website and these five figure mastermind and self improvement classes. Honestly he hasn't yet asked anyone to buy anything up to where I'm at but I'm almost certain he is going to refer back to his website for more resources and it's going to be selling guru crap.

I've seen it multiple times now. Many books being published today are guru marketing primers trying to prime readers to become buyers of their info products. The best books so far that aren't disguised info product sales pitches are either written by practicing professors or are older, pre-internet era books.


I really have mixed feelings on the gurus. Like one poster said, he spent $2,000 and ended up making $120,000 over the next 4 years with his business. I think he'd have been successful without it, but maybe less so.

If someone is in the right place or has already proven a track record of execution the guru classes and network may give them some leverage and time savings, but 98% are just being fleeced. And they will defend their spending and despite their lack of progress because to rationalize the sink cost mentioned above.
 

TreyAllDay

Whatever it takes
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Feb 9, 2016
560
1,743
33
Edmonton, AB
I've seen it multiple times now. Many books being published today are guru marketing primers trying to prime readers to become buyers of their info products. The best books so far that aren't disguised info product sales pitches are either written by practicing professors or are older, pre-internet era books.

Exactly how I felt about a lot of Gary V/Grant Cardone. And this is why I'm always so wary of even books now a days. I've been realizing a good litmus test of the book is the focus - is it on the author or the subject? I am reading "Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People" by Vanessa Van Edwards and I'm just waiting for the pitch on this one, because the author herself is the brand - not so much the info.

Just a note - I love people psychology type books. Big fan of Robert Cialdini, but I always have to take their "studies" by "researchers" with a grain of salt lol. Not everyone is the same.
 

TreyAllDay

Whatever it takes
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Feb 9, 2016
560
1,743
33
Edmonton, AB
Another note - sometimes it's hard to flush out who the target of these books/podcasts/courses/etc are. Sometimes - their audience is everyday people who have no clue about sales/business/people, etc. Because clearly, they're a bigger audience.

IE: The book "captivate" I was reading had a whole chapter about how people like you if they think you're "similar to them". I'm not sure if this is new information to the average person reading it, but I've read this stuff a million times. Gary V's book - same deal. I get a lot more out of guys like Jeb Bluont who talk about actual sales strategies, etc.

And I suppose this is why MJ says you should learn what you need to learn at that moment.
 

abogdan88

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
48%
Aug 3, 2016
33
16
36
I’m taking Brian Rose’ Business Accelerator course right now. It’s $2k. I do feel like the cost has pushed me to take action at their pace which is, perhaps embarrassingly, faster than I would have accomplished the steps on my own.

I’m paying for accountability basically. Painful to admit but that’s the reality. Certainly no new content to really synthesize for the first time. I do like that he credits the people with that particular point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

is Brian Rose BS guru or not?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

redrenegade

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
108%
Jul 19, 2018
12
13
I have really mixed opinions on 'gurus'. I used to work in a well known personal development/self-growth company and unfortunately some of the famous gurus we had actually didn't practice what they preached. I remember in particular this one awkward meeting with a guy who has a book where somebody sold a really expensive Italian supercar (hint hint). I just so happened to be flying out the same month on holiday and I saw a little excerpt about him in the in-flight magazine. I laughed as I read his 10 tips because those 10 tips were things that he definitely did not do.

It was not only him that I found really off-putting. There were many others who I thought were either really fake or were just really nutty. I completely went off the self-growth guru thing after that.

However it wasn't all bad. I did manage to meet 2 true gems who restored my faith in these self-help/business guru people.
 

Ray Goslin

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
218%
Dec 13, 2016
40
87
69
I have really mixed opinions on 'gurus'. I used to work in a well known personal development/self-growth company and unfortunately some of the famous gurus we had actually didn't practice what they preached. I remember in particular this one awkward meeting with a guy who has a book where somebody sold a really expensive Italian supercar (hint hint). I just so happened to be flying out the same month on holiday and I saw a little excerpt about him in the in-flight magazine. I laughed as I read his 10 tips because those 10 tips were things that he definitely did not do.

It was not only him that I found really off-putting. There were many others who I thought were either really fake or were just really nutty. I completely went off the self-growth guru thing after that.

However it wasn't all bad. I did manage to meet 2 true gems who restored my faith in these self-help/business guru people.
"Do as I say, not as I do" > Smoke and mirrors LOL
 

jon.M

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
343%
Jul 4, 2016
405
1,390
Sweden
I've known this since the end of 2017, but I now need to call this out:

Jordan Peterson is the ultimate deceiver & fake guru.

10 years from now, anyone with an ounce of intelligence will think "How did we even fall for his scam?" He's worse than any business guru because he's mainstream. And he's more manipulative than anyone I've ever seen before.

I'm not discussing with Peterson fanboys but please think of me when you regret all the time and money you wasted on that bullshit-artist.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

jon2089

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
173%
Feb 11, 2017
81
140
34
US
I've known this since the end of 2017, but I now need to call this out:

Jordan Peterson is the ultimate deceiver & fake guru.

10 years from now, anyone with an ounce of intelligence will think "How did we even fall for his scam?" He's worse than any business guru because he's mainstream. And he's more manipulative than anyone I've ever seen before.

I'm not discussing with Peterson fanboys but please think of me when you regret all the time and money you wasted on that bullshit-artist.
What are some examples of him being fake?
 

MitchC

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Mar 8, 2014
1,966
5,554
Australia
I've known this since the end of 2017, but I now need to call this out:

Jordan Peterson is the ultimate deceiver & fake guru.

10 years from now, anyone with an ounce of intelligence will think "How did we even fall for his scam?" He's worse than any business guru because he's mainstream. And he's more manipulative than anyone I've ever seen before.

I'm not discussing with Peterson fanboys but please think of me when you regret all the time and money you wasted on that bullshit-artist.

I think you’re going to need to elaborate.

I’m reading his book right now, I don’t really see what part of it he is bullshitting me and where I’m wasting large amounts of money? As far as I’m aware he has 2 books? Or are there courses too?

His book doesn’t promise anything and the entire thing seems to be backed up with research. You could argue he cherry picked studies or whatever but you could argue that about books by Malcolm gladwell and any of the other authors who refer to research in thier books.

I certainly wouldn’t consider him at all a guru but maybe I am missing something? All I have is his book. There’s no get rich make money system or anything in it.


Unrelated but since I’m posting in the thread:
I followed a Shopify guru when I started my store 3 years ago, he would open his mastermind every now and again and I always applied after seeing the insane money members were making, I never got to the point where he sold me it or even made an offer because he was so slack with replying to me, then finally last year he replied and told me it’s $997 for lifetime access, I couldn’t believe it was so cheap, I bought it and never heard from him again, along with all the others who bought in in that intake. He even sent emails out and did intakes after that. This was supposed to be a mastermind where he posted and helped us regularly. He strung us along for months and months saying he was sick etc and I finally gave up and got my money back through my credit card, others weren’t so lucky. This is what I consider a scam and a guru. Promises of riches, $997 price and no delivery.
 
Last edited:

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top