Post: #1

This is a topic that's been on my mind a lot lately.

It seems it's kind of hard these days to tell who is a legitimate consultant or coach, and who's some guru who makes money by telling you you can get rich quick.

Part of the problem is that there seems to be this "network" effect where some of the shadier types will build up a bunch of high profile friends and get them to vouch for them, triggering the "social proof" persuasion trigger to make you see them as better than they are.

And on top of that, there's the fact that some people are sort of somewhere in between.

I think Tim Ferriss falls into that category.

As Roosh said once, Tim's only selling a book, not some $2000 seminar.

That's true.

And yet it's also undoubtedly true that "The Four Hour Workweek" is just an unrealistic, untenable fantasy.

I mean, let's be real here. The whole idea is basically along the lines of fad diets and get rich quick schemes. Yeah, Tim's not promising to get you rich, but he IS saying you can get a comfortable life just by outsourcing everything you do for $5 an hour, which is sort of like a more modest version of the "get rich quick" premise.

Then there's the problem of legit dudes who are surrounded by a network of shadier characters.

Take Frank Kern for example.

Frank is, in my opinion, a pretty good marketing mind, and you can tell just from the free advice he gives away that he knows his shit. I bought one of his products, and the investment more that paid for itself. I never hesitate to recommend him to people.

Problem is, he's associated with a lot of other dudes who are NOT on the same level, and getting into his stuff can be a really easy gateway into a kind of shady "get-rich-quick" type of scene.

Finally, you've got some obvious clowns who nevertheless have a following. This would be like the NLP gurus, new age guys, faith healers, televangelists and so on.

At the extreme ends, it's easy to tell the difference. Like it's easy to tell that some fundie preacher who asks for your money on TV is full of it, and that a nobel prize winning physicist knows what he's at. Problem is, the world of consulting, advice and coaching is full of people who lie somewhere between these two extremes, and it's hard to really tell who's good and who sucks.

My own personal take on this question is that you should limit your self-help investments to products that cost less than $20, unless you have a lot of money to just throw around.

But I'm open to other ideas.

Post: #2

Scammers have been around since the beginning of time. People always fall for it, so they never go away. Just follow the skeptics rule: If anything sounds suspicious, then it's all bullshit.

Post: #3

(07-22-2012 03:29 AM)Andy_B Wrote:  My own personal take on this question is that you should limit your self-help investments to products that cost less than $20, unless you have a lot of money to just throw around.

But I'm open to other ideas.

I agree with this.

The other thing I do and recommend is to carefully think through the claims and come to your own conclusions. Always be skeptical, and compare the author's assertions with your own experience because it's easier to accept what they say 'on faith.'

I always try to apply that critical filter when I hear things other people say. I don't care how much of an authority someone is. Actually in that case it's even more important to apply a critical filter.