By Jeanette S Cates, PhD | Submitted On March 14, 2010
There seems to be an attitude among many online marketers that “gurus” are mean, bad people. After all, they are making lots more money than the bashers and they are not giving their products away to everyone who asks nicely. So they must be big meanies.
Beware. Often the more vocal the bashing someone is doing, the less successful these bashers are in their own online business.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing all the bad things you read about the gurus.
First, if you look at the definition of “guru”, you’ll find that essentially a guru is a teacher, a mentor, a leader, an expert.
So by definition a guru is someone who has achieved success and a position of leadership – and who has been generous enough to reach back and help others follow in her/his footsteps. By my standards, a guru is a good guy.
Second, there seems to be glory in some circles in criticizing anyone who has achieved guru status. They use titles and comments like “secrets the gurus don’t want you to know,” “what the gurus are hiding,” “don’t fall into the gurus’ trap.” These are just sales hype in disguise.
The people using this approach are often
1) not financially successful in their online business
2) resent that others are more successful
3) not willing to follow someone else’s lead
4) come across as small-minded and mean-spirited
Third, I know many of the “gurus” personally. And I will personally vouch that they work HARD for what they achieve. Because they worked hard to get where they are, they now have choices. Some choose to continue working full-time while others take time off for more leisurely activities.
While it might appear that they “do nothing” to earn a substantial income, that is not the case when you look deeper. And even though they are willing to share their knowledge and information – they are not willing to give it away!
That goes back to the basic attitude of many people online that everything should be cheap or free so that they can build their online business. That’s the “poor me” attitude – and you’ll find it pervasive among people who are not making a lot online.
Just because you are building an online business doesn’t mean it is free. Building a sustainable business takes an investment of time and money, whether it’s online or offline. Those who recognize this succeed much faster.
So is there a connection between their attitude and their results when it comes to guru-bashers?
I think so. When you build your success by beating down other people, it may appear that you are growing your business. But in reality you won’t go far. After all, at some point you may actually want one of the gurus you’ve been bashing to promote your product!
So let’s stop the guru bashing and recognize it for what it is – a sales tactic. You’ll hear many people talk about gurus in a negative sense. Just accept that they are using it to create a “we” versus “them” attitude so that you’ll get on the “we” side and buy their product.
It’s not all bad, but it’s not a tactic that I would employ. Nor is it one I would recommend to my students. Sometimes you have to look beyond the guru bashing language to find quality products. After all, even non-gurus make mistakes, but they may still offer a quality product.
Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who helps new and intermediate marketers create their Online Success. Claim your free copy of her monthly news magazine for Online Business Owners at http://OnlineSuccessNews.com
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jeanette_S_Cates,_PhD/22299