Our Need for Shortcuts Brought Life to Fake Gurus

Scams are typically solutions that get us what we want with the least amount of effort.

I’ve been watching a lot of Coffeezilla lately. His mission is to expose the get-rich-quick schemes of the internet.

I’m also subscribed to McDojoLife on Instagram. He exposes fake martial artists.

Back then, I also listened a lot to The Mating Grounds Podcast. They talked about how the pick-up artist communities screw up your ability to have empathy towards women.

Now, what is it about these platforms that got me hooked?

They played with my curiosity by exposing the “truth”. It’s like watching the Truman Show but in actual life. These platforms debunk the teachings of the fake gurus to create awareness and protect others from getting scammed.

But there’s a sad truth to this that needs to be acknowledged: our inability to manage our innermost desires.

We all have “desperate” wants and/or needs (or should I say “really really really want/need?).

But instead of putting in the hard work of addressing our internal issues, we resort to products or services that could get us the results we want — faster and easier.

That’s when the fake gurus come into the picture.

The Fake Guru Promise

“Give me money and I’ll get you results with the least amount of work.”

Most of the fake gurus exist in the dating industry and “passive income” industry. Why? They are aware of everybody’s most common desire: to be in a good relationship and achieve financial freedom.

Their products or services are designed such that it aligns with our desperate wants and needs. Then they sell the idea they can get us results fast and easy. It’s that irresistible.

In fact, I almost fell for one of their offers…

On Finding Your Soul Mate…

I suck at dating. I was single for a long time. None of my friends are dating experts, so I don’t really have a good resource for dating advice. Google was there to help. But most of the search results say the same thing.

Then I came across a book called “The Game” where the author shares his experience as a pick-up artist. After that, I signed up to be part of the pick-up artist community to see what it’s all about. As expected, they had the solutions to my single-life problem. They were packaged as books, newsletters, online courses, coaching calls, CDs, or pretty much any form of products or service you can think of.

One of the coaching programs they sell involves flying you out to a city and “pick up” women in the bar. The rationale? The best way to learn is to put things into practice, not through reading a book. Makes sense. I actually considered it. But no, I didn’t go that far. The farthest I’ve gone was to sign-up for a newsletter for a month.

On Building a Passive Income…

This was also the case when I signed up for that free course on how to make passive income online. I don’t hate my job, but I wanted to make money on the side (with little to no effort). But I didn’t know how to go about it. Plus, this isn’t something my friends and I would talk about.

I didn’t really have much choice but to listen to a guru (regardless if they’re scammy or not) to learn more about it. I needed answers, and they had it. The product or service is there if I really needed to get what I want in the most convenient way.

However, I didn’t buy any of it either. It felt too good to be true. I had that gut feeling that tells me it’s a scam.

A few months later, I couldn’t Google the company or group that offered the program. Yikes.

Gut-feeling is something you can really rely on.

But wait…how the hell did I get into that rabbit hole in the first place?

It was the mixture of “desperation” and the preference of “the path of least resistance”. It’s the focus on short-term gains.

If you can address why you really really want something and you’re willing to put in the work to get there, then you have excellent protection against scams.

The Trade-Off That Hooks Us In

“What is $3000 if that meant finding the love of your life?”

“What is a $75 online course if that meant earning $1000 in return?”

If you were to look at it from that perspective, perhaps it makes sense to invest your money in a product or service. Sometimes, they are priced “low” enough to make you think it’s worth the risk.

When you’re desperate (or should I say when you “really really really want something”), there’s a high chance you’re gonna buy into it.

This is a marketing tactic that makes us feel comfortable with our purchase. It’s the tactic that hooks us in. But before you swipe that credit card, understand that the results you get from that product or service you purchased are NOT guaranteed.

There are really no guarantees in life. It’s a truth most of us have trouble accepting. Back then, I hated the idea of risk because I associated it with “wasting time”. However, most of us also don’t realize we are also “wasting time” due to inaction.

The Real Gurus

Real gurus focus less on getting you to spend money on their products or services. Why? They don’t need your money to keep them in business. But they care a lot about making an impact. This explains why the information they provide out there can be consumed for free.

Now, I didn’t go down the path of becoming a pick-up artist because The Mating Grounds Podcast’s changed my views towards dating and women.

Their core message is to get you to work on improving yourself and eventually learn to love yourself for who you really are. That’s what builds confidence that attracts other people to your life, not only in dating but also in your career and friendship.

Self-improvement will not happen overnight. It cannot be purchased. It’s going to take years, maybe forever, to develop. Again, the results are not guaranteed. But what’s guaranteed is that you will improve and you increase your chances of getting what you want.

In terms of personal finance and achieving financial freedom, I follow Ramit Sethi. He gives out free courses that are better than the paid courses that are offered out there. He wouldn’t recommend you to buy his programs if you’re in debt or if you’re the type who doesn’t want to put in the work.

That’s what the “good” gurus have in common, they tell you to put in the work and that it will take time for you to get there.

There are no short-cuts.

Conclusion

The existence of fake gurus is proportional to the number of people who are desperate to achieve something without putting in that much effort.

“Desperate” is a strong word. A lot of us won’t even admit there are things we want desperately. But the problem has less to do with being desperate. It has more to do with our lack of patience to achieve the things we want in life. Everyone loves shortcuts.

Of course, there are areas in life where it makes more sense to rely on tools and shortcuts. But this wouldn’t apply to the things that really matter to us.

You can’t buy love or financial freedom… but you can work on improving yourself to get them.