Why rich peoples advice isn't for you

Hi,
I have bought plenty of books and courses from Yanik Silver. I have always found his material very helpful and he tends to "overdeliver" in what ever he sells you.


I think he started off as a salesman for Dental insurance and although successful he was always looking for ways to improve his lot.


So he can relate to a lot of us here on the forum who are trying to improve our financial situations.


I think that is one of the things that all successful gurus do - they can relate to us and let us know "their story", which we can often identify with: usually aspiring to make money, the struggles they overcome, and then how they achieved success, with information some free, some we have to pay for so that we can also achieve success.


There seem to be lot of genuine people out there that will help us.


Yanik Silver has been selling his courses since about 2000.


He still has some for sale, and he also holds seminars.


Hope this helps.
Ged

Sorry. I just don't believe in the concept of 'following' anyone. Not to say that I haven't taken bits and pieces from many, but never would follow anyone's 'program.' I'm simply not built that way. I find a perverse pleasure in making huge mistakes and then discovering ways to recover from them.

And Tony Robbins? A menace to society. The only thing he really wants to improve on this planet is his bank account. Total, weasel.

One problem with seeking advice from people who have "recently been in your shoes" is that they often lack perspective. They may have found one way to do things that works for them, and conclude that that is the only way that works. Many also don't know or can't articulate why something worked so they can duplicate their results.

Disagree. All the business philosophy in the world won't help one bit unless you are able to translate and implement that thinking into smart action that leads to creating a viable business. Jim Rohn is witty and observant but I don't know anyone that has ever created a profitable business from his "philosophies."

Two people can have exactly the same guru (mentor, coach, advisor, call it what you will) and they hear exactly the same advice. Why is one successful and the other a total failure? I believe it's this:

You are the business. You are the X factor. You are the variable that determines success or failure.

Some individuals have the necessary skills, temperament, discipline, problem-solving ability, and smarts to figure out how to create a viable business - others do not. A good coach can help someone find those qualities within themselves and unleash them in a positive way. But a good or even great coach can't overcome the challenge of working with someone that doesn't have what it takes to begin with.

This opinion comes from working with entrepreneurs of all kinds daily since the late 1970's. I understand your opinion may be different and that's fine. We all have unique life experiences that shape our own opinions.

Steve

I think that I can see that someone who is closer to where an individual is may give help/guidance that may be more practical. However, to gain a boost in mindset, I think that listening to people who are far away in terms of earnings, may help. Listening to them and seeing how they think, may be revealing.

It may be a lot easier to become more like Tony Robbins, God willing, if all one's friends are like Tony Robbins. If they earn like him, think like him, approach opportunities like him. I think a lot may have to do with mindset. What a person thinks is normal to have/earn, what is possible/impossible may be influenced by his/her entourage or people he listens to and believes.

You are just shifting the responsibility for your success on to someone else.

Disclaimer: I did my best not to post in this thread and have failed miserably. This thread is all over the place and I simply could not help myself from chiming in as I wait for one of my business partners to show up from San Diego.

I find it a bit odd that I just listened to about 45 minutes of Jim Rohn and Les Brown on YouTube late this afternoon instead of my usual morning listening.

Every single day I listen to at least one of the old timers like Jim Rohn, Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Jay Abraham and several others as well as part of my morning ritual depending on what kind of mood I'm in. I've been doing this for only about 4 months now every single day. I set a goal to do it for 6 months straight so we shall see.

From 1985 until 1997 I ran an old brick and mortar import export business until I reached my goal of retiring at the age of 32. In all honesty I really don't even know as to the reason why I set a goal to retire at the age of 32. It might have been because I was trying to go against the masses of the "ol retire at 65" and "collect social security" idea I heard from time to time. Or maybe it was because my Father passed on at the age of 32. I still don't know.

Around 5 years after I had retired in 1997 I started to feel guilty as if I was copping out in life or something. So I started researching how to make money online and here I am posting of the Warrior Forum two decades latter. I've kinda been getting that same feeling again about 6 months ago from being semi-retired. Maybe there is just one person who could use a good word or two or simply be inspired not to give up on your goals and dreams. Getting a little personal here so I'll try to get back to where I was going with all this.

While I was working within my ol brick and mortar business I would buy cassette tapes of Jim Rohn like "Cultivating an Unshakable Character" How To Walk Your Talk All The Way To The Top", Jay Abraham "Your Secret Wealth" Hidden Assets That Can Change Your Life and others from Brian Tracy and yes even Anthony Robbins. I can here the groans now.

One single idea from Jay Abraham's tape series increased my business within about 30 days to well over 500%. UPS had to actually start sending extra vans because all the box's of goods would not fit into one van during the holiday season. You know those old brown vans or trucks you still see rolling down the road today. And I had to hire two more people just to pull and pack orders for shipping.

It cracks me up when I see people complaining about doing FBA and other online business models. Imagine trying to keep track of well over 5,000 different items in your inventory without computers. And having to pay your sales people commissions all by hand every single month, along with having to actually take orders over the phone and even do the billing by hand.

We finally got a computer around 1989 in hopes to make things easier. I'll spare everyone the gory details of how that turned out. Again, I've got to get back to where I was going with this.

In all honesty I don't think I would have been able to reach my goals and make it through breakups, pitfalls, tragedies, and growing up as a young man working practically 24/7/365 days a year while most of my friends enjoyed hanging out at the beach without the help of those old tape series from Jim Rohn and the rest of the lot rolling around in my mind after listening to them at least 7 times each while driving back and forth to my business.

Okay this is getting way too long here. Reading everyone's replies has really got me wondering if I would have been successful WITHOUT any of those ol cassette tapes that I still have in my closet collecting dust to this day.

One of the things that stood out in my mind some time ago from Jim Rohn was to "be a student, not a follower". Find your own way in life and find what works best for you. Wait a minute, I think my father said that as well when I was a child. My Father gave me words of wisdom as well probably from being in the Marines. Like, "Beware of Dreams Stealers". I never really understood what he meant by that and the way he said it until I watched a brutal documentary on the Vietnam War by Ken Burns.

I truly feel I got little pieces of wisdom from each and everyone of those tape series. And to this day I still learn something new from every single one of those guys. Love them or hate them, all these guys have helped shaped many peoples lives one way or another.

Success To All Warriors,
Dean Shainin~

Personally, I much prefer a rich person's advice regarding money and business than a poor person's.

I don't attend many seminars but I read lots of books. I will continue to do so until I know everything or I die. The second being far more likely than the first

I understand what you're saying. Some speakers give vague inspirational talks as opposed to practical advice. I think that's a personal choice. Do you feel inspired after listening? Does it make you believe that you can achieve success, too? Then go for it. Otherwise, do something else with your time and money.

I think sometimes it's just a matter of finding someone you trust and who resonates with what you personally want to achieve.

Rose

OP:

I suspect you forgot "IMHO"

Hi ZephyrIon,

Interesting you mention Jim Rohn. His #1 student of all time is a guru named Tony Robbins

I follow the advice of happy, loving, compassionate people who happened to acquire a great deal of money, and also follow the advice of happy, loving, compassionate people who do not even touch money. Meaning I follow Tony Robbins and the Dalai Lama. More folks too.

Most of the gurus you note were as poor as any of us, during our leanest times. Knowing this, and knowing how happy and prospering they are now, I figure it may make sense to listen to what they have to say.

As for credit, taxes paid, etc...most people do things from an energy of fear and scarcity in terms of money. To the scared person who believes they will never make enough money to pay back credit, credit is dangerous. To the peaceful, detached, prospering person, credit helps them make more money, knowing they will be able to pay it back and make a big profit too.

The perceiver creates the experience. Either you frame everything through love or fear, and being willing to frame life through love opens you up to advice from icons.

I recall calling the IRS when I was dead broke. I owed ummm....more than $100 LOL....on unemployment benefits. Exact words of the IRS agent:

"Thanks so much for calling us. We appreciate you doing so."

This was 3 year's worth of back taxes. Not only did I not see a fine, nor get thrown in prison, nor receive garnishment of wages; they worked with me to set up a payment plan. I didn't gave the intense fear of money issues or the IRS, and everything was chill. Yet most folks have so much tension and horror concerning the agency, based on the experiences of folks with the same tension and horror, who suffered severe issues with the IRS, and of course they are going to prison or paying sick fines or having wages garnished.

Ya get what ya put out there energetically guys.

But ultimately buddy, follow your heart. Follow the lead of folks who really vibe with you. Learn, be open and eventually, you'll be leading your own tribe.

Ryan

The rich people advice normally inspire you how to think like a rich, but ultimately you have to take action. Think - Action - Learn and Earn.

The rich are typically great examples of thought patterns, behaviors, and characteristics to adopt.
The poor are typically great examples of thought patterns, behaviors, and characteristics to avoid.

Rich is a relative term, some people can not afford shoes, let alone a computer or the time to try and start a business.

Most very wealthy people no longer do any work, if they ever did, they dictate work to others, and have no idea what it takes to get rich. Turning 200k into a 2 million isn't very hard to do, 2 mill into 20 mill is even easier, but turning 5k into 50k is near impossible. The wealthier you are the less competition you have.

The guys who really scratch their way up to the top have a drive inside them you can't find in normal people. They can give you the best advice, but what they usually do themselves is work their asses off, educating themselves when needed, and adapting when possible, most of those guys run multiple businesses at the same time before finding true success in one of their endeavors.

I know of one guy who sold noodles by the road in a cart, standing all day in his broken shoes, who eventually saved up enough to rent a mall stall to sell his noodles. Years later he now owns at least three restaurant chains. He is nearing billionaire status. This guy would have the best advice, wouldn't matter if he was at his street seller stage or billionaire stage.

Thank you for sharing!

I love the way my fellow warriors think. Kudos to that.

I agree to what Dean quoted "be a student, not a follower". Instead of blindly following a Guru or Billionaire, try to learn from their life.

Instead of attending seminars of the famous Gurus, that drill a hole in your pocket, read their books. Almost all of them would've written more than one book for sure. Their seminar will most probably will contain the same content, sometimes more.

The reason why lots of people attend expensive seminars is that they provide a kind of pumped up feeling. The adrenaline rush you get shouting chants and affirmations is addictive. But this adrenaline rush wears off as soon as you come out of the seminar. Within 2 weeks you will be back to the old you. The worst part is, you will feel bad that spend thousands of money (mostly by maxing out your credit card) and still not living according to your expectations from the seminar.

In my honest opinion, I think the best way to get inspired is to read the autobiographies of the people who inspire you. Understand what they had gone through in their life. Relate them to your life and learn from their mistakes.

Instead of blindly following someone, listen to their advice, find out what works for you and discard the rest. You will learn a lot of things from a lot of people. The next step is to implement the advice in your life. There is no point spending hours reading a book only to not take action.

If for some reason you don't want to sit and read a thousand page book, signup up for services like Blinkist or Cliffsnotes to get summaries of book that you can read in less than half hour.

Cheers

Fred

Self-made industrialist Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in the world in the early 20th century and was a student of what it takes to achieve greatness. In 1908, he met with the journalist Napoleon Hill and decided that Hill would be the vehicle for sharing his strategies with the world.

Their conversations became the basis for nearly all of Hill's writings from that point forward, including his "Think and Grow Rich," which distilled the traits that all of the most wealthy people have in common.

Only the rich have paid attention to Carnegie's advice.

I think one should be able to filter all kinds of advice. There's something good in everything...
If your goal is to become rich I think it does make sense to listen to somebody who is rich.

They might have forgotten but their beliefs and values are certainly different to those of poor people...

Guess evrythin' depends on whatchya wanna spin on out into the fyooture.

Buck stops forever at the millisecond nowan ever seen yet -- yanno, the one into which all speculation drains like pus outta a ffs-i-ain't-dead-yet zombie.

other people's race is not the same as yours. You will have to run at your own pace and discover your own strengths. One secret though, is always be hungry for knowledge. Learn, and experience more.

I agree that you want advice from people who have been in your shoes or at least similar shoes, but you also want advice from people who have become successful (when i say success, I mean whatever you consider success/successful). You don't want to just take advice from people who have been in your shoes but haven't made it anywhere.

I'm willing to listen to just about anyone's opinion but when I want
real advice I go to people who have been where I want to go.

Hi,

Well, I'll take the devil's advocate position here.

I have studied most self-improvement authors and I have participated to many events. While some where better than others, I can't say that I regret any particular decision.

The thing is that if you get a single good strategy from a book, a single idea or ritual or new habit to implement in your life, then it is worth it. You don't need 500 pieces to the puzzle. You just need a few and if you pay attention, you can find them.

Does everything that Robbins teaches works for me? No.
Does everything that Jim John teaches works for me? Again, no.

But some parts do and that's what I use. Is this and it is also my preference for systems as opposed to advice. I don't know the particular pieces of advice that Tony Robbins is teaching but I've learned NLP because of him and NLP served me well.

Am I'm agreeing or using everything taught by Brian Tracy? Of course not but I learned a great deal from him when it comes to setting priorities (Eat That Frog) and sales.

There is no system that can be replicated to the letter. I can write exactly what I'm doing and what I've done with my life but even if you follow me exactly, it is impossible to get the same results - because we're two different people. There are techniques and strategies that do work and that's the entire point of personal development - to find the tools that you can use.

I have embraced a love for knowledge early on in life and I have taken it to an obsessive level. I must have read plus 450 books so far. I admit that I've forgot 90% of everything that was found in the pages of those books.

However ...

I do have 50 - 100 ideas and rituals that work very well for me. These keep me happy, wealthy and healthy. These come from many different backgrounds ranging from popular self-improvement like Tony Robbins to philosophy like Marcus Aurelius to more technical writers like Peter Drucker.

Have I've invested a big price reading those books? Yes, I must have invested at least 5000 hours. However, I do feel that I've got ten or even one hundred times my money's worth. The people I've met, the wealth I've created, the health that I'm enjoying, the sense of gratitude that I have on almost a daily basis can be drawn directly back to some of the books I've read.

And while from a book like "Eat That Frog" I remember exactly ONE idea - which is always do your hardest tasks first and prioritize, using this ONE idea day in and day out made me a very effective person.

At the end of the day ... or the year ... or the life it is not about how much you remember. The purpose of education is behavioral change. It is how those books shaped your habits and who you are on a day to day basis.

And if Tony Robbins can make you exercise ... or work harder ... or have more clarity, then in my book, it is a great investment. Of course, you could have done those things without Tony Robbins too ... and you can do everything taught by self-improvement on your own ...

... but if it is that the case ...

THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE IT ALREADY?



Thank you for the question. It's an intriguing topic.

Best regards,
Razvan

You are making valid points, Zephyrlon, and I can definitely relate to some of the things you are mentioning here.

One of the hardest paradigms to change for me was the crab mentality, which is still hunting me from time to time. The fear of losing when attempting something that may or may not yield a return on my investments is deeply rooted in our minds.

To add to your thread, I believe that it really depends on your character whether following a single star will be beneficial or not.

A single voice may be just what you need if you are easily getting off course with your progress.

Working with multiple mentors may give you different perspectives on a single topic that can improve your understanding. This approach can be helpful when you have difficulty following the style of a particular mentor.

Going on your own, without the guidance of anybody can also work. When I was starting my entrepreneurial venture, I had a quote I kept telling myself which goes: "Do not compare your chapter 2 to somebody else's chapter 20", because I often was discouraged when I looked at all those people that were killing it and I could not make anything work. I actually did best when I gathered bits and pieces of information and then worked on it in isolation, making mistakes, experimenting with it and learning new things along the way. I never looked back and checked if I was following anybody's rules.

Bottom line is that you really need to know what kind of a person and entrepreneur you are and go with that.

Majority is fooling the new and innocent people who have no clue regarding IM or making money online. But there are some genuine guys as well who teach based on their own experiences .

Isn't that merely proof positive that you fail if you don't follow Hill's advice beautifully articulated?

@Zephyrlon: Why the question? How do you benefit from knowing what others do or do not do with gurus?

Not a guru, but waaay back, I used to own a real estate appraising company and I charged 30% to 40% more than most competitors and got it. Every now and again, I'd talk to one of my competitors about why my prices were so high (the usual conversation), occasionally, I'd talk to them about how on earth I get away with charging so much.

(Some just wanted to tell me it was impossible for me to charge that much and get paid what I charged without doing something illegally, while others wanted to figure out how they too could charge more).

At first, I charged what others did. Then I read me some Dan Kennedy. One of his things was (is?), you get paid whatever you can ask for with a straight face. So, I raised my prices. Got some complaints but most paid. I had nothing else over my competitors - it was just me reading Dan Kennedy and deciding to apply that one idea.

The next time I raised prices, it was a combo of the above + an advantage I knew I had over competitors... Back then, I had a live human being answering my phones whose main job was to answer the phone... Most of my competitors had answering machines with messages like: leave a message, we will get back to you within 48 hours. When no appraiser happened to be in the office, you'd get the message. Even if an appraiser was in the office, if it was not the one you were working with, you had issues....

Back to my conversations with my competitors... I told them what I did... None of them copied me... I mean, none of them raised their prices just because; none of them hired themselves someone to answer the phone.

Don't know why... I can assure you though, that getting 30% more for the same effort less the cost of a receptionist equaled a happier me.

And it was all because I'd read Dan Kennedy and a couple of other people and applied a couple of their ideas... By the way, some of the ideas I ended up applying that did me good were mine for a long time before I read / heard them in/from a guru. But I only applied them after hearing / reading the guru...

True, l guess that explains why Tony got a man to grab his testicles and yell to a packed audience, that "I Am A Man"!

I would say that we can add another word to his statement?

Nonsense, he wants to make the world a better place by organizing 10 hour music marathons, so the audience can, ummmm,......get fit?



If l sink an oil well or build a railroad, l will let you know.

This is probably a Madella affect the glass isn't full or empty if it wasn't there.

I was kidding by the way!

i NEVER bought any courses of the motivational gurus.

WHY?

If you need motivation to make money... what are you doing here?

You really prefer to go to bar talking about crisis or government?

I think that some people need a slap in the ass and PUT IN ACTION without dabbing from guru to guru to understand the inner motivation to get up from the sofa...


Just do it!

Advice comes as it should from the people that just show up when they do and say they things that they say.

You should build your own filter in your brain before taking any advices.