The word guru was originally a Hindu word meaning, “a Hindu spiritual teacher”. Now that term has evolved to also incorporate, “An influential teacher or popular expert” as well.
Selfish Motives
I just recently signed up for a free digital marketing course. From the moment I signed up, the self-acclaimed “guru” has sent me two emails EVERY SINGLE DAY, telling me I should buy his new book. To me, that encourages me to do the exact opposite.
After four days, I unsubscribed and found my time spent on the course to be of essentially no value.
Other more popular figures tell you to “Hustle” or just “Rise & Grind” which, if you think about it, doesn’t really mean anything. The thing is these people have loads of charisma so it’s easy to fall under their spell. I don’t blame people for hanging on their every word.
Words of Convenience
Because most of them say whatever is convenient at the time. Their words are also constantly misconstrued to have far deeper meaning than was actually intended. The overall message generally tells people they need to “hustle” or be constantly busy in order to succeed. Not only does that rarely lead to success, it often negatively impacts your health. Also consider, just because it worked for them, doesn’t guarantee it will work for you.
Lack of Perspective
Even family and friends are ready and willing to give advice (solicited or not). Though they mean well, they don’t have the complete picture, and how could they? They often are unable to consider the intricacies of your life and as a result, end up giving you information that isn’t helpful.
So what can we do?
First of all, we can seek less advice and utilize more EXPERIENCE.
Any learning expert will tell you that learning through immersive experiences that engage most or all of your senses will allow for greater understanding and retention of whatever you’re trying to learn.
Not only that, but failure, though often demonized, often acts as our greatest teacher. The intensity and strong emotions we experience when we fail signal our brains that these are pieces of NEED TO KNOW information. Keep in mind:
Anyone who’s made it to the top of their field has failed far more than you’d know.
In my own journey, the more advice I took and applied, the less progress
I made. That all changed when I discarded everything that wasn’t working (Which was 90% of the advice I took) and kept only the essentials. From that point, it was far easier to refine my approach and finally achieve tangible results.
That’s how I landed my first Ghostwriting deal.
What’s interesting is that different things work for different people. If we took a one-size-fits-all approach, everyone would do the exact same thing and get the exact same result. In reality, each individual achieves success through different methods and means.
That means you need to figure out what works best for you. NEVER take a Guru’s word for it. NEVER assume someone else knows what’s best for you.
As you go through your journey, you’ll become aware of synchronicities in your life. Those synchronicities were always there, but now you’re finally able to see them.
Use them.
Take advantage of all the opportunities life presents you. You’ll start to find that, not only is there no shortage of opportunities, but you’ll have to start being picky about what you pursue and what no longer deserves your time and attention.
Let me also stress that nobody can make it on their own.
There’s no such thing as self-made. It’s just a term to make the struggle sound more glamorous than it really is. There will be people you meet that lift you up to the next level, and the next. Be grateful for those people, but understand that it’s up to you to do the work.
So where is it that you’re looking to the “gurus’?
Conclusion
Gurus are a dime a dozen, and nobody can really tell you what’s best for you. They may offer nuggets of wisdom, but experiences will be where you learn the most.
Especially FAILURE.
I challenge you to test out different methods and find out what works best for your unique situation. The more you do this, the easier it becomes. I promise.
When the path gets the rockiest, you’ve reached the threshold. Push a little further and you’ll breakthrough to the other side.
Go get yours. You deserve it.