So I have some friends who are pretty successful life coaches. They make five figures a month for what basically amounts to some phone calls, some "intensives" where they work 5-6 suckers clients all day, and some tele-seminars. They're big into Lifestyle Design and all that.
Ironically, it was one of those friends that first pointed me to The Millionaire Fastlane , a book that confirmed my suspicions about gurus and the guru mentality.
And I'm really not trying to be a hater---they're my friends and making money. But every time I see them post on Facebook or write a blog, all I think is "How much value are they really creating? And at what point is it just fleecing broken people out of their money?"
The thing is, my friends weren't really experts in what they were trying to pitch. One guy pitches himself as a "relationship" coach, but he had never been in a really good relationship. (Unless you count getting blackout drunk and cheating on your girlfriend as "good"). Another girl labeled herself as a "nutrition coach". But she's 40-50 pounds overweight.
(JUST like the example in MJ's book, hilariously enough)
But, man, do they portray this image of success. They write these inspiring articles, talking about "living your purpose" and how much money they make. They've built up this real cult of personality, with little followers gushing about them. And it's all founded on belief.
Most of their clients are people that want to do the same thing they're doing. It's a disorganized pyramid scheme. You want to be a life coach, you pay thousands of dollars to a life coach, then you become one and charge thousands of dollars to other wannabe life coaches.
And the weirdest thing is that my friends are not hardened con-men. They legitimately believe in what they're doing. And they spend a ton of money on astrologers, life coaching seminars, and the like.
But are they any worse than the Rich Dad/Poor Dad guy (who made his fortune from selling books, not real estate) or Suze Orman or any of those other gurus? I really don't know.
What I DO know that paying them 500 bucks for a one hour phone call or 10,000 bucks for a weekend seminar is nuts. But people pay it. So any time you're worried about price, just remember---it's almost never about the price. It's the perceived value.
Ironically, it was one of those friends that first pointed me to The Millionaire Fastlane , a book that confirmed my suspicions about gurus and the guru mentality.
And I'm really not trying to be a hater---they're my friends and making money. But every time I see them post on Facebook or write a blog, all I think is "How much value are they really creating? And at what point is it just fleecing broken people out of their money?"
The thing is, my friends weren't really experts in what they were trying to pitch. One guy pitches himself as a "relationship" coach, but he had never been in a really good relationship. (Unless you count getting blackout drunk and cheating on your girlfriend as "good"). Another girl labeled herself as a "nutrition coach". But she's 40-50 pounds overweight.
(JUST like the example in MJ's book, hilariously enough)
But, man, do they portray this image of success. They write these inspiring articles, talking about "living your purpose" and how much money they make. They've built up this real cult of personality, with little followers gushing about them. And it's all founded on belief.
Most of their clients are people that want to do the same thing they're doing. It's a disorganized pyramid scheme. You want to be a life coach, you pay thousands of dollars to a life coach, then you become one and charge thousands of dollars to other wannabe life coaches.
And the weirdest thing is that my friends are not hardened con-men. They legitimately believe in what they're doing. And they spend a ton of money on astrologers, life coaching seminars, and the like.
But are they any worse than the Rich Dad/Poor Dad guy (who made his fortune from selling books, not real estate) or Suze Orman or any of those other gurus? I really don't know.
What I DO know that paying them 500 bucks for a one hour phone call or 10,000 bucks for a weekend seminar is nuts. But people pay it. So any time you're worried about price, just remember---it's almost never about the price. It's the perceived value.
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