The Upsurge of Fake Online Gurus: How To Avoid Falling in Their Trap

The word ‘Guru’ in Sanskrit means expert, teacher, guide, or influencer in a particular field.

Especially to Indians, Guru is very holy word.

In earlier times in India, people used to send their children to ashrams of a Guru.

People are taught to bow down their heads in front of their Guru. Even today, People respect their Guru more than anyone.

But times have changed. Nowadays people not only learn from people surrounding them but also from people whom they have never met or seen.

With the rise of the internet, people today can learn from anyone around the world. I think this is great. Now, you can learn from the person who you think is the best in their area.

Also, if you are an expert in a field or know something, you can teach thousands of people that skill. The online world has brought us closer.

But there are always some bad examples along with good examples.

And today I will elaborate more on the bad examples so that you can identify the bad things and avoid falling in their trap.

Who are fake gurus?

People who claim themselves to be experts and promote themselves almost everywhere on the internet. They claim to know about your problems in your life and have solutions for them.

They will tell you that how you can make millions in a quick time and how your 9-5 job is limiting your life.

In the end, all they want is to earn money from you by selling you their overpriced mentorship programs, online coaching programs, and other online courses.

This doesn’t mean everyone is fake on the internet. There are genuine people who are true experts and you can learn a lot from them. You can benefit tremendously from their online courses.

For me, I like Seth Godin. I follow him a lot.

I also love few other people also.

I am just talking about a few handfuls of people who are self-proclaimed experts and show-off their wealth through their camera.

You might think why would people buy their overpriced courses that are of not much use?

These people are most often excellent in promoting themselves as an authority. They are good at marketing.

And they don’t ask anybody to buy their expensive courses at first. They know how to play with people’s psychology, how to touch the weakest part of people.

Most often you will see their ads on Facebook, Instagram, and all other social media sites. They will invite you to attend a free webinar.

People attend because they write very eye-catchy lines in their ads of webinars.

Like, ‘take control of your life”, ‘make millions in a year, or ‘live your dream life’, etc.

Sometimes they even offer a free e-book or some kind of checklist to lure people to attend their webinars.

Once you attend their webinars, they will tell you how they were broken once and then how they have become rich.

They will try to convince you that your dream life is waiting for you, but you need to buy their mentorship program to achieve that dream life faster.

They know most people are not happy in their jobs, most people are not satisfied with their financial status.

That’s why they talk again and again about 9-5 jobs and their negative effects on your life.

After their webinars and continuous e-mails, some people become somewhat convinced that maybe this guy can change his/her life if only he/she invest some money.

There is a pattern of how these fake gurus convince people to buy their courses.

The thing is, even a genuine person who has something truly valuable to offer has to tell you to buy their courses. Even they have to market themselves. If they don’t, then how will people know them and reach them.

A genuine real guru would perhaps also do a lot of things that are similar to what a fake guru does.

Then how will you identify who is fake and who is genuine?

As I said, there is a common pattern of what fake experts do. I am listing below some common behavior of fake people.

If you see more of such kind of behavior in a person who is trying to sell their programs, just run away from them.

1. They brag themselves too much

They will tell you how they were so poor and broken once and then become a millionaire quickly by following a formula. They will talk about how their lives changed and how you can change your life quickly.

2. They show-off their wealth through their camera

This is very common among fake gurus.

Every time you will see their videos or photos, you will see them in expensive suits, they are well dressed always (sometimes overdresses). You will see pictures of their fancy cars in the background, their lavish houses, etc.

The funny thing is, these fake people don’t even own these houses or cars quite often. They rent those just to show-off.

A genuine expert would rarely need to boast about their wealth.

3. They use the word ‘mastermind’ too much

Mastermind is a popular word depicted in Napoleon Hill’s famous book ‘Think and Grow Rich’. Mastermind is great but these people utilize this word to their own benefit.

They will ask too often to join their mastermind group, mastermind courses, mastermind community, etc.

4. They talk too negative about 9-5 jobs

Some people don’t like 9-5 jobs, but some people love their 9-5 jobs. But according to these fake experts, 9-5 jobs are only for those who are happy with less, who don’t want to live their dream life.

A job doesn’t define one’s life. There are many other aspects of life. These experts will not tell you that and ask you to quit somehow your job.

5. They will behave as if they have solutions to your life problems

Let’s face it, nobody can fix your problems, except yourself. Some people can just assist you in that.

But these people will try to convince you that they know how to make your life amazing, how to solve all your problems as if they know you for years.

They will make you ask you questions just to know the state of your mind.

A genuine expert will never tell you that they can fix your life or solve all your problems. They can give you skills or strategies but you have to work on them.

6. They give away too much free stuff

From the beginning, they try to give away too much free stuff just to strengthen people’s trust in them. Like free e-book, free checklist, free manifesto, and blah blah blah.

They understand people’s psychology. They know if they will give away some free stuff, people are more likely to buy their expensive courses.

Of course, even real people give away free stuff sometimes, but not too much. But fake experts always seem to give away something for free.

7. They create a fight or flight situation

This is so common. If you ever attend their webinars, at the end, they will tell you about their courses which are usually expensive like Rs. 100000 but just for that day they can give a 90% discount.

That means Rs. 100000 course you can buy by paying Rs. 10000.

This generates an emergency situation as if this is the time to buy that course.

They create such a situation so that you become more emotional and your logical brain no longer works efficiently.

8. They talk endlessly about mentors

There is nothing wrong with mentors. Mentors are great.

In fact, most successful people have some mentors in their life. But choosing a worthwhile mentor is extremely important.

Often such fake gurus pitch themselves as a future mentor of people.

If a person is asking you to pay a lot of money to become your mentor then it’s a sign that he/she is perhaps fake.

Mentors are good but find one who is not interested in making a lot of money out of you, who is genuinely interested in your growth.

Even in a genuine guru, you might observe one or two above things but if you observe more than 3-4 things listed below then there is a high chance that the person is fake.

Teachers or gurus are very respected people in society. People see them with high hope.

But some people use that hope and respect to earn money by deceiving people.

With the growth of the internet, number of such fake people are also increasing.

I am sure you will encounter such people sometimes (maybe you have already encountered).

I hope this post would help you to identify such people so that you don’t waste your hard-earned money on such people.

Again. don’t think every expert or teacher on the internet is fake. As I said in the beginning, there exist great people also. There are great courses on the internet.

All you need is the ability to identify fake from real.

Before you buy any online course which is a little expensive, be sure to search about the course creator, his work, and credentials.

A good course is fairly priced and delivers more value than the money you paid.

Ultimately, you are the architect of your life. You can gather fruitful information, knowledge from outside, but at the end, you have to work to build your dream life.

Have you come across any fake expert on the internet?

What are your views on such people?

Let me know in the comment section.

If you haven’t subscribed this blog, you can do so below to read more such articles every Sunday.