There has never been more self-development or self-help books and courses than nowadays, it’s a billionaire industry, and it looks like helping others, even though they cannot help themselves, is a very good business. Isn’t it?

It doesn’t really matter the topic you are interested in, there’s always a “guru” that knows it all and has a step-by-step guide for you to do the same. Try it, pick any industry and go to Google or Amazon and 90% (being modest) of the time you’ll find tons of “experts”. Now, is this bad?

We are in the Information Era, so we should be able to have access to all kinds of information, and with the Internet and technology, we can reach millions of people and resources around the globe, so yes, it’s logical that we will find pretty much anything, about anything out there. So what is the problem?

The problem arises when you look for orientation, for advises, for guidance and you don’t screen your counselor or advisor well. Be it your course instructor or the author of the guide/book you are about to read, we should always question the competencies of our “guru”. Being a best-seller or being popular is not always the best metric to evaluate that.

Let’s pick one popular industry: getting rich, making money, personal finance, etc…It’s amazing how many people are getting rich by teaching others how to get rich. See the catch? They are getting rich teaching you how to get rich, but they weren’t actually rich in the first place!

So they write some fancy advises, research some information online, put it together into a nice package and call it “How to get rid of your job in 30 days”, “How to fire your boss”, “How to make money while sleeping”, you name it. They invent stories about rich dads and poor dads, about how to buy buildings with a $30,000 salary, etc, etc, etc…

Now even though these titles look attractive, and reading them could be (sometimes) pleasant, we should always ask ourselves if the author of the book or guide (the “guru”) actually did what he or she is trying to sell teach me. Let me give you some examples:

• “How to get rid of your job in 30 days” – Did you get rid of your job in 30 days?
• “How to make money while sleeping” – Do you make money while sleeping with something besides this book, and before writing this book?
• “How to become rich investing in Real Estate without having the money” – Did you become rich with Real Estate before this book? Can you show me your portfolio? Can you prove it?

When you start screening the authors of all those fancy titles, you would probably be surprised of how many of them are actually getting rich by selling you the book and not by practicing what they preach.

I really would like to have the opportunity to tell this kind of authors that if  ”you don’t do what you tell me to do, how do you know it works?” They just don’t. It’s a nice advice, it sounds nice, it’s organized, well presented, well marketed, and puff, a best-seller. And hey, if it sounds like is right and I look like I’m right, well, many people will think I’m right!

Does this mean there aren’t good books out there from respectable and competent authors? Of course not! What it means is that in a world of such load of information, confusion and marketing, we should stay vigilant and skeptical; we should always make our own rational analysis and research, and do our best to screen the authors so we can be able to tell the false gurus from the real ones.

So just remember, if you want me to read you book about “How to learn any language in 3 months” please provide lots of backup for it.

What do you think? Do you know any false guru? Let me know on your comments.