Pep Tse, master of the ancient art of product placement

This is a post about Gurus, with a capital G. They have books, they have accessories and they have the answer to everything. If they’re a big enough Guru, they can become a lifestyle choice in and of themselves. They will sell and resell their “5 Secrets to Better Pancakes” or “12 Simple Steps to a Nutmeg-Free Life”.

But the real secret is that there are no secrets. The Guru makes money off those who want to buy a book instead of doing the work.

If you ever find yourself in a position where you think the only thing standing between you and your dreams is writing a check to a “Guru” to unlock the secrets of the universe, do yourself a favor and don’t. Save your money. Remember that success is very closely bound to hard work and is accelerated by God-given talent. A positive attitude is also a nice-to-have.

Chris Brogan talks about being an overnight success. It only took about ten years of non-stop speaking, blogging, writing, networking and entrepreneurship. Chris is no “Guru”, he’s a smart, humble, hard-working guy. It’s a grind. So you better love what you do, and you have to be willing to do it and do it a lot.

Remember that the mighty Beatles started as a gig band a the Cavern in Hamburg. From 1961 to 1963 The Beatles made 292 appearances there (see Wikipedia). So instead of climbing the mountain to find your guru, find yourself a cavern. Go hone your talent, eventually people will seek you out.