People’s writings are boring, their speaking is boring, and their lives are boring. They think that because they spout off some Les Brown quote, they’re actually making an impact. They’re not. It’s fake. My favorite band growing up was Korn because they were so raw and real. When I got a hold of an Eminem CD, I loved that too for the same reason. There is nothing that is more of a deterrent and turn off than fake-ness (Is that a word?)
And some people mask it very well. They have on their suit, they have a nice bow tie, they pose in a picture with some other mindless suited-up fool and offer life coaching for five thousand dollars a session. And then there’s some poor fool out there that pays it and gets nothing from the interaction! It’s nauseating because it’s hard to distinguish these frauds from people that are sincerely making an impact. “Oh so you’re one of the ones making an impact, Craven?” You’re damn right I am. Because I’m not fake. My writings alone tell you all about me.
I sang in a metal band in my early twenties, was addicted to sex, and recently put my hand through a wall because of a cheating ex-girlfriend. I don’t hide much. And when I see people trying to hide their brokenness behind some puffed up image of themselves as this enchantress or keeper of the golden keys to success when their day-job is retail, I have an issue with that. Why do I have an issue with it? Because they want to charge folks thousands of dollars to get their advice on achieving massive success when they have everything but the moral authority to speak on the subject.
This is not my attempt to derail someone’s dreams of being a coach or a speaker, but I want to encourage you to get results in your own life before you attempt to charge someone else for something you don’t have first-hand experience with.
I don’t really claim to be an authority outside of anything but learning. I am an eternity-long student and learner. My goal is to teach people how to learn. That’s probably the biggest thing I took away from my college degree. I learned how to learn. Even teaching and tutoring math and chemistry, I recognized that I was never the one that held all the answers but it was a journey of discovering together for the student and myself, also another student. I muddled through figuring certain things out and then showed other people how to muddle through it. But how could I have shown them how to get there if I never did it myself? Well, that’s exactly what you see going on in this ever-growing community of “speakers” and “coaches”.
The last person I spoke with about building my speaking business was only gonna charge me ten thousand dollars per month. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s the literal amount this person wanted.
It has become simply a society of self-importance. Rather than what should be at the heart of this service (because it is a SERVICE, lest we forget that), helping/inspiring/encouraging others, it is instead a mad-dash to see who can get the most likes on Facebook and who can wear the biggest and most ridiculous bow tie.
To the folks seeking betterment in your lives through the various practices of self-development, please do some research on the things or people you’re planning on investing with. Ask questions. You’ll pick up on the frauds.
If you are in fact a speaker or a coach working on making that your career for the right reasons, please don’t pedal bullshit. Love y’all!
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