The problem with self-help gurus

0:00 Self-help gurus are quickly taking over

0:02 the internet.

0:03 From podcasts to YouTube

0:04 channels [music] and GAP commercials,

0:07 you can't avoid them, even if you try

0:08 really, really hard.

0:10 Self-help used to live on the fringe, quiet corners of a

0:13 bookstore and niche seminars.

0:15 But now it's mainstream.

0:16 It's a space where

0:17 experts, gurus, and idiots like [music]

0:19 me all sit side by side in your feed.

0:22 There's a lot of good that's come from

0:23 this obsession with self-development.

0:25 I mean, we got this B-roll of Ali Abdal in

0:27 the shower.

0:28 [music] But there's also a

0:29 dark side.

0:30 Because when the rewards are

0:31 power, money, and influence, things like

0:34 morality, ethics, and honesty often take

0:36 a backseat.

0:37 I want to uncover how

0:38 self-help gurus win followers, help to

0:41 open your eyes, and then your wallet.

0:44 This video is sponsored by Squarespace.

0:46 More on them later.

0:47 [music] So, I think

0:47 I'm in a pretty unique position to

0:49 explore this topic.

0:50 I've been a fan of

0:51 self-help content since I was probably

0:53 16 years old.

0:54 I've read many self-help

0:56 books.

0:56 I've implemented a lot of that

0:58 advice into my life and I've seen real

1:00 improvements because of it.

1:02 I also started this YouTube channel nearly 10

1:04 years ago sharing the things I've

1:05 learned and documenting my own habit

1:07 experiments.

1:08 I've done over 30 of them

1:09 on everything from cold showers to

1:11 powerlifting.

1:12 I've made documentaries with self-help gurus.

1:15 I've interviewed them on my channel and I've even built

1:18 my own course on habit change, which I

1:20 eventually shut down, but more on that

1:22 later.

1:22 Over that time, I've seen how the

1:24 self-help industry has completely

1:26 exploded in popularity, [music]

1:28 especially on YouTube.

1:29 There are thousands of channels teaching you how

1:31 to fix your business, improve your

1:32 relationships, master your finances, or

1:35 unlock your inner masculine energy.

1:37 If you're not ripped, if you're not rich,

1:39 if you ain't rare, if you don't stand

1:41 out, if you ain't across the board

1:43 successful, it doesn't mean to me.

1:46 At their best, people share their ideas

1:48 honestly and from a genuine desire to

1:50 help others.

1:51 On the other hand, you have

1:52 those driven primarily by personal gain.

1:55 This is where you find most self-help

1:57 grifters.

1:58 A self-help grifter is someone

1:59 who promises transformation, purpose, or

2:02 success, but whose real skill lies in

2:04 manipulation.

2:05 They rely on unethical

2:07 marketing tactics and misleading

2:08 communication, not to make a difference,

2:11 but to grow their influence and line

2:13 their pockets.

2:14 It's hard to know

2:14 someone's true intentions, but we can

2:16 look at their actions.

2:18 So rather than attacking someone's character or style,

2:21 I want to focus on the core principles

2:22 that help people rise to the ranks of

2:24 self-help guru and more importantly how

2:27 those principles can be twisted in

2:29 deceptive ways to build fame and wealth.

2:31 The [music] first and most foundational

2:33 among them building a strong parasocial

2:36 bond with your followers.

2:38 This isn't a new idea.

2:39 Psychologists have been studying this for decades.

2:41 In his classic book, Influence, Robert Chaldini

2:44 calls it the liking [music] principle,

2:46 and it's one of the most powerful tools

2:48 in persuasion.

2:49 When we like someone, we

2:50 instinctively trust them more.

2:52 And that's exactly why so many self-help

2:54 gurus put so much effort into being

2:56 relatable, charming, or funny.

2:58 Because once you like them, influencing you

3:00 becomes much easier.

3:01 Wow, there's so much choice.

3:03 How does anyone decide what has to be?

3:05 But here's the catch.

3:06 This is a one-way

3:08 relationship.

3:08 In a parasocial relationship, the audience member feels

3:11 like they personally know the creator

3:13 because of the intimacy of the content.

3:16 Eye contact with the camera, direct

3:18 address, personal stories, behindthe-scene glimpses, but the

3:22 creator doesn't really know them at all.

3:23 Sure, they might read some comments or

3:25 shake a few hands at an event, but they

3:27 don't really know the millions of people

3:29 watching their videos.

3:31 Logically, we know that Taylor Swift has

3:32 50 million Twitter followers and that in

3:35 all likelihood, she is not talking

3:36 directly to us.

3:37 [music] We know that we

3:38 don't have real two-sided relationships

3:41 and yet sometimes [music] it feels like

3:44 we do.

3:45 Take one of the biggest self-help

3:46 podcasters in the world, Mel Robbins.

3:49 Journalist Scott Carney, who spent years

3:50 investigating the self-help industry,

3:53 has talked about how Robins uses

3:54 parasocial bonding to make viewers feel

3:57 an emotional closeness to her.

3:58 [music] Mel Robbins has never met you.

4:01 She has no real relationship with you.

4:04 And yet there's a certain genius as to how she

4:08 makes her audience believe that she's

4:10 actually their friend.

4:12 It is always an honor to spend time with

4:14 you.

4:14 I'm so glad that you're here with

4:16 me right now.

4:16 [music] I want to say it's

4:17 always such an honor to spend time and

4:19 to be together with you.

4:20 Here's what I know about you.

4:21 I know you're the type

4:22 of person you value your time.

4:24 You're the kind of person who values

4:27 information that can help you take

4:28 control of your health.

4:29 I know you're the kind of person who values showing up

4:31 for yourself.

4:32 It is the perfect thing

4:34 for you to listen to at this exact

4:36 moment in time and you will feel better.

4:39 I mean, just imagine that future.

4:40 I can see that for you.

4:42 And in case no one

4:43 else tells you today, I wanted to tell

4:44 you I love you that I love you.

4:47 I love you.

4:48 I love you for listening to this

4:49 and I believe in you and I believe in

4:51 you and I'm proud of you for hitting

4:53 play on this episode.

4:54 What you're hearing today [music] is meant just for

4:57 you.

4:57 Whether you love Mel Robbins or

4:59 not, it's worth thinking about this type

5:00 of communication closely.

5:02 If you've never spoken directly to camera before

5:04 like this, you might not realize how

5:07 strange it actually is.

5:08 As someone who does this for a living, I can tell you

5:11 it is not natural.

5:13 So, I know it's easy

5:14 to forget when you're watching a video,

5:15 but this is what I'm looking at when I'm

5:17 actually filming a video.

5:19 There's no humans here.

5:20 So, let's see if I can

5:21 channel my inner Mel Robbins.

5:24 If you're watching this, I want you to know that I

5:26 love you.

5:27 I love [music] the person you

5:29 are.

5:29 I love the person you're becoming.

5:31 So, make sure that you share this with

5:32 your friends so they too can feel that

5:34 love.

5:35 And so we can grow our engagement

5:36 numbers, increase ad revenue, and maybe

5:38 even turn this into a book deal.

5:39 I wasn't feeling that one, guys.

5:40 Let's let's do that one more time.

5:42 If you're watching this, I want you [music] to

5:44 know that I love you.

5:45 I think there are

5:46 two ways to interpret this kind of

5:48 communication.

5:48 The generous view is that

5:50 people are trying to help their viewers

5:51 feel seen and supported.

5:53 It's their way of spreading compassion and using

5:55 language to lift people up.

5:56 The less generous view is that it's a strategy.

5:59 Much similar to how AI uses flattery to

6:01 win you over.

6:02 This type of messaging is

6:03 a way to build affection and loyalty.

6:05 We can't know people's true intentions.

6:08 But speaking as a creator myself, I find the

6:10 style of communication to be

6:12 disingenuous.

6:13 While I'm sure I've

6:13 slipped into this kind of language at

6:15 times, it's something that I'm much more

6:18 mindful of and actively try to avoid.

6:20 While the communication itself might

6:22 feel genuine, it's really just a

6:24 performance into a camera in an empty

6:27 room.

6:27 You know, I wasn't really feeling

6:28 that one.

6:28 Let's do that one more time.

6:30 If you want to understand why some

6:31 people build massive followings, even

6:33 when their ideas are questionable, you

6:35 have to understand the power of

6:36 authority.

6:37 Much like likability, authority changes how we listen.

6:41 It shapes how much weight we give to

6:42 someone's words, how skeptical we are of

6:44 their claims, and how quickly we accept

6:47 what they say as truth.

6:49 If someone looks the part, sounds the part, or signals

6:52 expertise in just the right way, we're

6:54 far more likely to trust them, often

6:56 without even realizing it.

6:57 It's the same reason someone in a high viz vest with a

6:59 clipboard can stroll past security

7:01 without an ID.

7:02 We're wired to look for

7:03 signals that help us make quick

7:05 decisions about who to trust.

7:06 Titles, credentials, uniforms, these all act as

7:09 shortcuts that save us time and mental

7:12 effort.

7:12 And while some people are

7:13 genuine authorities in their fields,

7:15 others stretch or exaggerate their

7:17 qualifications to appear more credible

7:19 than they really are.

7:20 Take Dr.

7:20 Joe Despensza.

7:22 He talks extensively about

7:23 neuroscience and quantum physics.

7:25 So you might assume that his doctor title is in

7:27 one of those fields.

7:28 It's not.

7:29 His doctorate is in chiropractic care.

7:32 Sure, you can technically put doctor in front

7:34 of your name, but that's not the same

7:35 thing as holding a PhD or an MD.

7:38 It's possible that Dispensza's title just

7:40 carried over from his previous training

7:41 as a chiropractor, but you can't deny

7:44 that it helps him look more legitimate

7:46 when he's technically as qualified to

7:48 talk about quantum physics as your

7:49 dentist.

7:50 Another big name in the

7:51 self-help world is Mr.

7:52 Green Eyes.

7:53 Sorry, that's Dr.

7:54 Green Eyes.

7:55 J Shetty Shetty first exploded on Facebook where

7:58 he has over 30 million followers.

8:00 He's since built massive audiences on

8:02 Instagram and Tik Tok as well.

8:04 And if you've watched his content, you know the

8:05 vibe.

8:06 earnest, dramatic, very serious.

8:08 Forgive yourself for letting someone

8:10 make you feel like you were easy to let

8:13 go.

8:14 Forgive yourself for making them

8:16 number one when you were just a second

8:18 thought.

8:19 Forgive yourself for helping

8:21 them heal when all they did was hurt

8:23 you.

8:25 Forgive me.

8:26 No, don't do it, Matt.

8:27 Don't do it.

8:28 I promised myself that I wouldn't

8:30 make any personal attacks, and I I'm not

8:33 going to do it.

8:34 Jay, he's not my cup of

8:36 tea.

8:36 But putting aside personal

8:38 preferences, he has been criticized for

8:40 very legitimate reasons, including

8:43 rampant plagiarism early in his career.

8:45 It's not like he reposted somebody

8:46 else's meme.

8:47 He crops their name out and

8:49 puts in J Shetty.

8:51 That's stealing.

8:52 See, the challenge is that [music] we're

8:54 meant to love people and use things, but

8:56 today we use people and love things.

8:58 We spend more times holding our phones than

9:00 we hold each other.

9:01 When you're young, you say, "I love you because I need

9:03 you." when [music] you grow up, you

9:04 realize I need you because I love you.

9:07 But it wasn't just the plagiarism that

9:09 raised concerns.

9:09 [music] His entire backstory, the foundation of

9:12 his authority itself in the self-help

9:14 space, has also been called into

9:16 question.

9:17 One of the biggest pillars of

9:18 Shett's brand is his origin story.

9:20 A story he's told many times in podcast,

9:23 books, and interviews.

9:24 He describes being a business student destined for

9:26 corporate life until one transformative

9:28 lecture from a monk changed everything.

9:30 It was the most captivating presentation

9:32 I've ever been to.

9:34 And he spoke [music]

9:35 about selflessness and service and

9:37 kindness and it just got me hooked.

9:39 He left behind the material world, moved

9:41 to India and returned [music] with

9:43 timeless wisdom.

9:44 It's a compelling narrative.

9:45 We have warm, fuzzy, almost

9:46 romantic associations with monks,

9:48 humility, wisdom, and discipline.

9:50 We love this idea of someone abandoning a

9:53 comfortable western life for spiritual

9:54 enlightenment.

9:55 But according to an

9:56 investigation by John McDerman [music]

9:58 of the Guardian, there are several

9:59 inconsistencies with his timeline.

10:02 Jay never misses an opportunity to

10:04 remind people that he was a monk for 3

10:06 years.

10:06 And typically when he describes

10:07 [music] this, he says, "I was a monk in

10:09 India and I traveled around a little bit

10:11 across Europe."

10:12 Decided to turn down my corporate job

10:13 offers and go and live as a monk [music]

10:15 in India for 3 years.

10:16 So I looked into

10:17 it and I found ample evidence that he

10:20 was actually stationed in Watford, which

10:22 is a city just [music] outside of London

10:24 for the vast majority of the time that

10:26 he was a monk, and that he had been in

10:28 India for just a few months.

10:30 Some people might think it's perfectly

10:32 acceptable for someone to embellish

10:33 their story, to remove facts, or to

10:35 smooth out timelines for the sake of a

10:37 tight 5-minute television appearance.

10:39 But there's clear benefits that gurus

10:41 get when they bend their experience to

10:43 create this kind of authority.

10:44 As we climb further up the self-help ladder,

10:46 we reach one of the most powerful forces

10:48 in the guru playbook, the halo effect.

10:51 Many gurus start out in one specific

10:53 niche, psychology, fitness, business,

10:56 nutrition.

10:56 This may or may not be an

10:57 area where they have real experience,

11:00 expertise, or qualifications.

11:02 But as their audience grows, that niche can

11:04 start to feel limiting.

11:06 So they broaden their scope.

11:07 They do this with the halo

11:08 effect.

11:09 The halo effect is a well

11:10 doumented cognitive bias where you

11:13 actually you know what let me hand this

11:15 one over to Jay.

11:16 We ascribe certain qualities to someone based on something

11:21 we like about them.

11:22 So if we find

11:23 someone attractive we say they must be

11:25 trustworthy.

11:26 If we think someone's good

11:27 at talking or we enjoy the way they

11:29 speak we're like they must be organized.

11:32 If someone has a good job or dresses

11:34 well we say oh they must be driven and

11:36 focused.

11:37 So, we start giving them

11:38 qualities that they haven't actually

11:41 showed us they have, and we set

11:43 ourselves up for failure because we're

11:46 hoping for them to have more than

11:48 they've actually told us they have or

11:50 shown us they have.

11:51 Yeah, it's [music] so fascinating.

11:53 It's why Dr.

11:53 Mike Israel can move from

11:55 fitness advice to political commentary,

11:57 or how Jordan Peterson can start out as

11:59 a psychology [music] professor at the

12:00 University of Toronto, then expand into

12:02 areas like climate science, culture

12:04 wars, and political identity.

12:07 [music] To be clear, I don't think you have to hold

12:09 a degree to speak on a topic.

12:10 That would be ridiculous.

12:12 But we should be wary of

12:13 how easily confidence can distort how we

12:15 interpret a message.

12:17 Popular family physician and content creator Dr.

12:20 Mike, a different Dr.

12:21 Mike than I previously

12:22 mentioned calls this the epidemic of the

12:24 I know it all expert and he argues that

12:27 our collective discomfort with

12:28 uncertainty is exactly what allows bad

12:31 actors to thrive.

12:32 There are too many of

12:33 these experts out there claiming to have

12:36 all of the answers when the rest of the

12:38 scientific community has questions.

12:41 Now, this may surprise you, but you and

12:45 I are both partially,

12:48 if not more so, to blame for this

12:51 epidemic.

12:52 When someone says to us they

12:53 don't know, we're quick to judge.

12:56 We're quick to dismiss.

12:58 The irony, as Dr.

12:59 Mike points out, is that the real experts,

13:01 the people worth listening to, are

13:03 usually the ones most aware of how much

13:06 they don't know.

13:06 They're cautious.

13:07 They're humble.

13:08 and they understand that

13:09 science and self-improvement are built

13:11 on questions, not on having all the

13:13 answers.

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14:30 The next level up in the self-help guru playbook

14:33 is reciprocity.

14:34 Reciprocity is a basic

14:36 human instinct.

14:36 It runs so deep in us

14:38 that we often don't notice how much it

14:40 shapes who we trust and how we behave.

14:43 Sometimes it's genuine and

14:44 unintentional.

14:45 Other times it's a

14:46 deliberate strategy designed to win you

14:48 over.

14:49 Psychologist Robert Charaldini has

14:51 written about how the Hari Krishna

14:52 devotees canvased in public areas.

14:55 At first, people rarely donated to them.

14:57 Many distrusted them or disliked their

14:59 presence.

14:59 To change that, the group

15:00 adopted a new strategy.

15:02 They gave out small gifts first, [music] often a

15:04 flower or a small book.

15:06 We'd like you to

15:07 have this flower from the Religious

15:08 Consciousness Church.

15:09 Would you care to

15:10 make a donation?

15:11 No, but thank you anyway.

15:12 When the person tried to refuse or give

15:14 it back, the Christian member would

15:16 insist, "No, this is a gift.

15:18 It's yours to keep." Only after that [music] would

15:20 they ask for a donation.

15:22 Because of this human impulse towards reciprocity, the

15:25 feeling that one must return kindness,

15:27 many people felt obliged to donate, even

15:29 when they didn't really want to.

15:31 Self-help gurus, content creators, and

15:33 influencers use [music] this principle

15:35 in several ways.

15:36 They constantly remind you that they give away 99% of their

15:39 content [music] for free, framing

15:41 [snorts] it as a gift rather than a

15:42 source of ad revenue or brand building.

15:45 It's a simple way you can support me and

15:46 the team.

15:47 It's a way you can support us

15:48 in bringing you worldclass experts every

15:50 single day for free.

15:52 They offer free resources or guides in

15:54 exchange for your email, which they

15:55 later use to sell you a course.

15:57 In this 100% free training, I'm going to walk

15:59 you through the entire process.

16:01 They host free webinars that end in a limited

16:03 time upsell.

16:04 Webinars are one of the most valuable

16:06 things you can do to build your audience

16:08 and to monetize that audience.

16:11 We made $1.4 million in [music] 92 minutes.

16:15 And then we made another 5.2 $2 million two

16:18 weeks later because of the product we

16:19 offer.

16:20 I mean, the politicians can't

16:21 even steal that much money.

16:24 None of these strategies are inherently

16:25 unethical.

16:26 Lead magnets, the free

16:27 resources you get in exchange for an

16:29 email, are everywhere.

16:30 I even use them

16:31 myself, and so do many of the creators I

16:34 genuinely respect.

16:35 What matters is understanding that very little online is

16:37 truly free.

16:38 When you hand over your

16:39 email, you're likely signing up for a

16:40 future sales pitch.

16:41 That's not necessarily bad.

16:43 That's marketing.

16:44 The problem is when these tactics are pushed

16:46 too far, funneling people into high

16:48 pressure or predatory sales

16:50 environments.

16:50 I'll talk about that a

16:51 little bit more in the next section.

16:52 Beyond these sales tactics, there's a

16:54 deeper, often unspoken version of

16:57 reciprocity at play.

16:58 You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.

17:01 You and I have been friends for a long

17:03 time,

17:04 and we are extremely supportive and fond

17:07 of one another.

17:07 Our spouses know each

17:09 other.

17:09 There's an unspoken rule in the

17:10 self-help world.

17:12 Don't call out other

17:13 gurus.

17:14 Don't ask hard questions.

17:15 Don't rock the boat.

17:16 Mark Manson, author of

17:18 The Subtle Art of Not Giving[ __]

17:19 learned this lesson firsthand.

17:21 After building one of the most popular

17:23 self-help podcasts in the world with

17:25 over 30 million downloads, he eventually

17:27 decided to quit the interview format

17:29 altogether.

17:30 Here's his explanation.

17:31 I've been in this industry for almost 20

17:33 years now.

17:34 Probably the reason that most

17:35 of you even give a[ __] that I'm talking

17:38 right now is I try to be

17:40 independent-minded.

17:41 I try to say things

17:42 that maybe need to be said and nobody

17:44 else is really saying in the classic

17:46 podcast format of bringing on kind of

17:50 star intellectual guests and thought

17:52 leaders.

17:52 I felt completely hamstrung to

17:55 be able to do that.

17:56 It really sucks to

17:57 have a notable guest come on the show

18:00 and start saying something that I

18:01 actually kind of don't agree with or I'm

18:04 like familiar with the research they're

18:05 talking about, but I don't think the

18:06 research is very good.

18:07 And it puts me in

18:08 a really tough spot of like, okay, do I

18:10 start challenging this guest and

18:12 potentially creating like a big argument

18:14 or a debate on the show, potentially

18:17 alienating the guests, fans of the

18:19 guest, alienating the guests themselves,

18:21 making sure that they're never going to

18:23 come back to the show.

18:24 Do I put myself

18:24 in a position where I'm like suddenly

18:26 like I I didn't prep for a debate coming

18:28 into this episode, but now like suddenly

18:30 I'm having to put myself in a headsp

18:32 space of of being willing to argue and

18:35 debate a really smart person.

18:37 It was just not fun for me.

18:38 It felt like a

18:38 no-win situation.

18:40 Reciprocity is a powerful, often

18:42 invisible force.

18:43 It shapes how we view

18:44 others.

18:45 It often prevents us from

18:47 challenging people.

18:48 And it's probably the reason why it took me so long to

18:50 make this video.

18:52 We've ascended to the

18:52 highest levels of the self-help guru

18:55 racket.

18:55 There's just one more level.

18:57 It's time [music] to cash in.

18:58 You can't talk about self-help grifting without

19:01 talking about money.

19:02 Because while the fame and attention might feel nice, this

19:05 isn't a charity.

19:06 When it comes to

19:06 turning a profit in the self-help world,

19:08 it usually starts with sponsorships.

19:10 I've come to see sponsorships as a sort

19:13 of necessary annoyance in modern content

19:15 creation.

19:16 As someone who started out

19:17 with an ad-free model, I didn't do a

19:19 single sponsorship until I had nearly

19:21 100 million views on YouTube.

19:22 And I can tell you from experience that the

19:24 fanfunded approach isn't a very

19:25 effective way to monetize [music] your

19:27 creative work.

19:28 Others, like Tim Ferrris,

19:29 have discovered similar results.

19:31 People just don't want to donate to every

19:33 creator they follow, and they're

19:34 perfectly happy to sit through ads in

19:36 return for content.

19:37 So, my argument isn't that sponsorships are bad, which

19:39 might be obvious since I included one in

19:41 this video.

19:42 My argument is that creators

19:43 have to be very careful about the brands

19:45 they choose to endorse, especially when

19:47 they're trusted voices in areas like

19:49 finance, health, and wellness.

19:51 [music] But for many, it's easy to turn a blind

19:53 eye when the price gets high enough.

19:55 One of the most ubiquitous sponsors on

19:57 YouTube and in podcasting is AG1 by

20:00 Athletic Greens.

20:01 You've probably seen it

20:01 promoted by science communicators,

20:03 longevity experts, and podcast hosts

20:05 alike.

20:06 AG1 by Athletic Greens brings 75

20:09 vitamins, minerals, whole food sourced

20:11 ingredients, probiotics, and adaptogens

20:13 together in one place.

20:15 It might just be

20:16 the most comprehensive and convenient

20:17 nutritional regimen on the planet.

20:19 There are enough videos on YouTube talking

20:21 about the problems with AG1, so I'm not

20:23 going to get stuck in the weeds here,

20:24 but I'll quickly summarize a few of the

20:26 key issues people have with it.

20:28 AG1's proprietary blend hides weak ingredient

20:31 dosages.

20:32 The first five ingredients make up 10 g

20:34 of the 12 g serving, leaving a maximum

20:36 of 2 g for everything else.

20:38 The bold health claims aren't supported

20:39 by strong evidence.

20:41 Calling, for example, Athletic Greens a high quality

20:44 greens powder is a little misleading.

20:46 I think it's more of a multivitamin.

20:48 In fact, I'm not impressed with AG1 being

20:51 anything more than a multivitamin.

20:53 It's a poor substitute for real nutrition.

20:55 This is no way going to be superior to

20:58 consuming fruits and vegetables.

21:00 And it's overpriced, meaning you're

21:01 basically just paying for their

21:02 marketing expenses.

21:04 This was $99.

21:05 Probably 50 of that went

21:06 to different people to put it on their

21:08 podcast and say how amazing it is.

21:09 I even found a Forbes article.

21:11 It even says at the top up here, sponsored

21:13 article.

21:14 You scroll down, buy it now.

21:15 They're getting commission.

21:15 Everyone's getting kicked back.

21:16 Everyone that's talking about this product is getting

21:18 paid to talk about it.

21:20 My biggest problem with experts

21:21 promoting this product and products like

21:23 it is that their credibility gives it a

21:26 level of legitimacy it hasn't earned.

21:28 When someone who claims to be an expert

21:30 in nutrition or fitness says that they

21:33 take AG1 every morning, most listeners

21:36 assume that they're making the claim

21:37 from authority, not because they got

21:39 paid to say it.

21:40 I think most people

21:41 watching this would find it hard to turn

21:43 down the kind of money AG1 pays out.

21:45 Dr.

21:45 Andrea Love cited an anonymous source

21:47 claiming that Andrew Huberman makes an

21:50 estimated $40 million from AG1 alone.

21:53 Simply put, I always feel better when I

21:55 take AG1.

21:56 So, yeah, hard money to turn down, but

21:58 it's worth remembering that the people

22:00 that are making that kind of money are

22:02 already making millions and millions of

22:04 dollars anyway.

22:06 So, you have to ask

22:06 yourself, is it really worth it to risk

22:09 your reputation?

22:10 Now, for many gurus,

22:11 sponsorships are just the warm-up.

22:13 The real money isn't in selling ads, but in

22:16 selling their own digital products.

22:18 Courses, masterminds, mentorship programs, and high ticket retreats are

22:22 where the industry truly cashes in.

22:24 It's never just I'm a guru.

22:26 It's always now I have something to sell you.

22:28 And while there's nothing inherently wrong

22:30 with selling education or creating paid

22:32 products, this is often where things

22:34 start to blur.

22:35 where genuine teaching crosses over into exploitation.

22:38 Look at these guys.

22:39 Look at these guys.

22:40 These guys are spending three days with

22:41 me.

22:42 These guys pay $12,000 each to sit

22:44 in that chair.

22:45 3 days.

22:45 I got to look at

22:46 their ugly faces.

22:47 But wait, Matt, didn't you sell a

22:49 self-help course, you hypocrite?

22:52 Yes, in fact, I did.

22:53 A few years ago, I launched

22:55 my very own self-help course called

22:57 Simple Habits.

22:58 Before we begin, I'd like

23:00 to give you some background about myself

23:02 and how I came to teach a course on

23:04 habit change.

23:05 I'm not a trained

23:05 scientist and I don't have a PhD in my

23:08 title, but I am a little bit obsessed

23:10 with change.

23:10 At the time, it felt like a

23:12 natural step.

23:12 I was making videos about

23:14 self-improvement, so why not create a

23:15 full course to help people build better

23:17 habits from scratch.

23:18 I priced it at $145

23:20 and adjusted the cost based on

23:22 purchasing power.

23:23 So, for example, Zimbabwe paid just $36 for the course.

23:27 The course was live for a couple years.

23:28 I invested heavily in updates.

23:30 And I even hired this awesome guy, Pete, who's

23:32 a behavioral scientist, to audit it and

23:34 make sure everything was backed by the

23:36 latest science.

23:37 But eventually, I decided to shut it down and offer it for

23:39 free for anyone who asked.

23:40 I think I did

23:41 my best to sell this course with honesty

23:43 and integrity.

23:44 I was transparent about

23:45 my background, careful not to

23:47 overpromise, and I kept the price

23:50 accessible.

23:51 But even with that, I never

23:52 loved the feeling of selling a self-help

23:54 course.

23:55 to market something like this,

23:56 it's almost impossible not to lean into

23:59 the expert role, to position yourself as

24:02 the person with all the answers.

24:03 And that just made me feel very

24:05 uncomfortable because that's something I

24:07 never really liked doing on this

24:09 channel.

24:09 That's why I always leaned into

24:11 habit experiments and teaching uh from

24:14 kind of my own failures and mistakes and

24:16 and the things that I've personally

24:17 learned, not speaking objectively about

24:19 every topic I talked about.

24:21 I think that the more that you lean into that guru

24:24 mode, that expert mode, the more it

24:27 becomes tempting to tap into people's

24:29 insecurities and fears.

24:31 Other people don't really have a problem with it,

24:34 though.

24:35 At the heart of every coaching journey

24:37 is a dream for change,

24:38 a search for meaning, a search [music]

24:40 for purpose, a search for who we will

24:42 become.

24:43 But without the right guidance,

24:45 these goals can feel out of reach,

24:47 leaving us feeling lost,

24:49 stuck, struggling to [music] find a

24:50 clear path forward,

24:52 yearning for something more.

24:54 True transformation

24:55 personally, professionally, globally never [music] happens alone.

25:00 And it all starts

25:01 with $7,000.

25:02 J.

25:02 Shetty certification school to help you become a life coach

25:05 costs $7,000, which honestly feels a

25:09 little bit steep for somebody who's a

25:10 monk who built his brand on the idea of

25:12 serving others.

25:13 But the price tag wasn't

25:14 the only thing that raised eyebrows.

25:16 The program supposed credentials turned out

25:18 to be just as questionable.

25:20 The Jshedy certification school claimed that it was

25:22 affiliated with four different

25:23 universities in the UK and essentially

25:26 said that by completing the J Shetty

25:28 certification school, it would put you

25:30 on track to receive a master's degree at

25:33 these universities.

25:34 By becoming a J

25:35 Shetty certified coach, you will gain

25:38 coaching and business skills, accredited

25:41 certification, pathway to the individual

25:43 coach accreditation, marketing support

25:46 from my platform and a supportive

25:48 network of coaches and students.

25:50 I contacted all the universities very

25:52 clear, you know, very straightforwardly

25:54 asked them, what is your affiliation

25:55 with this program?

25:56 What is the nature of

25:57 the relationship?

25:58 Can you explain to me?

25:59 All of them said, we have no idea what

26:01 the J Shetty certification school is.

26:03 We have no idea why we are listed on their

26:05 marketing materials and we want our

26:07 names taken off.

26:08 Here's where everything comes full

26:09 circle because one of the most powerful

26:11 tools gurus use to sell their courses is

26:14 the parasocial bond they've already

26:16 established.

26:17 Their teams are trained to

26:18 leverage that emotional connection to

26:20 get you across the finish line and hit

26:23 purchase.

26:23 You need to get this in the call.

26:25 Hey, I'm calling because Mr.

26:26 Cardone wants me to give you something.

26:29 Okay.

26:29 Okay.

26:29 What What's he want What's he want

26:30 to give me?

26:31 He wants to give you a pro.

26:32 He's created a sales tool that can

26:34 increase sales 15 to 40%.

26:36 Private DMs from J Shett's team to an

26:38 interested student show how this works.

26:40 His sales reps messaged potential

26:42 students directly from his account,

26:43 personalizing their pitches and

26:45 repeatedly named dropping Jay to

26:47 reinforce that connection.

26:48 Let me let me

26:48 let me read some of these.

26:49 Today, Jay is looking for a few more students to work

26:52 with us.

26:52 Is it okay if I ask you a

26:53 couple questions from Jay to help us

26:56 work out if you're a good fit for Jay's

26:57 case study?

26:58 Jay can't wait to help you

27:00 with that over the next 49 days,

27:02 especially with Jay and our team keeping

27:04 you accountable on our live calls.

27:05 He filmed a short six-inute video for you

27:08 with all the details.

27:09 Wow, that's amazing that he took the time to record

27:10 a 6-minute video just for this person.

27:12 I love the surprise he has for you at the

27:14 end.

27:15 Hey again, Jay wanted to know if

27:16 there was something he did a bad job of

27:18 breaking down.

27:19 Oh my god.

27:20 So, this is this is crazy.

27:21 Okay, a good number of

27:22 Jay students are joining because of CO

27:24 19.

27:24 In their opinion, they have no idea

27:26 how long this crisis will last.

27:27 So they believe that an extra source of online

27:29 income is the safest bet for the safety

27:31 of them and their families.

27:32 That's[ __] crazy.

27:33 They're using the pandemic and the fear of the pandemic to

27:37 try to get people to to purchase the

27:39 course.

27:40 Jay doesn't charge $100,000 like

27:42 college is because he's on a mission to

27:44 help people find their passion and turn

27:46 it into real income.

27:47 Oh my god, Jay,

27:48 that's amazing.

27:48 That's so generous that

27:49 you don't charge $100,000 for your

27:51 online course.

27:52 That'sing crazy.

27:53 If you don't want to join Jay and our family,

27:55 that's totally okay.

27:56 It's a family.

27:57 Now, this actually sounds like a cult.

27:59 Here's the thing that like is really upsetting

28:01 about this, right?

28:02 Like you see these

28:02 kind of pushy persuasive sta sales

28:05 strategies.

28:06 Um, using parasocial bonding, uh, using that connection that

28:10 they have with this influential figure,

28:12 using fear to try to get somebody over

28:15 the edge.

28:16 This person clarifies in the

28:17 DMs that they're making $20,000 a year.

28:19 like you're still pushing hard on

28:21 selling this person a $7,000 course when

28:24 they're making $20,000 US a year.

28:26 I would actively encourage this person not

28:29 to buy the product.

28:30 If you don't have

28:31 the money, please don't buy this course.

28:32 Please don't.

28:33 Come on.

28:33 Can we just be

28:34 better?

28:34 Can weing?

28:36 So, one question you might be having at

28:37 this point, especially if, like me, you

28:39 enjoy self-help content or even follow

28:42 some of the people that I talked about

28:43 in this video, is [music] this.

28:45 Even if their tactics are questionable, isn't

28:48 there still a net good?

28:49 It's a fair question.

28:50 Many of the most popular

28:51 self-help figures [music] have millions

28:53 of followers, glowing testimonials,

28:55 best-selling books, and countless

28:57 stories from people whose lives have

28:58 been improved.

29:00 That's [music] real, and

29:01 I don't want to dismiss the positive

29:02 impact some of their work has had.

29:04 But both things can be true at the same

29:06 time.

29:06 They have helped people, and

29:08 they're also engaging in practices that

29:10 are manipulative or misleading.

29:12 Because many of these people are smart, in some

29:14 cases, brilliant.

29:16 It's hard to accept

29:16 the idea that they just didn't know any

29:18 better.

29:19 They know exactly what they're

29:20 doing.

29:20 And at a certain point, the

29:21 motivation stops being about impact and

29:24 starts being about greed.

29:25 More money, more fame, more power.

29:28 Because for many of these figures, enough never seems to

29:31 be enough.

29:31 And ego and influence often

29:33 go hand in hand.

29:34 So yes, you can

29:35 appreciate the good things and the good

29:37 advice that these people have offered

29:39 up.

29:39 And you can also hold them

29:41 accountable.