With the conviction of James Arthur Ray still fresh as the trail of his victims lay in our eyes and being smeared in our faces by local media, you have to wonder. Can you really trust the “Gurus” who peddle hope in little golden boxes at thousands of dollars per download?

This has been a crazy year for well known internet marketers all over the United States with Perry Belcher’s issues, Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins and all kinds of wild things going on!

I remember a time when the “Gurus” were good people. I mean, 99% of those who claimed to be successful, rich and living amazing lives, really were.

A Christian and extremely ethical guy like me finds it difficult to recommend a website that’s filled with swearing, discusting humor and unforgivable NOT safe for work humor… But if you can imagine a statement like, that I submit to those with the stomach, open-ness and profane ignored… The Salty Droid….

When I first stumbled across this site, as mentioned by Ryan Healy in some of his “Exposing the Guru” posts, I have to say that I was really shocked by the attitude and information presented. I immediately ignore and *instantly* loose respect for anyone who swears both in person or in public. It’s just not acceptable (Yes, I’m in that camp…). That’s why I just can’t have any respect for a guy like Tony Robbins anymore. The guy has impressive energy and skill and motivational abilities, but his mouth – needs soap!

Anyway… I have to say that much of the information at The Salty Droid can be verified. It’s obviously a slanted one-sided view of the entire situation, but it’s equally interesting…

The big question is, who can you really trust?

Let me stretch out on a limb and make some bold statements that could easily offend and bother people…

#1. If it sounds too good to be true, it is…

#2. If it sounds easy, it’s probably not (without a ton of background knowledge on the topic)

#3. If you just got started in online marketing, you have at least a year (maybe more) of learning before profit is a discussable topic.

#4. Gone are the days when pictures with Gurus = Trust. Ignore that.

#5. Pretty much anyone who’s sales angle is “financial freedom” – “Work in your underpants”  – “retire in your 20s” or “automated cash” can make an excellent toilet tissue for your water closet <wink>. I’ve started unsubscribing from any Guru/Newsletter or company that promises GARBAGE like this.

#6. Social proof is power. Search Twitter, Search Facebook, Search Forums and groups and read all you can about someone before making a big purchase.

#7. Stay focused on your goals **AND** the direction you’ve chosen to achieve that goal.

-          If you said you were going to make your living thru affiliate marketing – do that.

-          If it was via selling a service – do that.

-          If it was selling an ebook, cdrom or download – do that.

But whatever you do, don’t deviate or chase money or ways of making money or strategies, or other people’s ideas!!

RANT OFF..

When I worked with Corey Rudl, and eventually Derek Gehl at The Internet Marketing Center in Vancouver B.C., I recall many times when ethics prevailed. The company and Of course Corey & Derek were highly ethical people and never promoted anything that didn’t work, or truly couldn’t help people. It was a culture I’ve never seen before – and never seen again. It was truly amazing and exciting and I actually couldn’t wait to get to work each day.

Every day, I was on the phone with clients and customers helping them build their online businesses and it was truly a dream come true. I met with other gurus while working there on the phone and in person. In fact, I remember when IM Gurus were truly *ONLY* known by other IM Gurus and not by their customers so much…

There was a time when Customers and sales made the GURU. Today, a Guru decides he’s going to sell IM garbage and becomes a GURU on his own. Corey, became a guru by selling kit car books and eventually thru the sales of the book Car Tips Revealed and of course, selling Ferrari Emblems and other such car gadgetry.

Still, earned reputations!

I dare gurus to show significant proof that they’ve actually sold products outside the internet marketing niche! Most certainly before I felt qualified to start posting tips, I constantly wrote ebooks like Classified Car Tips, Training Cats Easily, Removing Smoke, and others. I wrote a book on writing great newsletters, and then eventually moved into a few internet marketing products like unstoppablekeywords.com and such.

Anyways.. Interesting how this industry’s evolving. At this moment I’d say there’s very few IM products out there that are truly worth recommending so if you *ever* see me post on any (which there aren’t many I do) I’d strongly recommend buying them, as my word is the only thing I have.