Here’s a question for you: Are people who dish out advice online even good at their craft? And does it even matter?
Are software developers who write blog posts like “How To Be A Great Developer” really great developers themselves, or are they just writing something to make money?
It’s a good question for everyone
Should you be listening to people giving advice online?
And if you do, how do you decide who to listen to?
Here’s the deal. The way most people view internet advice, there are two categories:
- Unsuccessful “gurus,” or people who give advice but don’t have the track record and credentials to back it up. Anonymous, course-peddling YouTube and Twitter advice accounts are one example.
- Successful “teachers” who give advice and can back it up with past success.
You will often see trading and finance gurus on YouTube who pretend to be good traders when in reality they’re not.
The real business is creating content, not the trading or genuine financial expertise.
Our take?
This is an extremely dangerous way to filter advice.
Being good at something and being good at teaching something are two separate skills.
Somewhere out there, there’s a kids’ swim coach who couldn’t, even in their prime, come close to making an Olympic team.
But when the goal is to teach swimming to beginners? They don’t necessarily need to have been a fast swimmer when they were 20 years old to be a good teacher to beginners.
The kids’ coach is leagues ahead of most swimming greats.
A kids’ chess coach may never be able to come close to even drawing Magnus Carlsen in a game, but they can be an effective teacher for kids who are learning how the pieces move and basic tactics.
And you get the idea…
I Spent $50,000 On “Fake Gurus”, Here’s What I Learned
Final word
When deciding who to take advice from, don’t focus on credentials only. Focus on the quality of the teaching itself.
