None of us can go through life without needing the help of other people. Life is too complex to learn everything we need to know on our own. That’s why teachers, coaches, consultants, advisors, mentors, and experts exist. But, problems can occur when we accept the advice of others who aren’t qualified to give instruction. You may be familiar with the phrases:
“Don’t take financial advice from a broke person.”
“Don’t take ski lessons from an instructor who’s just trying to pick up ski bunnies.”
As I work with authors, non-profits, and businesses, I see a lot of bad advice given and accepted. I hear keynote speakers make brazen claims at conferences. I see misconceptions perpetuated all over the Internet. Worse, I hear horror stories from my clients who got burned by bad advice from someone else. There’s a lot of blind leading the blind. For example:
- There are publishing experts who have never written a commercially successful book. Yet, they act like authorities on understanding the challenges authors face.
- There are life coaches who have never completed their own life goals. Yet, they charge people money to tell that person what’s holding them back in their life.
- There are non-profit advisors who’ve never raised money for a personal cause. Yet, they tell organizations how to spend their annual budget and create donation campaigns.
- There are business owners who have never shopped their own business. Yet, they pretend to be an expert at understanding their customers’ needs.
My point is that if you’re struggling to achieve a specific goal, only take advice from someone who has successfully navigated the specifics you face. Otherwise, you’re prone to receive all kinds of ineffective opinions, instruction, and ideas that aren’t grounded in reality.
You and I need to ask ourselves, “Am I making a major decision based on the advice of a pretender who has dabbled with my situation? Or, am I seeking counsel from someone who has already successfully gone down my path ahead of me?”
Don’t listen to too many people, and only listen to those whose advice creates the desired results. Take advice from someone who has actually done what you’re trying to do. Heck, you’re even free to take what I’ve said with a grain of salt.
Special Event Announcement:
Speaking of advice, I’ve been invited to conduct an exclusive 3-day seminar called “How to Market Your Message Like Wildfire” at the Allume Conference in Greenville, SC on October 23-25th.
The price for this separate seminar is an amazingly low $99. Plus, the first 20 people to register get a 20-minute, one-on-one, instructional session with me.
