Special type of “snake oil salesmen” are online motivational gurus also called motivational speakers.
Promising you a new life, self-improvement, motivation, creation of new habits, wealth, end of 9-5 slavery and many more. Often times based on meditation, “special new product”, ancient medicine, old rituals, usually with combination of yoga (I love yoga nothing against it) and of course in the center of this all is a powerful manipulating leader who was once like you but now she/he is enlightened. They often organize expensive retreats and seminars where they teach you “special techniques” that will help you uncover your true yourself, which in reality can be found for free in everyday discipline, managing your time properly, facing your fears, taking care of your loved ones and spending time with them, not avoiding your responsibilities but avoiding drugs, alcohol and dopamine release stimulated by distractions. Hope I don’t need to even mention that all these people didn’t invent any of the things they are asking you to pay so much for. Yoga has been with us for thousands of years, breathing exercises also, eating healthy foods and taking care of yourself and your family are not a secret. But the worse type of motivational guru is the one wanting you to become “pure” and positive all the time by owning nothing, meditating only, doing only stuff they promote and of course to be part of their paid retreats and buy all of their books. I found here a strange paradigm, half of these motivational gurus want you to buy a product or promote a new special technique which you need to pay for and the other half want you to be “pure” and exist mainly only in your mind by doing meditation and consuming their books, ideas and strange opinions. (hopefully you know that they all enjoy luxury and they own as much as they can while asking you to be “pure” and in reality useless to yourself, society and your family)
Not really sure how this “toxic positivity” lifestyle we all need is working out for our population as consumption of antidepressants is emerging everywhere, obesity is nearly a new norm and people are trying to avoid any discomfort to become “happy”. That’s why I named this article also “toxic positity”. By addicting you to this “dream of happiness” many people feel lost. There are extremes of people who are either endlessly looking for this falacy of happiness or the other extreme of people who are driven by fear. Common sense is not to be found. Success and failure go hand in hand, as goes happiness with disappointment and doing many mistakes before you find things that work for you. And that is normal, being sad and unhappy sometimes is normal, don’t panic if you do not have or live a lifestyle of people promoted on social media, chances are that you are the normal person and they just sold their soul and you we have no idea what’s going on behind their “closed doors”.
The problem is that we humans are here to survive, that is our main goal, not to be happy. Truly happy are we only in our mother’s womb but once we are “out” it is a game of survival. But this was shifted and manipulated in a big way thanks to the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud which was used in many ways to create the “age of consumption” in which we need to be happy and the best way to do so is by not thinking for yourself, but by consumerism, by dopamine addiction and by listening to those who “know better”. (I will write an article about shift to consumerism or do a longer series about it and how we got here as this it is a fascinating story).
As with online snake salesmen, motivational gurus are becoming more and more powerful with the help of online marketing and as most of us speak English nowdays their reach becomes global. Finding inspiration in someone else’s success is great, but you do not need to be part of any of these motivational’s gurus sects and pay for their wealth. You need to realize that manipulation techniques are here and are not hard to learn and believe me when I say that all of them are using it. As with “get rich quick gurus”, motivational gurus are here only because we are responsible for making them rich and powerful. They are connected to the online marketing and social media and without you being distracted by it all the time they couln’t feed you with ideas that something is wrong with you if you do not use their product or use techniques they’re promoting.
We have only one life and you will find satisfaction in applying discipline to your everyday life and by connecting with people you love, not by fantasizing about the things gurus and marketers put into our heads and persuaded us to believe that we need them. The same story are motivational books with similar titles like 5 steps to greatness, 10 habits of successful people, 3 ways that will get you rich, just start googling and the list will be endless. I’m thankfull that life is not easy as they promote, what would I do for the rest of my life after completing those 3 steps to greatness ?
Don’t forget that money never disappear, money are transferred from your pocket into their pocket.
It creates the opposite of the desired, you’re becoming poorer and therefore more unmotivated.
Disclaimer: I have nothing against inspiring people who preach healthy lifestyle, self-development and discipline. But I have a problem with this manipulating multi billion industry selling you a dream of happiness and “quick path” while making them rich. As always, use common sense.
Take care, talk to you soon.
