051 • Your gurus are human too, don't idolise them
The other day I listened to the entirety of a Chris Williamson podcast in a single afternoon.
And it was one of the most formative episodes that I’ve listened to in a long time.
The reason for this - someone I’ve admired greatly for his YouTube content came on the show, and Chris took this as an opportunity to give him some advice.
You see my inspiration had positioned himself as a guru. In the majority of what he was saying he was convinced he was sharing universal truth. Or at least he spoke like it.
But this truth varied slightly every time I listened.
So Chris advised him (and I’m paraphrasing here) - ‘you have the potential to be a great guide for so many people man, but you’ve got to work on positioning. You lose credibility the more you change your mind. It’s okay to admit that you don’t fully understand something.’
And it was refreshing to see this happen. Because I think that knowing your gurus are not perfect is so important to remember, whichever side of the content/consumption equation you find yourself on.
From the creation side, it’s a sign to simply be honest. Nobody has life entirely figured out, but many have achieved things other people desire. There's nothing wrong with sharing the information to help people reach the same point of understanding and execution.
The best service you can do is to tell the truth of what you believe or have learned, without positioning it as absolute truth. Admit there’s flaws in your perception of reality and that people should treat your guidance as such.
When people trust you enough and you show enough proof of accomplishment they won’t mind that you admit you might be wrong. I try not to indulge in absolutes, saying you 'must', or anything of a similar nature.
And in terms of content consumption, you can take given advice on board as coming from a place of probable greater wisdom and achievement in the context of what you're pursuing. But remember that none of your gurus are infallible.
This is relevant whether you’re taking advice from me in how to manage your knowledge or you’re taking advice from Warren Buffet on how to accumulate wealth.
Although there’s likely something to learn in both contexts (dare I say comparatively more from Buffet than myself), we don’t have access to your own experiences that took you to where you are at the moment.
We don’t process information in the same way. We don’t have the same goals, the same desires and the same idea of what a life well-lived looks like.
So treat what we and others say accordingly. Try and learn through action where possible, and then you can look at the outcomes and make your own decisions on what is effective action and what is not.
Have a great week! I’ll see you soon for the completion of an entire year’s worth of Fundamentalised issues.
-- Theo
What I've read this week...
Nothing really, aside from lecture notes - if you want, I can give you a couple of facts about vertebrates. If you're not interested, feel free to click away now...
Killing/eating young is alarmingly prevalent in the animal kingdom (think baboons and bitterns)
Some fish can breathe air, and spend part of their lives on land. It's their ancestors that gave rise to amphibians.