How to Know Which Guru to Follow to the Top of the Mountain

Marketing Guru
Blogging Guru
Social Media Guru
Lifestyle Guru
Business Guru

The more time I spend interacting on my social media accounts the more I come into contact with people who tout themselves as guru of this or that. They say they can help me get more twitter followers, more sales, more blog readers and more money for my efforts. They tell me they can help guide me to the top of my business mountain.

Image by disordered design, via flickr

I take time to look at some of their profiles, blogs, and websites because, hey, who can’t use a little guidance now and then?  We all want to be better at what we do. Right?

Sometimes the gurus give out a bit of free advice in order to entice me to sign up for their newsletter. Which I have done. They tell me “this is the way” and I read on to learn the way.

Then I visit another guru and he says “No, this is the way” and I become confused or even frustrated by their disparate advice.

I’ve felt drawn to some gurus and left others moments after scanning their site. I’ve taken some advice that came back to bite me in the butt and other advice that turned out to be good and sound.

How does a small business person know which guru to follow?

Image by jmhullot, via Flickr

I’ve become a bit of a skeptic when it comes to gurus. Not totally shutting out their advice and wisdom yet, being more selective about what I believe and or try.

Lately, I have come to realize that I put gurus through a series of filters. My filters look something like this:

First, out of all the gurus out there I have found a few who sound like me. They “speak my language” and I can relate to them. Maybe they come from the same part of the country as I do. Maybe they are funny, a mom, a bit sassy or in the same business I’m in.

It doesn’t make all the other gurus less knowledgeable but it makes it easier for me to communicate and understand if I have something in common.

Second, I follow a guru around for a while. Is her voice consistent or is she changing tactics every other week? Does he make sense to me most of the time? Do her ethics jive with mine? I once started following a guru only to find that she went from being a social media guru to some kind of political/religious promoter every other day. And I found another guru that seemed wise and nurturing on his website only to find that he was completely the opposite on his facebook and twitter accounts.

Third, I take everything with a grain of salt. No mater how smart, thoughtful and savvy the guru seems there is no one answer that fits all blogs, businesses or lives. It’s important to know when something a guru says doesn’t apply to me or doesn’t feel right in my gut. And if there is one thing I have learned it is to always follow my gut.

So which guru do I select to guide me to the top of the mountain? I take a bit of wisdom from each guru I come across and I put it through my filters, I decide what best fits my life, style, or business and then I go with my gut to sort out the information that applies to me and apply it in a way that I feel will benefit me the best.

In the end… I am my guru.

 By: Vicki O’Dell , The Creative Goddess