Hello, My name is Dave and I'm an Internet Guru.

...or better stated, working very hard to be one.

 

 I am not sure when it happened but it did. Aspiring to be a GURU has become a bad thing. Not a day goes buy where I do not see a post, meme, articles, blog, or have a conversation where the status "guru" is being disrespected. Not just in the fitness industry, either. It happens in all industries, the worst being the marketing industry.

Here are a couple lists of gurus that have not just made an impact but have caused change in many lives.

 Leadership Professionals

 To 50 Leadership and Management Experts

There are some interesting things about these people that stick out to me. I’ve heard of almost all of them. I have read many of their books and articles, a couple I have hired and heard speak. Many of them have influenced the way I Live, Learn and Pass On. I can even say a couple of them have changed my life.

Maybe it’s time to step back and look at what it means to be a guru and what it takes to become one.

From Dictionary.com:

noun

An intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.

 Any person who counsels or advises; mentor:

 A leader in a particular field:

When I read into this I see someone who is dedicated to helping others and busts their ass learning their trade/craft so they can become leaders in the field. They not only practice, but study, educate, lead by example, and work on becoming better everyday so they can become better at helping others. More important, they are respected. You can not agree with their views, you can hate what they say, look like or what they think...but you still respect them.

 

When did this become a bad thing?

  • When did learning more become a bad thing?
  • When did helping others become a chore and only something worth doing when paid for it?
  • When did settling for what you currently know become enough?
  • What has happened to our standards and why do they get less each year?
  • Is the teacher or student to blame?
  • Why settle when you know you can do better?
  • When did having pride in doing your best get traded for how much you can get paid for sub-par work?

Maybe it's time to stop making fun of a status worthy of respect and practicing what it takes to get there because, when it's all said and done, being a guru is not a status you get a degree for. It's not a status you earn from your friends. It's earned by what you do, how you do it, and by both your haters and followers alike.

When I was still competing, I had a coach who I've considered a guru before working with him, while working with him, and still today.

 

Here are somethings I've  learned from him that I still work on today.

1. You can be set in your ways but that doesn’t mean your ways are right and can’t be improved. Improve them. Live changes and change is life. To stay the same is not living.

2. Read everyday and look outside the box for solutions you can bring inside it to become better. The greatest innovations in any industry do not come from within it. The greatest innovations happen when multiple industries collide around one common objective. Reading everyday is not your fucking Facebook timeline. If you would like a suggested book list, please ask in the comments  and we will provide links as needed.

3. Always listen to ideas from others. Even if you will not use them or you disagree, listen to the ideas. You never know what you'll learn.

4. If you run with the lame you will become lame. Look for those better and smarter than you.  Avoid people who always agree. They offer nothing . Avoid those who always disagree as they also offer nothing.

5. Give, give, give and give more. Giving is the reward for all the hard work you do and you will not get this until you give until it hurts. Giving is the greatest success you will ever have.

6. You can’t control others but you can control yourself. Who cares what someone else says or does, as how will this make you better? Care more about what you need to do to become better and this means doing these things you don’t like and suck at doing.

7. Learning is not reinforcing what you already know. Learning is being frustrated about what you do not know and working your ass off to understand it enough to teach later.

8. Talk with professionals in your field whom you do not agree with and look for why. This is if they have more to offer than just their own experience. They need more than themselves and a handful of people to validate debating in the first place.

9. Learn what you know enough to debate it if questions. If you can’t defend it, then you don’t know or believe in it. "Because it works" and "because I said so" are not good answers.

10. Spend more time questioning why you do what you do instead of patting yourself on the back for how awesome what you do is. Your why will always carry you further than your what, when, where, or who.

Two Bonuses

I can't take complete credit for the list above nor the two below. These have all come from people I highly respect.

11. Be an Eagle.  Fly high with pride so you can see the forest through the trees, yet see the fish near the surface of the water. Always be able to lightning down when you need nourishment.

12. Be the Lonely Lion.  The pursuit of success and integrity can be a lonely one. Don't be afraid to walk alone, as out on your journey you may see a pack of extremely dangerous hyenas. If they get too close, drop them!

Be both — brains and watching and then daily actions to keep normal family or tribe fed and well.  - RW

 

elitefts eagle

 

If you want to be the ones to make fun of gurus, disregard all of this shit and build a bigger platform for you to stand on and buy a megaphone because right now very few give a shit. People care about what you can do to help them, not how well you can tear others down.  Show them what you know and how you can help. This is what matters most.

My name is Dave and I am an Internet Guru. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.