Have you ever looked at the gurus in your industry and wondered how you can create the same success in your business as they have? It seems like everything they do works while your hard work and effort continually fall short.

Well, there may be a very good reason for that and in this post, I’ll be sharing with you some insights for you to consider as well as part of my personal journey to where I’m at today (which is quite freeing if I do say so myself).

Gurus come in all shapes and sizes. Some are tech savvy while others aren’t. Some have huge teams while others don’t. There are many gurus who specialize in certain aspects of the business while also removing other aspects that their competitors do. This is part of their personal strategy and it’s pretty obvious that it works for them.

This fact isn’t inherently bad. It’s actually a good thing because it shows that they’ve found exactly what works for them and they’ve worked at it to make it succeed. In other words, if they’ve found success in the unique ways they do business, so can you.

Where The Guru Model Falls Flat

Let’s say you were following these gurus hoping to learn and emulate their business models. Sounds like a worthwhile endeavor, right?

Well, modeling is a key factor of success, however, here’s what actually happens to many people. In fact, it happened to me and it kept me stuck for almost 5 years.

You look to one guru and they’re doing well… very well. So, the logical step is to start doing what they’re doing. You start changing your original business idea. You begin shaping your business, your products, or services after theirs because if you have what they have, you may succeed like they succeed.

But then a funny thing happens. Another guru comes along that does things a little differently. They do thing different from the first guru and they’re definitely different from what you were originally doing when you got started.

And the cycle goes on and on….

and on…

Months later (if you’re lucky), you look at your business and all the effort and investments you’ve made to model your business after the gurus but still find yourself frustrated and discouraged because you’re not doing nearly as well as any of them, and quite possibly, you may find yourself much worse than you started.

The problem isn’t them. They’re running their business as they’ve decided to.

The problem isn’t really you either because your intention was simply to have a better business.

The problem is actually misinformation and oversight by most entrepreneurs. 

You see, chasing after gurus and the way they conduct their own businesses generally has nothing to do with your business. When you focus more on what they’re doing, you diminish what you really got in business to do.

Your efforts are simply misaligned with your core reasons for getting in business in the first place and what you originally intended to do uniquely from everyone else. Focusing on them removed the focus on you and what makes what you do so amazing.

The Journey To Business Clarity

I know what I’m saying here may sound a little harsh, but the truth is, I was a victim of this vicious cycle myself. After experiencing a tremendous financial loss from the real estate meltdown, I was in a place where I could start anything from scratch. I was no longer involved in my first two businesses, mortgage companies, because the market changed.

It was time to take a new course.

I figured I’d get into some form of coaching and training because I’d had tons of success training financial professionals on how to effectively market themselves to fill their schedules fast.

Then a friend introduced me to internet marketing and I was in love.

I started blogging because I saw gurus who claimed to make a 6 figure income from blogging. Then I heard about selling information products so I jumped on that bandwagon (while completely stopping the blog that was already generating momentum). A couple months later, I found a course on article marketing and followed that course.

This kept on for about 2 years before I actually developed my first product and generated my first $47 online. Yes, 2 years to make my first $47 from the internet.

Of course, the gurus I was learning from and investing in were doing WAAAYYYY better than I was but I kept jumping from one thing to another and one guru to another trying to find something that actually worked.

It was about 3 years in when I finally started to find my stride but still very much unfocused and directionless. Of course, by then, I’d have invested in over a dozen $2,000 programs, high ticket coaching and even countless $27-$197 information products. All that and I still didn’t know what business I was really in.

Did I mention that my results were not even a fraction of what any of those gurus claimed.

The funny thing is, because I got my head and hands in nearly every aspect of marketing and internet marketing, I knew much more than they did technically, but they were still doing far better than I was.

Finally, enough was enough.

I got help from someone who took a totally different approach.

Instead of starting with what the gurus were doing, my coach asked me something that I’d totally forgotten about…

He asked, “Alex, what do you want your business to look like“?

What a wake up call from a simple question.

The Business Discovery That Accelerates Joy And Success

The question wasn’t profound but was incredibly significant.

After spending close to 5 years trying to do what the gurus were doing, I was finally confronted with a question that would refocus me on I wanted to do in my business.

Somewhere down the line in my pursuit to achieve what others have, I lost my own purpose and passion and traded it for someone else’s agenda. No wonder nothing really worked and successes I did have were only temporary.

I was trying to build a business that I didn’t even want; I simply wanted their results.

Because of that, I truly got clear on what mattered to me. I realized that different people have different goals, aspirations, plans and values and I was trying to duplicate their business without even filtering those opportunities to ensure they’re aligned to what’s important to me.

As a result of that, it’s been a 3 year journey into creating a business that I want. It’s important that I have a business that supports and values my faith, family, financial goals and fun factor. That helps me determine what I’m willing to do and what I’m not willing to compromise in my pursuit of success.

From Frustration To Freedom!

I gotta say, once I defined what was important to me and what I loved doing that was profitable and purposeful, developing my business became much easier than it’s ever been trying to follow in someone else’s footsteps.

I still learn from gurus, but only if what they offer is aligned to where I’m already headed. They no longer have any decision making abilities that will shift the direction of my business.

As a result of choosing my own path, I’ve focused entirely on helping entrepreneurs and service professionals pave their own way to create a business that supports the life they want so they no longer live life by someone else’s design. There’s no amount of blogging, article writing, Adsense, pay per click, social media or other marketing tactic that will trump my desire to serve entrepreneurs in creating an extraordinary life.

Likewise, there’s no guru out there that will distract me from my purpose and calling.

What’s Your Anti-Guru Business Approach?

Have you experienced any of this? Leave your comments below and share what you want out of your business? What would your perfect business look like?

P.S. If you aren’t clear about where you’re heading, we should talk. If you’re looking for help and support and are ready to design your life and business around what you value and love, I invite you to schedule a Breakthrough Strategy Session with me. Click here to get started.