Sociopaths in guru clothing
Published: Thu, 02/06/20
Don't bother trying to rationalize it, either.
These particular people — sociopaths — are 4% of the population according to one Harvard psychologist, and don't have any feelings of regret, love, or compassion.
Their brains simply aren't "wired" for it.
The way I hear it:
The idea of caring about someone else is as foreign to them as the color "red" is to someone born blind. And because of this, they have no problem lying through their teeth, stealing your money, or doing whatever it takes to get what they want from you.
Even if it means ruining your life as you know it.
But here's the especially cold thing about this:
Since these people don't have any natural reactions and moral guidance, they watch the rest of us “normies” very carefully. Especially how we respond and react to other peoples' words and actions. As a result, they become masters of persuasion and manipulation; as well as at faking empathy, compassion, and concern for others.
Some of them are almost supernaturally good at it.
Even to the point where they will have you believing they're your best friend within 5 minutes of meeting them.
Now, to be fair, not everyone with this condition does bad things.
But quite a few of them do.
And the bad ones are many times drawn to positions of power & influence where they are treated like rockstars — such as law, politics, religion, and, yes… especially direct marketing.
Their every word is quoted like “gospel” in these arenas here.
And they are admired, encouraged, and practically worshipped by the easily manipulated & skeptical alike for their "extraordinary" persuasion abilities. And when you have something worth stealing — like your time, money, talent, list, or some other asset — the bad ones will target you. Wet-behind-the-ears freelancers & coaches willing to work for free and people with money to invest in various schemes are especially ripe fruit for the picking. They will target you, and "work" you for months to get your trust and become your good buddy.
They will promise you the moon.
Show you all the proof you need.
And have you thinking they are your best friend, when they are really stalking you like a predator waiting for the right time to strike and run away with the booty. (The money kind or, I suppose, if you are a girl ,maybe the other kind, too…)
You think I jest?
Think ye again, Chuckles.
One day they're your best friend… the next they ripped off your customer list and sold it to your competitor… or got you to write an ad "on speck" only to copyright that ad and claim it for themselves… or got you to pay them a fat fee for some service only to skip town…etc.
Even Yours Naively was targeted like this in my freelancing days.
Thus, I speaketh from experience…
And if you are successful (or plan to be successful), have anything of value to steal, use, or abuse… then one or more of these people will be coming for you. It's just a matter of time. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or next year. But mark my sweet words of crotchety wisdom on this, it is going to happen.
Maybe you're thinking:
“I am great at 'reading' people. Nobody will ever pull a fast one on me."
That's admirable, but foolish.
With these people, at least.
They are so good at deception, manipulation and lying...most people are flat out baffled when the hammer finally drops. I would bet if you were to make a list of the 10 most successful people you know, and ask them about this, at least half or more would tell you, “yep, got screwed by so-and-so, and never saw it coming…”
It’s almost like a right of passage for success.
That’s the bad news.
The good news?
I’m not saying there’s one behind every bush.
But even outside of business, 1 in 23 people you know is one statistically. Inside the direct marketing world, I suspect there are twice as many (pure speculation on my part — do with this info what you want). And if you know what to look for, you can see these people coming a mile away — without needing any special discernment, training, or "street smarts" whatsoever. All you have to know are a few little "signs" they leave wherever they go. Signs that make it completely obvious who you are dealing with the minute they start talking to you or, yes… sending you emails, DM’s, or posdibly even text messages. This kind of knowledge is vital when dealing with new joint venture partners, clients, service providers, or other assorted "gurus" in your field.
Especially in the Internet age, where these people thrive.
But here's the thing:
Nobody will touch this topic in their books, tapes, or fancy high-priced seminars. It’s simply too controversial and will rub too many people the wrong way. In fact, the only person I know of who teaches about this problem (and how to protect yourself against it) is… Ken McCarthy. His Advanced Copywriting For Serious Infomarketers course shows you exactly what these guys do, how they do it, and how to identify them.
It took a lot of guts for Ken to publicly teach this.
And you will likely never hear it anywhere else.
Especially since certain so-called "gurus" would probably lose their businesses in a heartbeat if everyone knew what Ken teaches. Frankly, this email doesn't even scratch the surface on just how widespread and dangerous this problem is in our industry. I remember my stomach dropping and thinking this information would have saved me a lot of money and humiliation had I known it before. And even listening to the audios you can tell the room went ice cold during this part of the conference.
My opinion (biased as it is):
This info alone can been worth a 100 times the price for some people.
But, if you use my affiliate link you can have it for a gigantic discount exclusively for my Horde if you grab it before Sunday, 2/9, at midnight EST.
There’s a reason I say Ken is not just a “copywriting” teacher.
His teachings go way beyond just writing ads.
Plus, when you use my affiliate link and send me your receipt & shipping address by that deadline (not after — you must also send me your receipt by the deadline), I will send you a copy of:
“Crypto Marketing Secrets”
This is the entire 30-issue run of my old “Crypto Marketing Newsletter” in a book.
This print newsletter ran from early 2010 through mid 2012. It is also not for sale anywhere else, and less than a few hundred people — give or take — on the planet even possess it at all.
NOTE:
This is a *physical* book that will be sent by mail at my expense.
Retail value: $810.00 (30-issue run, each issue costed $27)
It’s yours when you buy Ken’s copywriting course via my affiliate link during the sale here:
http://www.EmailPlayers.com/secret-course
Ben Settle
P.S. A word of warning to the new product junkies, marketing hobbyists, and opportunity seekers chasing after “hacks” or whatever bright shiny object horse shyt they think will make them a fortune:
This course is not sexy or “cool.”
It’s purely fundamentals mixed with decades of info marketing experience combined with sound, principled thought & the rules of human psychology.
That’s why I call it “meat & potatoes.”
Learning from this man, from this course (as I went through it some 15 times to write the sales letter for it back in my early copywriter days) was by far the best education I ever got on the mechanics of writing sales copy.
If you’re a newbie, this is the kind of info I highly recommend.
If you’re a veteran, I believe you’ll still pick a lot of gems up.
Even seasoned A-list copywriters like, for example, the great David Deutsch, and other world-class “name” marketers like Perry Marshall (who rarely gives a testimonial to copywriting products, from what I can see) have given this course testimonials about this over the years.
The point?
If you want "ninja" go to another lame internet marketing seminar or be a bar fly in yet another copywriting facebook group. They'll fill your head with all kinds of nonsensical short term tactics that sound cool and sexy, but don't work long term, or for anyone but the person teaching them.
If you want to write ads that make lots of sales, I recommend (biased though I am) this course.
Here’s my affiliate link:
http://www.EmailPlayers.com/secret-course