Following a guru is a downward path, not an upward path.

Specialists: Healthy and Otherwise

There is a serious difference between appreciating someone's work and hanging on their every word and joining yourself to their cause. The first is healthy; the second is not.

There are some of us who specialize in patching ideas together in new and useful ways. And let me tell you, it's not easy work… and I think it's important that the people who do such work should be paid for it.

That's why, for example, I charge for my monthly newsletter – it's a lot of work, and I have bills to pay like everyone else. (It's also why I've paid other newsletter writers for their work, over many years.)

But even in my favorite case, where you all buy my monthly newsletter, I should not be your guru – I'm just a guy doing an unusual job. If I do my job well, I provide you with useful ideas, which will improve your mind and your life. That's worthy of respect, but it is not something that anyone should blindly follow.

The things that I say (or that anyone says) should never be considered right just because we say them, but rather because they make sense, are supported by evidence, and so on.