INTERNET GURU AND EXPERT

I am amazed how much people have misunderstood the meaning of 'gurus', especially in the western world. I quote from wikipedia,"

An "expert" (Audio (US) (help·info)) is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public.

A guru (Sanskrit: गुरु) is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a given area, and uses it to guide others. .......In a further Western metaphorical extension, guru is used to refer to a person who has authority because of his or her perceived secular knowledge or skills.


In Malay, 'guru' literally means teacher. I am a guru of language and childhoodspeech. And I am also an expert by virtue of my teaching experience and qualification.

Expertise comes with experience and knowledge on a given discipline. To become an expert, you must have the technical skills to be able to give good judgment and decisions on issues that will affect another person's well-being, including his finances and health.

A guru will be able to guide you on techniques and skills which experts cannot because expert's special knowledge limits them from agreeing with fields of study not of his kind. An analyst of market trends for example may not agree with his colleagues opinion of global inflation.

A 'guru' can easily become an 'expert' once he chooses to focus a field of study. Yet not all experts want to become a 'guru' or teacher because it involves understanding what the student's needs and work from that point of need.

An expert talks about his field of study at seminars and workshops, but rarely interact with his audience. He imparts his knowledge and skill based on his understanding on the majority needs. When he is done, he attends to a few questions, clarifies doubts about his subject and leaves.

A teacher however, speaks to his students and discuss issues or problems the students are facing. Sometimes, a teacher can be a dictator because he believes his systems of understanding a process will lead to more positive results.

Before you start buying into products, ask specific question about you doubts, problems and issues. If you need a teacher, you do not buy from an expert because somewhere down the line, you will be left unattended. If you want an expert, you have to work in synergy with his professional position and not get emotional when you own opinions of doing things contradicts.

You need to understand that you have your own learning style. Pick from it and start from there. If you don't begin from yourself, you will just be wasting money and time investing on a person you thought would help you in your journey to success.

This post is written to address readers who have spent so much time and money on products and have since not received any results. When the going gets tough, the tendency is to jump into the marketplace and start buying the most popular expert guidebook.

I just spoke to a newbie who has paid US$100/- for an ebook to build his website. Now he is stuck on how to manage and organise his website because the so-called expert author has no time to teach.

How about those who have attended workshops and seminars of internet 'gurus'? When you raise your hand to ask a question, he says, "let me attend to you later during the break," instead of saying, "if you have any questions, please note them, I will attend to them before you leave, in the meantime, here is how you can reach me" The worst kind of expert is the kind that leaves you with a no-reply address.

If you are here to become successful, understanding the difference between guru and expert will help you make better choices and save you lots of time and money.