Cult Zero to Cult Hero – Information Keeps Friends

Internet Marketing – Some Form Of Cult?

On 3 occasions in the last week I have read posts on different social media sites that all basically said the same thing – “I have lost friends since telling them I was an Internet Marketer”.

In this article I will briefly tell you why I think this might be happening, why some people think that Internet Marketing is almost Cult like and some quick tips to ensure your success as a respected Internet Marketer with a lot of genuine friends.  I’ll ensure you stay a cult hero and not become a cult zero.

Where Does It Start?

The standard response to the reason why some “friends” disassociate themselves from Internet Marketers, generally seems to be “They are afraid of your success!!” – followed by a lot of quotes from various personal development media attempting to convince you that your friend is wrong due to their poor mental attitude.

Very interesting.  However, I see it slightly differently. I believe that any person who is prepared to end a friendship over the means by which you earn a living – without any real knowledge of how you earn that living – was never really a genuine friend in the first place.

But to blame the loss of your friends on their inferior negative attitude just doesn’t sit right with me.

Now don’t get me wrong – having the right mental attitude  is absolutely essential to have a Successful Business and what’s more, having a positive outlook on all areas of your life is of immeasurable benefit to everyone around you – the proof is definitely out there for all to see and I’m a strong believer in it.

Attitude Hypocrisy

No, what makes me annoyed is when the “negative attitude” card is played straight off the bat as the reason why many things don’t work out as expected – giving the impression that those exponents of the philosophies of The Secret, Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Napoleon Hill, Bob Procter, et al are in some way superior to those who have a different outlook on life.

And the same people who are always the first to blame every negative occurrence on the lack of a correct mental attitude are more often than not, the very same people who sell a product to someone, take their money and then disappear from view offering no further help or assistance to the person who bought into their “positive” preachings in the first place – hypocrisy of the highest order.

What makes it worse is that the aforementioned philosophies quite rightly teach us all to embrace diversity, respect, honesty, integrity and above all to help others (You can have anything in the world you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want – Zig).

The result of the actions of unscrupulous marketers, who are constantly pushing their product down the throats of everyone they come into contact with at every opportunity and making false or unrealistic claims, is that the whole image of our great industry becomes tarnished

It only takes one bad story or experience to ruin the reputation of the so many of us that are trying hard to do good things for people. (Good news travels but bad news travels faster – sad but true!!)

Encouraging Positive Thinking or Brainwashing?

I can see why the whole image of internet marketing is viewed by some people as being somewhat that of a “cult” by the way in which many marketers constantly ram the “Everything that happens to you is because of what you are thinking” mantra down everyone’s throats and then using it as the reason for someone’s failure, misfortune or misunderstanding – it’s pompous and can almost be seen as brainwashing.

As someone once said to me, “Try telling a starving African child that it’s their fault they have no food because they are not trying hard enough to visualise bringing food into their lives – try and taste the roast beef and vegetables, visualise it, believe it”!!

Cruelly funny but absolute rubbish – but a perfect example of how some people’s cult like belief in their positive mental approach is sometimes misplaced. And the same can be said in their attitude towards friends who find it difficult to understand what exactly it is that they do.

Bad Image = Poor Personal Branding

No wonder then that Internet Marketers have a bad image – right up there with traffic wardens and real estate agents!!

It’s not a poor mental attitude towards Internet Marketing that puts relationships – personal and professional – under such great strain, it’s the poor image of Internet Marketing as a whole that does.

But that image is not created by the incorrect mental attitude of others, it’s created by misinformation.

You see, in my opinion, your friend -sorry, ex-friend apparently – is just suffering from a lack of information, knowledge or understanding.

So how can you change the attitudes of the misinformed about Internet Marketing?

At the end of the day it’s really quite simple. If you want to change the image of Internet Marketing – start actually practicing what you preach.

Be open and honest about what it is that you do.

Don’t be vague and mysterious about it – there is no “Secret” to what we do – especially not when you are trained properly. See My Training Here.

Treat others as you expect to be treated yourself, be honest in telling people like it is and strenuously try to provide value for others in everything you do.

Listen to what people are asking you and try to provide appropriate solutions to their problems or needs.

Above all else – do not force your recently acquired positive beliefs onto everyone like a religious zealot – and then confuse their lack of the correct information, knowledge or understanding with having a poor mental attitude.

If you do all of the above, you will be a successful and well respected Internet Marketer with a great deal of genuinely good friends.