They Promise Us Riches. But Here's the Real Story

Caspar Camille Rubin @casparrubin

Of course they'd claim they're not making any promises, but their voice tone strongly suggests they are. They offer us a business model which made them millions, and if we just follow their formula to the letter, we'd make big money too. So that's also their escape route--if we don't make money, it's because we failed to follow the formula--even if we had correctly.

So you pay for this ridiculously costly webinar, e-book or instructional video and follow everything that is said there. The ad about it was spectacular and it promised you financial freedom. Sometimes even millions of cash plus a mansion and posh car aside from a luxury world tour. No more working for a boss--or better, you can "fire your boss" and make money residually all your life. Who wouldn't buy something like that?

One material like this cost something like P15,000. It can go as high as P20K. Absurd. Why price something this high? You want to make money, not lose it. Much less, an exorbitant amount like that. And they say they want to help you. It's priced high like that because the formula isn't cheap. If you're serious about making big money with a business, price should not be an issue. You should be willing to pay the price--and a lot more baloney talks like that, just to get your money.

Here's the funnier thing. Some of them say they don't need your money because they're already rich. They're making millions. So why should you feel like the guy just wants to take your money? "You can keep your P15K, I don't need it," he says. If you don't want the product, don't buy. But it's going to cost you your future, or something like that. You miss the chance to make millions with their surefire formula. And many are already making big money with it, in fact!

So these guys showcase a list of success stories. "I actually made hundreds of thousands in just 5 days!" one would say. "I can't believe it! Three million in just a month!" says another. But how many didn't make any money? If there were a thousand buyers, how many were successful as against those who just lost their money? Probably 50? A hundred? What happened to the 900? Here's what they say--the 900 didn't actually do the formula. They didn't believe. You have to believe.

But who'd buy something like P15K or P20K and just junk it? Nobody. You'd do it the best you could. But still, nothing. Oh yeah, it happens. It's not that people who bought the product never tried or they're just too dumb to follow instructions correctly. And both the buyers and the sellers can't figure out why. The seller goes, "It can't be. It's a sure formula. It made me millions!" The buyer says, "Am I a jinx, that everybody's making millions and I'm not?"

Nope. Some 900 of you are jinxes and only about 100 are not. And the promise-makers highlight that 100 and make it look like they have, indeed, a surefire, unquestionable business success formula. And how many did the promise-maker make? More millions. There he is making more millions, but he's not satisfied with that. He'd think of another product to make you "a real success this time"--in fact, more successful than those who had already made millions. Sound familiar?

He had designed a business model "especially for you" so you'd really make money this time. Well, something went wrong along the way the first time--you probably lost your way around the formula--you're not to blame (it's not your fault)--but fret not because now he has something up his sleeves that will really help you make it big. The guy has put into this new formula "everything I know about online business" and being so, it's not cheap.

Some other gurus would sell it for P50K, but he's not even going to sell it to you half that price. That makes you excited, for sure. He's not going to sell it for P35K or even P30K. You know how much he's going to sell it? ONLY P24,500, and the price is made especially for you! So you buy it, hoping this time it'd really work. And the guy would assure you that yup this time it will work out right. But after buying and trying, you get the same story--except this time you're really broke with a big debt--because you borrowed that P24,500 and the previous P20K as well.

Again, the guy tells you the shortcoming is from you because his second formula was a surefire hit. You probably didn't  do it as you should or you got lost again somewhere in the formula--"but it's not your fault."

So, you're fed up. You wonder why you're such a jinx, a luckless guy born a loser, not realizing there's 900 of you feeling thus, or probably more. Because truth is, only 100 (or less) made money of it. Yeah it can make money, but not everyone will. This is what these promise-makers cannot realize. They think because something worked for 100 or even 400 people, it's a surefire formula. The same is true with network marketing. Always, only a small number of uplines way up the system actually make millions and the rest below are milking cows.

So, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) did something about making "surefire" promises about products. You can't make absurd claims like success business formulas anymore because to the FTC that's a scam or a fraud. And you also cannot use success testimonies to claim your business formula will work for everyone. And you may not sound as surefire, too, with your ads. You can only say what's truth--that your business model is, well, a business model people may try. We should have an FTC in the Philippines, too.

Truth About Making Money

Now, here's the truth about making money, online or otherwise. Nothing is surefire. There's no guarantee. So you shouldn't sound like what you're offering is sure to make people money, especially lots of money. Success for a hundred people--or even 1,000 of them--doesn't mean it's a success formula for everyone. You still have to tone down your ads and claims and not make a lot of fuss or hype about it.

Here's deeper truth. God alone decides what works for you and who gets how much. IT'S GOD ALONE. Promise-makers think it's their formula. It is not. Often, success makes you myopic and narrows down your insights into things You think you've become great and have figured out everything just because you made millions. The same thing with ministry--many pastors think they've figured everything out just because they have mega churches.

6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. [Psalm 75]

It's not in systems, strategies, programs, techniques, hard work, models or formulas. These things help a lot, to be sure, but they don't decide end results. So don't sell them too costly. Only God decides victory or defeat. This is why some make it big, others make just enough, and the rest don't. No one can claim authorship of success. It's stupid. Be thankful that God decided success for you, all by his grace and mercy. For sure God has a good plan even with defeat. Don't think it's about you or how you do things. Don't let arrogance get into your system and imprison you in a self-congratulatory disposition, thinking you succeeded because you're smart or hardworking.

Thus, I think business materials and formulas should sell at P300 or P500 a piece. Or P1,000 at most. Because they can never promise buyers anything. They can be of some help at best. Other than that, no more. I bought a wonderful book on making money on the internet by a real expert, titled "Get Rich Click" (by Marc Ostrofsky) and it cost only P300. That's what I'm saying.