82 Comments »

Sundog said:
I can’t help but wonder how much of this crap comes back to Tim Ferriss’ “book launch” strategies – he’s a big fan of Joe Polish and Eben Pagan, and has been helping other authors game the Times’ and Amazon best-seller lists with the help of these guru types.
  +6
[Reply]

Anonymous Reply:
April 24th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
@Sundog, Yup. You got it in one. It all leads back to PUAs too, and Ferriss is balls deep in the ass of the PUA “community”. By studying Ferriss I have come to realise just how monopolised the internet actually is….and google’s motto is I think more appropriate as “do no evil that can be obviously seen”.
  +4
[Reply]

G. Reply:
May 10th, 2013 at 5:30 pm
@, HALLELUJA!! I thought I was the only one that saw all the links between Ferriss and the ninth circle of hell. He fooled me well and good for a while, but that guy is a fuck-bag of shit. If I ever get the chance to do so I will challenge him to a public no holds barred MMA match. Cause you know, he’s a world champion and almost a decade younger than me and you know “superhuman fit” so I’m sure he’ll be fine. Proceeds on the betting to the SPCA.
  +2
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 2:47 am

Luther said:
I was thinking maybe Okra should stop endorsing things she doesn’t really know about. If she wanted to endorse Snicker Bars, that would be ok since she probably knows about them. Maybe she could just go back to doing normal family type talk shows, like this one here, maybe.
WINNER!! ::   +23
[Reply]

MazeMan Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 2:46 am
@Luther,
If she wanted to endorse Snicker Bars, that would be ok since she probably knows about them.
That one line seriously made me chuckle. Thumbs up!
  +5
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 3:54 am

Yakaru said:
Even the usually astute Sam Harris eagerly interviewed him by email.
http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/better-than-you-think
He didn’t challenge Diamandis on things that he’d usually not let pass without at least a qualifier. (Diamandis’ claims, for example that the reason we (supposedly) don’t notice global improvements is because the brain is hard wired not to. There is so much crappy psychology and spurious assumptions there… Sure the brain has been hard wired by our evolutionary past, but it’s hardly surprising that we didn’t develop a kit to detect gradual incremental changes on a global level. Then there’s the media, and other cultural factors obscuring such advancements. It’s a disgracefully superficial analysis, even for a brief statement.)
As for Shirmer, I’ve long seen him as a “career skeptic”. His skeptical work is sound enough, but he seems to always have an eye on staying “nice” enough to stay on CNN’s teledex as the “go-to skeptic”. He even claims that he “genuinely likes Deepak Chopra”. I know of no good evidence that Chopra is in any way likeable.
Anyway, it looks like it hasn’t filtered through the skeptic network yet that Diamandis is aiding a group of useless blood suckers who are parasiting off the advances in communication technology — and exploiting the way the brain is hard wired.
WINNER!! ::   +16
[Reply]

Lanna Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:39 am
@Yakaru,
I like the cell phone pyramid math: “Given 4 billion people in poverty, that means with every 10 new phones per 100 people, 48 million people graduate from poverty.” Maybe Oxfam will read “Abundance” and start giving people cell phones instead of goats and toilets.
WINNER!! ::   +9
[Reply]

Yakaru Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
@Lanna,
This:
“These are the poorest people on Earth, the so-called “bottom billion.” We have renamed this group the “Rising Billion”…”
Reminded me of this:
“I used to think I was poor. Then they told me I wasn’t poor, I was needy. They told me it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy. I was deprived. Then they told me underprivileged was overused. I was disadvantaged. I still don’t have a dime. But I have a great vocabulary.” –Jules Feiffer
WINNER!! ::   +16
[Reply]

Wyrd Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
@Yakaru,
As for Shirmer, I’ve long seen him as a “career skeptic”. His skeptical work is sound enough, but he seems to always have an eye on staying “nice” enough to stay on CNN’s teledex as the “go-to skeptic”. He even claims that he “genuinely likes Deepak Chopra”. I know of no good evidence that Chopra is in any way likeable.
That’s probably it then. He probably rationalizes it by thinking he can do more good that way. It’s very odd read the phrase “career skeptic”. I understand your meaning. It’s just skepticism itself is seems so fringe-y and odd that the notion of needing to be the “nice” skeptic so that you can maintain a career at it seems, well… odd.
On “Abundance”:
————————
The book Abundance appears to be just the latest treatise of gee-whiz wishful thinking–like in the 50s when they said we’d all have air cars in the future. Penn says that he and Teller say, “everybody’s got a gree gree. It’s not surprising that the skeptic grigri would be Hope.
I mean after all–with all the scammers, natural disasters, and random senseless death in the world, and no god or afterlife to look forward to, what else have you got?
Well, Hopers gotta Hope. I hope not too many of my fellow skeptics get sucked into this particular waste of $20.
–
Furry cows moo and decompress.
  +5
[Reply]

Clark Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
@Yakaru,
I was also surprised by Sam’s post.
I usually welcome anything that shows how science can improve the state of the world, but I’m a bit skeptical when it comes to the book…I’d be disappointed to see people shy away from radical, yet needed economic and political shifts because of the belief that things will work out just fine without ‘em. I’m not too sure about that, surely technology will help some of the poor, and global climate change, resource depletion and water shortages will hurt others. Is there really sufficient data to draw strong conclusions at this point?
I’d be much more happy about a “This is broken, let’s figure out how to fix it” type of book, marketing that message might actually get people off their asses whereas the promise of abundance just gives a good reason for idly standing by.
That said, I haven’t read Abundance yet, so I’m not going to pass any premature judgment, it’s more the sentiment behind it I find a tad strange.
  +3
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 4:09 am

AllRoadsLedToYanik said:
One person is connected to all of these criminals:
Yanik Silver
Seriously… Connect the dots and you’ll see the partnerships.
WINNER!! ::   +10
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 3:31 am
@AllRoadsLedToYanik ::
Sometimes you don’t even have to play connect the dots because you can just use whole pictures …

[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 6:15 am

Lanna said:
The top image seemed really familiar to me. I fair-used a derivative work so maybe you can see it too:
http://www.datafilehost.com/download-bc80d836.html
  +1
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 2:07 am
@Lanna ::
Cool … too bad it doesn’t embed. I should do something about that or something.
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 11:01 am

Cosmic Connie said:
In a slightly different context, here is Michael Shermer warning against OVER-optimism. http://www.michaelshermer.com/2012/03/opting-out-of-overoptimism/
And I’m with you, @Yakaru: I see no evidence that Deepak Chopra is a likeable sort.
WINNER!! ::   +8
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 12:19 pm

Alexjoneshatesjews said:
Step back a bit and you can analyze why the info-marketers are hijacking the “Abundance” book.
The reality is that the economy, world-wide is crumbling. People don’t see wealth anymore; they see financial meltdown and apocalypse. And for all his Oprahfying himself, Tony Robbins is a piker compared to Alex Jones and the rest of the “How To Profit From The One World Zionist Conspiracy Economic Apocalypse By Canning Your Own Food And Re-Loading Your Own Ammo” crowd.
People struggling to put food on the table, afford health insurance and/or send their kids to school aren’t buying into the Tony Robbins mythos. They don’t want the American Dream. They want to be ready for the Nightmare.
So the info-marketers have to come up with a pseudo-scientific screed to “prove” that the doomsayers are off target and off course. It’s a meme battle: yes, we are headed for a new Utopia vs. we are coming to the end of it all, here’s how to survive and even prosper a bit.
I predict this bubble will run it’s course in about 6 months. If gas goes to $5 a gallon, people will be too pissed off to listen to future dreams of abundance, and the whole thing sinks faster.
WINNER!! ::   +12
[Reply]

Irwin Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
@Alexjoneshatesjews,
Predatory lending needed to be replaced by something to keep the economy going. So now we have ever more outlandish forms of predatory marketing that preys on those least likely to be able to afford it’s bogus claims.
These guys and gals (oprah, robbins, chopra, diamandis, ferris, and jones included and many, many more), are simply marketing their wares to a scared and weary public. Using every trick in the book of course. Their little black book of contacts.
It’s just as fraudulent as the mortgage scams that preceded the subprime crisis, but somehow a whole lot more pathetic. At least Madoff wasn’t so damn obvious about it until it was to late to keep it a secret any longer.
Now that’s the REAL secret. It’s all one big ponzi scheme. That’s why so-called “confidence men and women (jones included), do so very well in times like these.
The “secret” has now been replaced by… drum roll… THE TRUTH.
Sure it has. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you in Idaho.
WINNER!! ::   +9
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 1:11 pm

Jack said:
All the Peter Diamandis wants us for is Thinking A Little Different and follow the Pirahna’s to become part of the 4400 who can’t remember some things (like not scamming about the world) that Salty Droid made us know when he gave us the WhoIs link for to get us to GetAbundance.
  +4
[Reply]

mirele Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
@Jack, I thought that address looked familiar…a quick trip to Google maps and I figured out why–I go by there frequently on my way to an art supplies store. Apparently the piranhas are in an office complex across from the store I go to. Which means…if requested, I could do a reconnoiter some day. Not sure I’d find anything out, but hey…
  +3
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 3:00 pm

A bunch of BS said:
damn that last photo made me puke. highly disturbing
  +5
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 2:57 am
@A bunch of BS ::
Was that a dare? Did you just dare me?
SHABAMBO!
[Reply]

Dr. Scholl Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 6:41 am
@SD, If that was a dare, you won. Someone send Tellman a bar of soap with instructions on how to use it.
  +3
[Reply]

Yakaru Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 7:49 am
That was worse than Joe Vitale’s singing. And more self indulgent.
  +2
[Reply]

I wantz 2B rich Reply:
March 19th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
@SD,
Guess who helped propel Mr. Toe Jam to success? None other than Janet and Chris Attwood! http://www.thepassiontest.com/TPT/Store/AllianceSecrets/index.cfm
  +1
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 4:27 pm

Rafael Marquez said:
That Diamandyke guy looks a little too much like Death Ray for my comfort. Methinks they may end up being from the same mold.
  +5
[Reply]
# 7 March 2012 at 10:50 pm

Fred said:
Paul Colligan – the fake youtube guru who can teach you how to get millions of visitors yet can’t even get over 1000 himself. What a fat fucking tub of lard that one is.
  +4
[Reply]

Siberian Ego Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:01 pm
@Fred, I’ve met Paul a few times at various seminars. My opinion? The guy has an ego the size of Siberia.
  +2
[Reply]
# 8 March 2012 at 2:37 am

Luther said:
That picture up there made me think Mr. Tellman Knudson was biting his toenails. Then I looked at it again and probably he is just using his toes to count up his customer refunds for the day. I sure hope there is someone else living in that trailer with him that can loan him some of their toes when he runs out. So in case you haven’t gotten your refund from Mr. Knudson he probably just hasn’t gotten to the toe with your name on it yet.
WINNER!! ::   +8
[Reply]
# 8 March 2012 at 3:41 am

I wantz 2B rich said:
Another member of the celibri-doc posse?
I can’t imagine why an individual with degrees in molecular biology and aerospace engineering from MIT, and an M.D. from Harvard is out slumming with the likes of Joe Polish. I don’t get it. I don’t get why he’s hitched a ride on the affiliate market train, either. Maybe he does want every last dollar. Maybe he’s a megalomaniac.
I watched the TED talk, thought he made some valid points, and also thought he relied heavily on extrapolation. It’s too bad he’s tarnished his work by associating with slime doggies.
I’m thrilled to see Oprah featured. Speaking of megalomaniacs. Is she so convinced, or are her producers so spineless, or is she so delusional that she actually believes the crap she’s fed by Rob-’ems, and/or is so insulated from the real world that she jus’ doesn’t know what a crock of shit he’s pushing?
I guess she pays her minion producers enough not to disagree. Doesn’t absolve her from her moral responsibility. If she hasn’t figured out yet that she’s promoting IM predators who take advantage of unsuspecting people, she can’t say she hasn’t been made aware of this.
WINNER!! ::   +10
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
@I wantz 2B rich ::
http://twitter.com/#!/tonyrobbins/statuses/175663706531831808
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
@SD, mr. Robbins did good making his Twitter background in Microsoft Paint.
  +3
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
@Jack ::
lulz
[Reply]

I wantz 2B rich Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
@SD,
Thank you, Salty – I didn’t know if I needed to embed the link.
The link will take the reader to the news that Doprah has purchased 4 Rob-’ems shows from NBC to air on her own OWN network.
I’m even angrier about this – especially Oprah – now. Way angrier. I just read about James Ray’s behavior BEFORE he murdered three people in Sedona. My heart goes out to them and their families.
That James Arthur Ray broke a woman’s arm and covered up the death of Connie Conaway prior to roasting his other victims to death is a travesty, is intolerable, and merits an eye for an eye. I.E., let’s seal him up in a sweat lodge in the desert (and BTW, Sedona gets hot, even in the winter) without water and put rocks in front of the exit. That would be justice.
That Oprah can’t honor his victims and at least offer a lame
excuse, as in, “He fooled me, too.”, and express condolences to the families involved is unconscionable. It’s callous, and despite any well, well, well publicized financially charitable actions she’s engaged in, this one gesture would cost no money, if portray her in a lesser light.
Megalomania.
WINNER!! ::   +7
[Reply]
# 8 March 2012 at 7:20 am

myturnnow said:
Is the spelling of that persons name Shermer, Shirmer, Schirmer or Schermer? Something about that name spells really smelly bad news.
People slum with like minds because greed is a parasitic menace. Its pretty much been proven that if you either write a book, claim to be a world guru by spreading your own made up marketing crap, label it the undeniable truth, make a product andcall it abundance, attempt to sell all of the above to the werld and ….. then find try to find God – you have the master plan. The finding God bit is because he/she is the only thing left you can claim might actually forgive you for your stupid choices in life. Seriously though its been a sad sad road that some people chose and I doubt that the end of it holds much joy for anyone who chose to go that way.
Tony Robbins got in way early so he benefited somewhat and of course Oprah who we cant deny will be the penultimate guru story of the century despite the despicable endorsements of secret crap. Paul Colligan is just a byproduct of the hope generation and all the other secret spinoffs are mere annoying wannabes.
Just imagine the amount of work that these fools have to put in now to make anyone believe anything they shove in front of them. The most enjoyable thing is being able to finally turn around and say told you so.
  +1
[Reply]

Cosmic Connie Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
@myturnnow, Do not confuse Michael Shermer with David Schirmer. They are not the same person at all.
  +2
[Reply]
# 8 March 2012 at 4:45 pm

B A Coach - or not said:
Become a Tony Robbins approved coach – for $3500.
http://www.getrmt.com/core-sales.php
No prior experience required.
No anything required
Uh, just a credit card with a nice limit
Really.
No, really.
Become a personal coach – no prior experience required.
Oh, I said that already.
But, really.
No experience required.
Change other people’s lives – all you have to do is say ‘yes, I can’.
Really.
No experience required.
  +6
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
@B A Coach – or not,

“Change other people’s lives – all you have to do is say ‘yes, I can’.
Is it that he means “yes” or “yes”?
  +2
[Reply]

I wantz 2B rich Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
@B A Coach – or not,
That’s probably just the beginning, $3500, to learn to be a coach with Rob-’ems. Maybe the training entails working for Prosper or PMI for free and reading scripts. Anyway, these trainings start with a smaller bite. With Rob-’ems, Lord knows how much the upsell is to touch the hem. And apparently, according to some marketing statistics, an established buyer is 20 times more likely to make another purchase.
The Attwood enterprises, ie Chris and Janet Attwood and The Passion Test, suck people in to be “mentors”, ie, coaches. The first bite is $2500. Of course, you pay for your flight to wherever, plus hotel and meals.
If you want them to help you get clients after that, as in actually being able to get some experience, you need to sign up for additional training @ $6000. And no doubt, that’s just the start. These guys are small potatoes compared to Rob-’ems. I was close to being sucked into the $2500 level. After finding out about the upsell, I started to view these people with suspicion, and my antennae have served me well in this instance. The Droid was the last nail in the coffin. I learned more about their associates.
If you weren’t aware of this, Janet Attwood was desperately sucking up to Oprah, trying to win the contest to have her own reality show on OWN, back when the network was starting. “The Passion Test” got a mention in O magazine back in November, I believe. And Oprah recently went to Fairfield, Iowa – home base of Janet Attwood – to learn TM.
I seriously wonder if Oprah has more of an association with Attwood than she publicly acknowledges. Attwood leads trips to Fairfield for parties to learn TM on a semi-regular basis. If you purchase one of these trips, you get to meet Janet. I don’t recall the cost, but travel and lodging are extra.
Chris and Janet Attwood are members of the Transformational Leadership Council. Janet will proudly tell you that she introduced 70% of those featured in The Secret to Rhonda Byrne. She doesn’t say if Death Ray is one of those people…interesting. Rhonda was taking the $2500 Alliance Secrets class from the Attwoods – guess that’s where that connection arose. Wonder how much it cost to get introductions to the others. Probably the price of being featured in the movie. More megalomania.
Anyway, either Oprah is being groomed by Rob-’ems et al, or she’s getting ready to make the transition into being a Transformational Guru, too. Imagine getting to meet Oprah for success coaching. Bet she will charge more than $10K. It would take 100 people at $10K to make a million. If she charges $100K, she’ll only need 10 people to make a million dollars. (Thank you, Brendon Burchard.)
  +5
[Reply]

Just Jake Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
@I wantz 2B rich,
Ten years ago, when the software company I was working for tried to sell some stuff to Robbins, the big ticket item Robbins pushed was an $80,000 group trip to Africa.
Robbins’ salespeople used to laugh about how people would shell out money like that just to get “personal” time with Tony — and then they’d find out there were 100+ other people on the trip so that each person got zero real time with him.
A big part of their marketing is to find people who are desperate for approval, financial security, and a new identity. They give them approval when they buy a ticket to an event. They promise financial security when they say you can make money as a coach or a stock trader or whatever. And they give people a new identity – “I’m not a nobody any more– I’m a life coach certified by Tony Robbins himself!”
WINNER!! ::   +11
[Reply]

myturnnow Reply:
March 11th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
@Just Jake, Oh and didnt that catch on………………
Eight years ago, I also worked for some people who did exactly the same thing. I was privy to all the scheming, lies and manipulation and was even caught up in it for a brief moment. That was until one of them made a comment that “they didn’t travel to their events with the plebs”. I made up my mind that instant that their motivation was nothing but greed. It changed everything for me. The more I investigated the more I uncovered and the more questions I asked the more defensive they became. Then came the accusations of negativity and the blame. Little did they realize how transparent the whole charade had become ……. to everybody who had even the smallest question. No longer were people looking through rose colored glasses, they started saying hey whats in this for me? And they discovered ….. there never was, never has been and never will be anything in it for them. They are merely the person who is foolish enough to believe and pay big money for what all these guys sell as a blue pill called “hope”!
  +4
[Reply]
# 8 March 2012 at 5:59 pm

alexjoneslovesdick said:
Here’s a challenge: if Tony Robbsem is so good, let’s see him help Orca lose that extra 125 lbs of fat and KEEP IT OFF for a year.
Simple. Easy.
Orca, don’t tell us how to live our lives if you can’t control what goes in your miaow-miaow hole.
  +5
[Reply]
# 9 March 2012 at 2:13 pm

SD (author) said:
Oh look what I just found by coincidence …

I’ve seen pics from this “Maverick Adventure” before … but now I recognize that Zero-G logo as a Peter Diamandis production.
That’s the last fucking straw :: Peter Diamandis just got officially added to the category list … long may he suffer my wrath.
[Reply]

Lanna Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:57 pm
@SD,
Yanik’s epic sales page name-drops Tim Ferriss, Peter Diamandis, Richard Branson and Mike Filsaime:
http://www.maverickbusinessadventures.com/topgun/
(And by “epic,” I mean lengthy.)
  +3
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 6:44 pm
@Lanna,

“Qualification #3
You cannot have a huge ego! This is a pretty simple qualification and you know if this is you. You cannot simply stroke a check to get in.”
Frankly and quite frankly to be frank with you quite frankly (as Yanik is wont to go about on sales pages all round through the Internet saying zillions of times over and over and also over again)…$8,995 get you in – stroking or no.
At least they give people the last minute incarceration insurance with it.
  +2
[Reply]

Lanna� Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
@Jack,
Frankly, I was unable to read the entire thing due to my allergy to excessive prefabricated ellipses. That page is truly an assault on the eyes, what with the yellow highlighter, repeated underlining, random all-caps words and these guys: �. Question mark, indeed.
However, I did grasp that the $8,995 is for the poker/zero-G/air combat/helicopter trip only. First one must pay the $10,000 initiation fee. That’s the up-charge for doing these activities with a pack of douchebags.
  +3
[Reply]

Unicorn Army Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
@Lanna�, actually I think that’s the fee for buying your way into a cartel. The vomit is a bonus.
  +5
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
@Lanna, I wonder if still they give the privilege of letting people give them $25,000 for being founders like in the 2009 Application
And lest the syndifection stop, he gives the special guest info as:
“But this wouldn’t be a Maverick event if it didn’t keep getting better and better…
Special Bonus Business Icon: Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com will be joining us during the ‘Sky’s the Limit’ Maverick experience. Tony has built up Zappos.com from nearly zero
in sales in 1999 to over $1B (Yes, Billion with a ‘B’) in 2008. You’ll get a special behind-the scenes “field trip” to Zappos.com headquarters where you’ll get to see for yourself how Tony’s built an incredible Zappos.com culture founded on customer service to get where he is. He’ll also provide a candid and uncensored presentation on his business philosophy to specific nuts and bolts of heading up a $1B ecommerce giant while still maintaining a small
company excitement.”
mr. Silver likes to be specific about dollar amounts until he goes about the charity part:
“For each Maverick Business Adventures® member accepted we will fund and support 3 micro businesses
in East Africa together in partnership with Village Enterprise Fund.”
At least he he might have had the decency throw into it the ol’ “up to” gimmickry.
  +4
[Reply]

I wantz 2B rich Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 8:01 pm
@Lanna,
Plus the $10K charter membership fee…renewable at $5K per year. People who like to piss money away with other people who like to piss money away. Because they can.
I can think of a few people I’d like to see in the 727 when one of them hurls. Imagine spending a very expensive 30 seconds ducking zero g vomit.
I saw the earlier mention of Yanik Silver before this post. Anyone else notice that Sir Richard seems to be woven in somewhere?
  +4
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
@I wantz 2B rich, He’s been getting a weaving since 2009:
http://saltydroid.info/russell-brunson-rocks-the-kasbah/
http://saltydroid.info/tellman-knudson-running-for-cover/
And plenty of the comments.
  +4
[Reply]

Lanna Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
@Unicorn Army, It’s special expensive hazing for rich people!
@I wantz 2B rich, Whoops, sorry to post basically the same thing you said.
I like to imagine the Droid has a big org chart of IM relationships, like on all the crime-solving TV shows. There’s only three posts here tagged Yanik Silver, but they’re good ones if you put ‘em together and draw the org chart.
In 2001, Yanik Silver sold Frank Kern resale rights to his e-book, which Frank turned into Instant Internet Empires, Frank’s first IM venture.
In 2002, Frank Kern sold Mike Filsaime resale rights to Instant Internet Empires, Mike’s first IM venture.
Yanik Silver begat Frank Kern, and Frank Kern begat Mike Filsaime.
Fast forward to 2008, and future kidnapper John Raygoza goes to see Joe Polish speak and joins Yanik Silver’s little Maverick club. He goes to Yanik Silver’s DC event and Mike Filsaime’s NO JV event.
� Did John Raygoza use Maverick’s handy last minute incarceration insurance?
� Is there evidence Maverick member/kidnapper John Raygoza was in the same room/aircraft as Participating Maverick Icon Dr. Peter Diamandis?
� Why does Maverick1000.com say, “Maverick1000 membership is by invitation-only,” while the topgun sales page asks, “Do YOU Qualify to Join This Private Group?”
  +3
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
@Lanna, Maverick1000 page is sad and scary.
  +3
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
@Lanna, Trying to figure if maybe UnderGround 8 page is more depressing
  +2
[Reply]

my brain is exploding Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 9:28 am
Undergroundonlineseminar is sold out, but there are five places left at $2995, a $1000 saving off the regular price of $3495, but only for today
  +2

Luther Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
@my brain is exploding, That must be the Matrix time zone he is using then. I’m real worried about anyone going down into that Underground Seminar, because they may not know about the Mole People. Also I hope that price includes the torches.
  +2

I wantz 2B rich Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 3:45 am
@Lanna, @Jack,
Thank you for the links, Jack. I have a whole lotta reading/learning to do.
Lanna, no problem. And if they don’t barf in the 727, the Italian fighters are a shoo-in. Failing that…there have been many aviation fatalities over the Grand Canyon.
  +1
[Reply]

Anonymous Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
@SD, did you know that your pictures on Flickr are being blocked as too adult? I clicked through from a notice in Gmail and was asked if I Really Did Want To See This. And, at the top of the page (yeah, of these two dweebs) is: “If you’ve changed your mind about wanting to see this content, you can ESCAPE → TAKE ME TO THE KITTENS”. (I loves me some kittens, and it was sorely tempting to click, but then it wouldn’t let me back to the Droid, I’m sure.)
Just letting you know that you may have been dropped into Flickr purgatory and not by your own design.
  +4
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 3:08 am
@mirele ::
Sounds about right :: they should probably get to banning me … I’m a menace.
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 11:53 pm
@SD, Finally mr. Diamondis can join the prestigious rank of the companies such as the inside of a box:
“Bonus Gift #5 (included with “Deluxe” Seminar Box only): Dan recently spoke at T.J. and Eileen Rohleder’s 10th Anniversary Marketing & Moneymaking Convention. This event was restricted to 100 of their best clients, each paying $5,000.00 to be there. It featured nationally respected experts on mail-order, direct mail, Internet opportunities, and other entrepreneurial and direct marketing subjects.”
I found out about how mr. Diamindis, ShoeZapper and the others can get the best marketing principles without having to go to expensive secret, covert, hidden, underground seminars. It’s all explained in the BBB Advertising review for M.O.R.E., inc.:
“Advertising Review
The company has failed to substantiate advertising claims when requested by the BBB on December 21, 2007 and February 7, 2009.
The business claims the following through mailings and faxes:
Average customers have earned between $20,000 and $100,000 per month
$10,000 can be earned in the first week prior to “know(ing) anything;
and the referenced bonous gifts are worth $97,760.
The business has also sent out mail and fax communications stating that their firm is having “big problems” and asking the recipient to assume an equity position in their firm. The BBB requested that the business clarify the nature of the problem and they failed to do so.
An Ad Review was generated on 1/27/09 based on a VALUE amount awarded to consumers who agree to participate in a “beta testing” program for an administrative fee of $39.00. The BBB believes M.O.R.E’s advertising campaigns are misleading to consumers. After several communications, the matter was referred to Wichita Counsel who has never responded.”
I think it is the best claim though about being able to make $10,000 before I know anything at all.
  +5
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
@Jack, Forgot to copy the copy link.
  +2
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 1:00 am
@Jack, Should the Peter Diamandis Wikipedia entry get the updates o people can learn about his new accomplishments?
Also if the M.O.R.E. inc $97,760 value is for the $39.90 product so then it’s:
“(US$ 97 760)/(US$ 39.90) = 2,450.12531 times base-product-price”
he failed in the “$10 million Ansari X-Prize” to give an adequate bonus VALUED at $24,500,000,000
  +1
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 2:26 am
@Jack, Correct BBB link for M.O.R.E., Inc. business building lessons:
http://www.bbb.org/wichita/business-reviews/work-at-home-companies/more-in-goessel-ks-8277
Contact Information
Primary Contact: Mr. Drew Hansen
Mr. TJ Rohleder (President)
Shelly Webster
  +1
[Reply]
# 9 March 2012 at 4:24 pm

Crystal Cathedral exploding! said:
This message is from someone who worked at minimum wage for the Schullers and the Crystal Cathedral from the 1990s through 2010: The Schuller family members were paid 6 figure salaries. The paid staff made minimum wage or less. The staff did all of the work while the Schullers traveled around as celebrities in limos. The Schullers looked down their nose at the paid staff and acted like prima-donnas. Even though the staff consisted of devout Christians serving the Lord Jesus, they were resentful when they could not pay their bills because of their being paid so low. It’s time congregations wake up and fire all of these “money grubbing” pastors and priests who employ their wives and children at the congregation’s expense. Wake up People!
Church to the Schullers is not worship . . . it is a business!
The first century Christians sat in someone’s living room and worshiped The Lord by telling each other what Jesus has done for them the previous week. Prayers were prayed and worship songs were spontaneously sang. No big expense. No big production. Just worship and loving The Lord . . . all for the price of a pot of coffee and a cookie.
The Barna Group has found that “mega-churches” are out along with their highly paid people who pose as “pipelines” to God and pure worship in private homes are in!
WINNER!! ::   +8
[Reply]

SD Reply:
March 11th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
@Crystal Cathedral exploding! ::
This is relevant to my interests.
Hit me up at the email below if you’d like to discuss it further … the guy who answers that line is no where near as shocking and awesome as I am.
Jesus needs to be stripped of exploitative barnacles like the Schullers.
[Reply]

Anonymous Reply:
April 10th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
@Crystal Cathedral exploding!,
I don’t know anything about the salaries, but I did want to mention that I used to know a lady who worked at the Crystal Cathedral in some sort of clerical capacity for about two years.
She never saw anybody from the Schuller family, not even once.
  +1
[Reply]

Hippo Reply:
April 10th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Sorry, that was me above.
  0
[Reply]
# 11 March 2012 at 1:31 pm

The Gospel According to Oprah/PSI Seminars said:
The Bible references posted below are done so for the refutation of Thomas D. Willhite’s blasphemous statements as written in the PSI Bible, known as the Life Success Manuscripts. If they offend you, please skip them-they are stated for educational purposes only. If they enlighten you, you will be saddened by Tom’s blasphemous words.
The complete PSI Seminars Life Success Manuscripts are posted on the pissed consumer blog. It starts from the bottom up. The books of Tom Willhite’s bible start with The Book of: Beginnings, Attitude, Desire, Consciousness, Mastermind, Wealth, Wisdom, Fears, Leadership, Power, Liberty, and end with Visions. This is the leather bound book Jane hands out after one completes PSI 7 or as it’s now called The Life Success Seminar.
The concepts are harmless. PSI runs into trouble with Tom’s exclamation with “You are God” on the last page of his book. This is especially disturbing because Tom claimed to be a Christian. If he hadn’t claimed to be a Christian, he would not appear as a hypocrite.
The Christian Research Institute as well as the Dallas Theological Seminary labeled this writing as blasphemous. Some PhD student refuted Tom’s bible line-by-line against the real Holy Bible. There are other discrepancies with Tom’s instance that “Jesus did what he wanted to do” omitting the fact that he was following and fulfilling his heavenly father’s will. Maybe the dissertation will become a popular book someday to set the record straight.
Here is an excerpt from the Dallas Theological Seminary dissertation:
In the Book of Consciousness on page 51 . . . Tom states “He did what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it. – Well, this is technically true . . . but when talking about The Lord, Jesus obeyed Abba, his Father in heaven because he was there in the beginning.
See John 17:4 – I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do. And, Luke 2:49 – “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “You should have known that I would be in my Father’s House.”. . . Jesus obeyed his earthly parents (Mary and Joseph) and His Father in heaven.
Matthew 3:17 – And a voice from heaven said, “This is my son, and I am fully pleased with him.”
Mark 1:11 – And a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.”
Luke 3: 22 – and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.”
2 Peter 1:17 – And he received honor and glory from God the Father when God’s glorious majestic voice called down from heaven, “This is my beloved Son; I am fully pleased with him.”
. . . in a nutshell: Jesus pleased and obeyed Abba, his Father as a member of the Trinity . . . all three persons of the Trinity are alive and active. God is one, yet in three persons at the same time.
John 15:24 – If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be counted guilty. But as it is, they saw all that I did and yet hated both of us – me and Abba, my Father. . . . Jesus warned us about the world’s hatred towards Him and His believers.
Here is what Tom writes on page Page 55 . . . I have said that this concept . . . the I AM concept . . . is the foundation of all the concepts. Now from the Dallas Theological Seminary dissertation: I AM is God’s personal name. See Exodus 3:13-15. God called himself I AM . . . a name describing his eternal power and unchangeable character. Hebrews 13:8 says that God is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” Exodus 3:14 – I AM who I Am . . . or, I Will Be What I Will Be.
Jesus also used the title I AM for himself. See John 4:26 . . . “I am the Messiah!” And, John 8:58 . . . Jesus answered, “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!” or, “Truly, truly, before Abraham was, I am.” – This is one of the most powerful statements uttered by Jesus. When he said that he existed before Abraham was born, he undeniably proclaimed his divinity. Jesus applied God’s holy name to himself. It does not apply to humans exclaiming that they are God.
I think in a time of crisis one reaches out to a higher power (God) other than themselves and not within to their finite self. Just my guess. Or, is Jane’s granddaughter going to go around saying that she is God? Maybe she does that already as taught to her by her grandma.
  +5
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
@The Gospel According to Oprah/PSI Seminars,
“Exodus 3:14 – I AM who I Am”
I was thinking about it being Popeye, but I looked it up in the Bible and found out you were right about it, but I don’t think that it means Popeye claimed about being God, so probably he can also correct the PSI people.
  +1
[Reply]
# 11 March 2012 at 3:55 pm

Barbara said:
Let’s never forget that along with her other crimes against humanity, and there are almost too many to count, Ofrah unleashed the horror of “Doctor” Phil upon her television audience. He’s a typical Ofrah guest, phony credentials, enormous hypocrisy in his personal life, defrauding the gullible at every opportunity, having anti-gay activists on his show preaching their gospel of hate and never does Fat Phil contradict them, etc.
As for her other crimes, she gives anti-vaccine cretin Jenny McCarthy airtime to convince other stupid people not to vaccinate their children. By doing so Ofrah puts all American children at grave risk of contracting diseases that no first-world child need ever suffer. Way to go, Ofrah! Let’s bring back child labor while we’re at it.
Her show has never been more than a freak show. Instead of conjoined twins and three-headed goats she features people who have suffered terribly, such as the woman who was attacked by a chimpanzee. Ofrah tries to act as if her aim is “educational” and not her true aim, money and fame, let’s face it, not many people will ever be in danger of being mauled by a chimp. Ofrah appeals to the lowest, ugliest, basest inpulses in people. Ofrah, James Ray, other “secret” shills and the fake doctor all should be sharing a cell.
WINNER!! ::   +10
[Reply]

Ernie Reply:
March 11th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
@Barbara, In case you missed Dr. Fill’s only good performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTGiZTKuRqo&;
  +4
[Reply]
# 11 March 2012 at 4:53 pm

Hippo said:
Not sure where to post this, but I just heard a James Ray reference on a sitcom.
For anyone who’s interested, the show is “The Big C,” which is a comedy about a woman with terminal cancer who is determined to live life to the fullest. It’s on Showtime, and since there’s no censorship and no commercials, it’s very watchable.
The lead character, Cathy, played by Laura Linney, has just found that her cancer is responding to an experimental treatment and so she has more time than previously thought. She’s very euphoric and signs her husband and herself up for a weekend seminar with some sort of “guru.” Her husband Paul, played by Oliver Platt, is skeptical and doesn’t want to go.
He says, “I’m not going in any sweat lodge! People die in sweat lodges!”
  +5
[Reply]

what the what Reply:
April 10th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
@Hippo, I did always like that Oliver Platt.
  0
[Reply]

Hippo Reply:
April 10th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
@what the what,
The show is great. Just the right combination of comedy and tragedy. Oliver Platt is great. He died last season, actually he had a heart attack and his heart stopped, so we had to wait until this season to find out if he survived.
Happily, he did (no big surprise there), so the third season should be fun. There was no further mention of sweat lodges, although Cathy and Paul did have some silly adventures at their seminar. The “guru” is played by Susan Sarandon.
  0
[Reply]

Hippo Reply:
May 24th, 2012 at 10:18 am
I just wanted to add, for anybody who’s interested in “The Big C” on Showtime, that the self-help seminars and the faux guru are part of an ongoing storyline, which I’m assuming will end badly.
Oliver Platt and Laura Linney play the two leads; the wife was the one who originally wanted to attend, and her husband was reluctant. Now, the husband is getting slowly brainwashed by the charismatic seminar leader.
I’m very happy to see this presented in a comedic way, because it’s a cautionary tale for the viewers. I realize that a premium-cable show does not have the viewership of a network show, but it still helps to get the word out.
  +1
[Reply]
# 10 April 2012 at 9:21 am

MazeMan said:
San Jose: 21 people treated for burns after firewalk at Tony Robbins appearance
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_21119582/san-jose-several-people-treated-burns-after-firewalk
Tony Robbins is a scam. Nuff said.
  +3
[Reply]

Lanna Reply:
July 21st, 2012 at 12:16 am
@MazeMan,
“… there was just a line of people walking on that fire.”
Was there a traffic jam that had people backed up on the coals instead of walking briskly like the physics of firewalking webpage says is best? I couldn’t really tell from the two videos of the event that were posted on YouTube. They were both very dark and shaky.
Either way, this really reminds me of James Arthur Ray and the Sedona tragedy. People firewalk safely all the time. People attend sweat lodges safely all the time. From what I’ve read, they’re generally small events, around 10 to 30 people, so they can be adequately supervised. Forgetting for a moment the dangers of putting psychopaths in charge, when you greedily scale these events to sell more tickets, you’re going to lose close supervision. We’re talking up to 500 people per lane (6,000 / 12 lanes) here! This is a cattle call, not a deep personal experience.
  +2
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
July 21st, 2012 at 5:59 pm
@Lanna, I think maybe people got motivationally-confused when mr. Robbins tried warning them by tellint them “Your all on FIRE now!”
  +1
[Reply]

Lanna Reply:
July 21st, 2012 at 6:14 pm
@Jack,
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
  +1
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
July 21st, 2012 at 6:06 pm
@Lanna, Link correct for Physics Of Firewalking:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dwilley/Fire/FireTxt/fire.html
  +1
[Reply]
# 20 July 2012 at 5:56 pm

Yakaru said:
Not entirely relevant, but it contains this priceless quote, which I want on a tee shirt:
”A handful of people say what we have here is a cult. What if I can bring 2000 people to say it’s not?”
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/cult-cures-on-medicare-20120721-22gsn.html
  +2
[Reply]

Jack Reply:
July 21st, 2012 at 10:10 pm
@Yakaru, I can’t get the code for “esoteric nonsense” from SuperCoder.com
  +3
[Reply]
# 21 July 2012 at 6:36 pm
» Rippln Ripple Rippln Rip said:
[...] MLM he was co-foundering. Kickbacks help ensure all the monies get to the top of the pyramid :: as Oprah and Tony Robbins hath [...]
  0
# 8 May 2013 at 1:48 am

Griffey Fury said:
In order to satisfy the musical instinct of users
  0
[Reply]
# 18 June 2013 at 2:53 am

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