The article touches on this too, from personal experience it seems like the likelihood of someone taking advice depends on both sides:
- How good is the advice? specific > generic, personalized > general, actionable > not actionable, objective > biased etc, from someone knowledgeable > random person with no specific knowledge / expertise in the subject.
- How receptive is the person receiving the advise? Was the advise unsolicited? Did the person ask because they want to confirm what they already think or are they actually looking for advise they can consider? Do they trust the person (both in intent and knowledge)?
Ironically some times the advise I ignore the most are from those that are closest to me. Family, close friends etc. I know they have my best interest at heart and they might be knowledgeable about the subject and know me so have an understanding of what I want / don't want. But they're biased, so the advise tend to be tainted.
I've always laughed at tony robbins giving advice to 40k people in a stadium all at once. Unless it's "make you bed in the morning" level generality, it can't possibly apply to everyone at once. You need to know who you are talking to first before you can give them real advice.
Robbins would likely laugh at your comment for getting him completely arse backwards.
He's not there to preach to the many, well, not yet at least, he's there for the fewer to self select out and come forward to next level grooming.
The Race Track advice grift works by giving 100 prospects each one of ten horses as a sure bet; at the end of a ten horse race 10 punters come forward wanting more advice, each convinced they've now got inside information on the next sure thing.
Robbins isn't far removed, his purpose is to gather a group of the gullible who will all pay for the most insipid generic advice deliverable and select a core of true beleivers from that group who will invest even more than just the books.
He's not there to give "real advice", he's there to make bank.
- How good is the advice? specific > generic, personalized > general, actionable > not actionable, objective > biased etc, from someone knowledgeable > random person with no specific knowledge / expertise in the subject.
- How receptive is the person receiving the advise? Was the advise unsolicited? Did the person ask because they want to confirm what they already think or are they actually looking for advise they can consider? Do they trust the person (both in intent and knowledge)?
Ironically some times the advise I ignore the most are from those that are closest to me. Family, close friends etc. I know they have my best interest at heart and they might be knowledgeable about the subject and know me so have an understanding of what I want / don't want. But they're biased, so the advise tend to be tainted.