Also when I see a cool person, I think my stuff is not good enough to waste their time, but if they charge for it, then it’s a deal.

Do people pay for knowledge or attention? Because let's be honest, most of the podcasts and books out there already contain more knowledge and wisdom than anyone needs to be successful in any profession.

People pay to go to school where there are teachers that “make you work”.

Some people claim it’s gatekeeping or access to the brand name of the school, but I think it’s more than that.

Most of them know they won’t read the (text)books and learn on their own. Even though the knowledge is available. I guess the money is for the transmission of the knowledge.

The thing about wisdom is its pretty hard to transmit, there are no quick fixes, so people end up fruitlessly chasing it.

Kind of like how some people will do one get rich quick scheme after another despite none of them working.

The corollary of this is that some people lie and claim that people are paying to shortcut to credibility or legitimacy.

And to be clear, I am not talking about this submission (which I didn't read, and from other comments is charity-driven regardless), but this industry is absolutely rife with Fake It Till You Make It people who claim they can barely contain the hordes clamouring to give them money and super high-paying consulting gigs. But then it's coupled with a beg that makes everything previously said look super questionable, yet somehow people buy it.

It's the supermodel girlfriend that lives in Canada.

It's like a shortcut to perceived credibility