OK so yesterday I talked a bit about how some consultants who are getting paid up to ten thousand dollars to help high school students fill out a college application. A guidance counselor that the news interviewed said, that she didn't know how people were getting paid so much for information she has for free.

I had three questions for you:

1.Is the information truly the same and if so, why would people pay $10k for it.
2.If the information is not the same, why does the guidance counselor think it is.
3.If the information is the same, why isn't the guidance counselor selling her information to students outside of her school.

So what did y'all think? I probably should have added:

4.If it is the same information, is it ethical to sell it for so much when parents can get it for free?

Here is my take.

1.The information is probably not the same, at least the information that people pay ten thousand dollars for. Now I have no doubt that a parent can buy the same information that is available at school for $1k-$2k. The personal attention and value that the consultant includes with the information is the key. The parent is paying for the person who can market himself or herself because they have a perceived expertise and value. Parents pay it because the consultant knows how to market, gives the student more attention and the parents believes that the information and attention from the consultant will help their child get into a better college, and it probably will.

2.Because the guidance counselor has probably not kept up on the latest trends and tips for filling out a college application. The guidance counselor thinks that she gives the same information as the top paid consultants, but most likely does not. The truth is that school employees are overworked and under-funded and simply do not have the time to invest keeping on top of the best information. The top paid consultant knows that he/she better keep up on the last news and techniques for filling out applications, if they want to keep getting clients.

3.As I said earlier, the information is not the same for the top paid consultant, probably. But the guidance counselor has plenty of knowledge to get a job for $1k-$2k fee. So why isn't she? Because she is not an entrepreneur! See the entrepreneur sees this trend and thinks to him/her self How can I cash in. Cashing in, by the way,always involves giving value for a fee. It is never about ripping people off. The consultant recognizes that his/her service helps the student and parents by ensuring that the child does not make a fatal mistake and miss entrance into a university that they otherwise would have gotten admitted to. To me that is worth $10K, for the best. If I did not have $10K then I would not hesitate to pay a couple of thousand to increase my child's chances of getting admitted to the best university. What about you?

And that brings me to number 4:

4.Absolutely it is ethical! No question about it. This is a legitimate business that gives a substantial service to parents and students. It makes perfect sense to me that someone should hire a consultant to help their children get into the best school. If a parent and student can take the information the a guidance counselor gives and turn it into a successful application then great. They don't need the consultant. But if the parent and student do not have the time to figure out how to apply the guidance counselor's advice, nor have the time to read through hundreds (or thousands) of pages in several books, should they be left in the cold? Of course not. The consultant is the perfect remedy for the situation. If I had the knowledge to take on customers in this way, I would in a heartbeat and, moreover, I would make it clear that they could get the information I was selling them for free, or greatly reduced, if they wanted to spend the time to find it and learn it. As a matter of fact, I would probably tell them where to get it if they wanted to. I promise I would have several clients, if only because I know why someone would want my services.

Making more money has less to do with any specific skill and more to do with the way you market yourself and learning to turn your skills into a marketable product. Take my book for example The Barbarian's Guide to Success. That is nothing more than the techniques I used to turn my life around. From broke and unhappy to comfortable and happy, and on my way to more money and more happiness everyday. I doubled my income in less than a year, from about $50,000 per year to about $100,000 per year. About a month and a half ago I decided to do it again in the next year. Well in a couple of months I should be there. So I will double my yearly income from $100,000 per year to $200,000 per year in about 3.5 months. How? Its all in the mind.

This isn't supposed to be a commercial for me, so I will stop there, my only point is making money is about 99% in the mind. You must think the right way, then take some action and all of a sudden, poof, you have the money. The people who are getting Ten Thousand Dollars to help students fill out college applications know that, either by instinct or intellectuality. Either way they know it.

So with that I will say:

Get the Barbarian Mind Set and keep it. Stay tr to yourself and your family, the rest will take care of itself.