Blind trust in referrals, consultants, and so-called experts cost me tens of thousands of dollars and six years of stalled business growth. In this solo episode of the Give A Heck Podcast, I, Dwight Heck, share the real business lessons learned, how artificial intelligence helped uncover critical gaps others failed to address, and why adopting a trust but verify mindset became the turning point in rebuilding my business, confidence, and future.
Episode Overview
Have you ever trusted a referral or hired an expert, only to discover they lacked the competence to deliver real results?
In this deeply personal solo episode of the Give A Heck Podcast, I share the harsh reality behind blind trust in referrals, consultants, and so called experts. After losing tens of thousands of dollars and watching my business stall, I was forced to confront the truth about misplaced trust, guru culture, and the dangers of assuming expertise without verification.
Using artificial intelligence, faith, and personal accountability, I uncovered critical gaps and began rebuilding from a place of ownership and clarity.
This episode is a wake-up call for entrepreneurs, coaches, and professionals who want to protect their business, finances, and future from costly mistakes.
What You Will Learn About Blind Trust and Verifying Expertise
• Why blind trust in referrals and consultants can lead to financial loss
• How trusting confidence instead of competence creates costly business mistakes
• The hidden dangers behind guru culture, consultants, and online programs
• How artificial intelligence helped expose business gaps and reveal truth
• Why personal accountability is essential for rebuilding confidence and momentum
• How to properly verify expertise before trusting anyone with your business
• The emotional, financial, and spiritual consequences of misplaced trust
How Blind Trust and Referrals Created Financial Loss and Business Stagnation
Trust was always a core principle in my life and business. I believed referrals represented credibility and integrity.
That belief became one of the most expensive lessons of my career.
Over six years, I trusted referrals and hired experts who lacked the competence to deliver meaningful results. The consequences included financial loss, stalled growth, and emotional exhaustion.
Trust without verification created vulnerability.
The Referral Trap and the Illusion of Expertise
Referrals are often treated as validation, but they are frequently based on assumptions rather than proven results.
Confidence, presentation, and reputation can create the illusion of expertise while hiding a lack of real competence.
Verification must replace blind trust.
How the Pandemic Increased Vulnerability to Costly Business Decisions
The uncertainty and emotional stress of the pandemic created conditions where urgency replaced proper verification.
Investments in consultants and marketing experts failed to deliver meaningful results, costing tens of thousands of dollars and delaying progress.
This became a turning point that forced me to reevaluate everything.
How Artificial Intelligence Helped Reveal the Truth and Rebuild My Business
Artificial intelligence became a powerful tool for uncovering the truth.
By analyzing my business systems, digital presence, and strategy, AI exposed critical gaps that had never been addressed.
This discovery provided clarity and became the foundation for rebuilding with ownership and accountability.
Personal Accountability and Reclaiming Control of My Future
I realized that no one would care about my success more than I do.
Rebuilding required taking full ownership, verifying expertise, and trusting myself to make better decisions.
This mindset shift restored clarity, confidence, and forward momentum.
Faith, Integrity, and Spiritual Accountability in Business
Faith plays a central role in how I approach business and relationships.
Integrity, accountability, and personal responsibility guide my decisions and protect my future.
Maintaining these values ensures long-term peace and alignment.
Guru Culture, Consultants, and False Promises
Many consultants, programs, and motivational events rely on emotional persuasion and urgency rather than sustainable results.
Verification and due diligence are essential before trusting anyone with your money or business.
Trust But Verify: The New Standard for Protecting Your Business and Future
Trust must be earned and verified.
Modern tools, including artificial intelligence, allow you to validate expertise and protect yourself from costly mistakes.
Your time, money, and future deserve protection.
Chapter Summaries
00:00:02 – Blind Trust and Financial Loss
00:03:15 – The Referral Trap and False Expertise
00:05:30 – Pandemic Pressure and Costly Decisions
00:08:45 – Using Artificial Intelligence to Reveal Truth
00:12:20 – Reclaiming Ownership and Accountability
00:15:10 – Faith, Integrity, and Personal Responsibility
00:18:30 – Trust But Verify Principles
00:22:45 – Guru Culture and Consultant Risks
Connect with Dwight Heck
🌐 Visit my website for resources and coaching: giveaheck.com
📘 Follow me on Facebook (Personal): facebook.com/dwight.heck
📺 Subscribe to my YouTube channel for episodes and video content: youtube.com/@giveaheck
📸 Join me on Instagram for daily insights: instagram.com/give.a.heck
🧵 Connect on Threads: threads.net/@give.a.heck
💼 Network with me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dwight-heck-65a90150
🎵 Watch my TikTok content: tiktok.com/@giveaheck
Related Episodes You May Also Find Valuable
If this episode resonated with you, these conversations expand on personal responsibility, rebuilding after setbacks, and taking ownership of your future:
• The 91 Percent Retirement Crisis
https://giveaheck.com/podcast-detail/the-91-percent-retirement-crisis-financial-independence-retirement-planning/
• Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle
https://giveaheck.com/podcast-detail/breaking-the-paycheck-to-paycheck-cycle/
• How Scott Curry Went from Homeless to Financial Freedom
https://giveaheck.com/podcast-detail/how-scott-curry-went-from-homeless-to-financial-freedom/
Unedited Transcript
[00:00:02 – 00:26:26]
Welcome back to the Give A Heck podcast, where I help you get your life back on track, see that you can live life on purpose and not by accident. Today’s episode is a deep dive, one of the most personal, revealing truths I’ve ever had on this platform. In regards to sharing the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows that I’ve experienced in regards to my business and creating my brand, it’s been tumultuous, to say the least. So this isn’t about theory. This isn’t about pointing fingers. This is about truth. My truth, and the lessons I’ve learned through six years of misplaced trust, financial loss, emotional exhaustion, and ultimately personal transformation. We’ve ever trusted the wrong people. If you’ve ever believed somebody’s promises only to be left holding the bag. If you ever felt like you were doing everything right but still falling behind, then this episode is for you. So we’re going to go through a bunch of parts again. I spent a lot of time developing what I was going to say in this solo podcast, and I wanted to ensure that the point is very well read in the sense that when you hear it, you’re going to understand it. It’s going to be straightforward. There’s going to be nothing misconstrued. Again, I’m not here to point fingers. I’m here to share truths that hopefully can help you live a life on purpose and not by accident and with more intent than you’ve ever lived before. Instead of trusting others, trusting in yourself more so Part one the foundation of Trust and How It Cracked I’ve always believed in being trustworthy. I’ve always believed in being kind and honoring my word, and in giving people the benefit of the doubt. When I make a mistake, I own it. I fix it. I don’t hide behind excuses or blame someone else. But here’s the hard truth I had to learn. Not everyone lives by those values. And when you’re someone who does, you assume others do too. The assumption cost me dearly. For years, I trusted referrals without verification. I trusted smooth talkers without proof. I trusted people’s confidence instead of their competence. And and I paid the price. Part 2 the referral trap when praise becomes a blindfold Referrals are powerful. They’re supposed to be shortcuts to trustworthy people. But what I learned is that referrals could also be traps. People refer others for all kinds of reasons. They had a good experience years ago. They felt obligated. They want to help but don’t actually know the person’s current skill level. They assume competence in one area means competence in another. And sometimes they refer someone who is a smooth talker with no substance behind the curtain. I’ve dealt with people who promised the moon, delivered excuses, and then blame me or someone else when their work fell apart. Not once did they offer compensation, accountability, or even a genuine apology. Just more lip service. Part 3 what I Want to Discuss the Pandemic A Perfect Storm for Desperation when the pandemic hit, the desperation became a global language. People felt trapped emotionally, financially, mentally, spiritually. I felt it too. And in the vulnerable space, I made choices that cost me dearly. Tens of thousands of dollars spent on marketing experts who produce nothing but stress. Hours of my life wasted listening to excus energy drained by people who were supposed to help me grow but instead held me back. I wasn’t just losing money. I was losing momentum. I was losing confidence. I was losing trust in my own discernment. And the worst part? I kept trusting. I kept hoping. I kept believing the next promise would be the one that finally worked. Part 4 the Awakening Two months that changed everything these last two months have been transformative for me. I decided to stop relying on others to tell me what was wrong or what I needed. I dove deep, very deep, into every corner of my business, using AI as a tool, not a crutch. I analyzed my finance business, my coaching, my podcast, my marketing, my digital footprint, my systems, my messaging, and my outreach. And what I found was staggering. My entire digital life had been stagnant. Not because I wasn’t working hard, not because I wasn’t trying, but because critical steps were never taught to me, never explained, never implemented by the people I trusted. I was given conflicting information. I was told half truths. I was handed strategies, missing the most important pieces, and I blindly trusted it at all. But I don’t have to do that anymore. AI helped me see the gaps. AI helped me see patterns. AI helped me see the truth. I had outsourced my trust to people who didn’t deserve it and honestly still don’t today. Part 5 the hard realization if it is to be, it is up to me. For now, I trust only myself to rebuild what others neglected. It is a lot to take on. Absolutely. It is overwhelming at times, yes. But sitting back and trusting others to handle it has helped make me fail, right? And helped me fail miserably for six years. Many of these individuals were desperate. Desperate to pay their own bills, desperate to appear successful, desperate to maintain an image. And in that desperation, they presented presented part of me A facade. They look like the solution, but they were hollow inside. Les Brown said it best. If it’s to be, it’s up to me. And that’s where I am today. Stripping away the layers of bs, reclaiming my power and rebuilding from a place of clarity, trust and ownership. Part 6 the Spiritual Layer Faith, Accountability and Karma. I am a firm believer in God. Anybody that’s been a long time listener of the show, or even just recently a listener of the show, know that I am God fearing, that I believe in God and that my life and my core values are centered around that. So I am a firm believer in God. I believe in being good and kind. I believe in giving people what I promise. And when I fall short, I take ownership and fix it. Sadly, that’s not how everybody operates. Some people take and give nothing back. Some people hide behind excuses. Some people pretend to be experts while delivering substandard work that damages your life, your brand and your business. I won’t call people out personally. They know who they are, if they’re even listening or they even care to be honest with you. Karma is real. Life has a way of circling back. Part 7 the new rule Trust, but verify. With the advent of AI with the tools we have today, there is no excuse not to verify somebody’s expertise. You can check credentials, research their track record, ask for proof of performance, compare their claims with reality, get a second opinion instantly. And you should, because your life, your personal brand, your business brand are too important to hand over to somebody who only sounds competent. And I will add to this, sometimes this happens because we become friends with somebody and they’re, you know, they seem very confident and you don’t want to ask for proof maybe, or you just assume because of their swagger or because of what they represent on social media or what you’ve heard others say about them, that that gives them validation, that qualifies them to be able to help you out in the area that you, you need. Guess what? In many, many cases, I’ve fallen flat on my face over trust. That way you can’t trust people. That way. You need to verify, you need to ask for proof and do the things that I just mentioned to save yourself a lot of grief. So even somebody that’s been in business like myself, you know, for the last going on to my 25th year, we still make mistakes. I still make mistakes. Things happen. I want to trust people. That was the nature and how I was raised and how I see my own father run his business, how I see my parents treat others was trust. And referrals were taught to me since I was little that they’re the golden standard. So here’s another truth. When I give out a referral, I make sure that that referral is concrete, that there’s somebody that I personally trust, not just somebody has told me they’re trustworthy or somebody’s said they know what they’re doing. I personally need to know that I can trust them before I give out that referral. Unfortunately, other people don’t feel the same way. And I’ve had some referrals or I’ve trusted in people because others validation or their stamp of approval. And again, I’ve fallen flat on my face because of it. So part 8 the mission emerging from the Pain who knows? Maybe this journey of self discovery, this deep analysis of my life and business will become something I can use to help others avoid the traps I fell into. As mentioned, maybe the pain I’d have endured becomes someone else’s shortcut. Maybe the lessons I’ve learned become someone else’s protection. Maybe the clarity I’ve gained becomes someone else’s breakthrough. Wouldn’t that be great? Wouldn’t the lessons that I’ve learned if they could help others, wouldn’t that be something that I’d be really proud of? Absolutely. If I never find out that something I’ve said or done or presented over the years has has changed your life or made a difference, I don’t need to necessarily know. All I know is that I hope that I can help one more person at the end of the day and hopefully maybe this podcast will make somebody wake up and start being accountable to themselves, not the people around them. You don’t owe those people if they’re not doing what you said. If they’re not giving you 150%, not a not 100%, not 50%, but giving you 150%. Meaning they’re going out of their way to make sure you have clarity of what they’re doing, how it’s going to work. They return emails on time, they return phone calls on time. They literally are doing what everybody deserves. Getting what you have paid for, right? Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen again. I have literally I won’t give you the exact number wasted and thrown out the window. I might as well drove down the freeway and throwing out tens of thousands of dollars and let it blow away. Because that’s the end result of what happened with everything that I tried over the last six years with a majority of the people. Now I have run into the odd person that has helped me, that has been able to give me some guidance. But at the end of the day, the amount of money I paid for that guidance, the guidance wasn’t worth it, right? It was not worth it. Majority of the time I got screwed over. And because I like my kids and family and friends say I’m just too giving, I’m too nice and I got taken advantage of. Whose responsibility is it? Mine. I take onus for the fact that I allowed myself to get taken advantage of. But again, I truly believe in karma. You can only do stuff like this so long. You can. I can name names, but I won’t. People upon people that over the last this couple years, two, three years that have literally were gurus, the people that a lot of us can’t stand, they. They stand in front of this car, get pictures taken, pretend it’s theirs. They go on a vacation. They pretend like they do it all the time. They have things that you want and they are, they talk a big game and you start to believe it and you get sucked in. Unfortunately, again, I’ve been one of those people. But guess what? Karma happens. There’s somebody very famous here recently that had happened to. He took advantage of hundreds of people, took the money, blew it on himself, blew it on his family, and now he’s in jail. Right? Karma happens. And don’t let that karma be something that affects you. Right. Hopefully this helps you defend where you’re at in your life. So this isn’t just my story. Again, this podcast is a roadmap. Hopefully. Maybe it gives you hope, maybe it’s a warning, it’s a wake up call and it’s an invitation, as I mentioned, to take back control of your life and not let others dictate how things are going to happen in your life. Final thing I want to talk about. This wasn’t meant to be a very long podcast. It was just meant to share some information. Is the fact that I believe in you. I didn’t have that necessarily from people. I had lots of lip service. Maybe you’ve had lots of lip service, but I do believe in you. I believe if you put in the effort to actually analyze, write down, type, whatever works for you, what you’re going through, who’s tied to how you’re feeling. Do you hire people? Do you have different people you have expectations of that constantly fail. They constantly fall on the side of the road and you’re still trying to go forward and they’re holding you back. Right? Ask yourself, what are you going to do today to Better your life to stop letting outside influences dictate your success. Take in charge of it. You dictate your success. Find professionals. There’s great coaches out there. There’s great people that can help you on many, many different avenues. But again, as I mentioned earlier, check credentials. Even if you’ve known this person for years, check their ability to do what they say. Tell them you want proof. If anybody that is even close to you gets upset when you ask for proof of concept of what they are talking about, they can do for you or you know, anything. Show me a client online that you’ve been helping. I want to be able to reach out to them and ask if they’re happy. It may sound a little extreme, but guess what? I’m going to start doing that now. I’m going to be that guy that says, hey, give me two, three people I can communicate with, right? I’m not going to let you know which one. Maybe I’ll call all three of them. Maybe I want five people, whatever. If you really want to support me and want my business and want me to become your bank machine, I better get something in return and I better get it with honest integrity. And unfortunately that just is not a reality. I find too many people that are in the social media space that I see talk on stages. People bring in these so called professionals and allow them to pitch, slap everybody and sell stuff. And really at the end of the day, people are so thirsty to succeed and move forward in life, they lap up that stuff like it’s just unbelievable. I remember being at an event, I’ll give you an example and then I’m going to wrap up this episode. In 2017, I qualified to go to a special presentation and a day long event put on by Tony Robbins. And I had always, always wanted to see Tony Robbins, respected him, thought he’s the difference, he’s the person that’s not like the rest. And I’m going to learn a ton. Well, that day was interesting and here’s what I mean. The whole thing is about projecting energy and it’s, you know, some of that there’s truth. But a lot of it was fluff. A lot of it, it was just like rah, rah. And you know, at the end of it there was a lot of pitching and there was a lot of people saying, oh, look at the tables at the back of this conference room because it was in Las Vegas. Go pay $5,000 US and you can join. You can come and see Tony do this. You can come to this five day Event and blah, blah, blah, guess what? If you’re not motivated to succeed, if you’re not motivated to and have actual like game plan in place of what you want to achieve and do all you’re doing by buying these programs from Tony. And I know it’s helped lots of people. I have personal friends that Tony’s done, you know, not him personally, but his programs have helped him launch to the next level. But guess what? These people had stuff on the go already. They weren’t starting from ground zero. Most of the people running to Tony Robbins events or any of these other, you know, big name presenters that are out there and I can list tons of them. I’m just using Tony as an example. I have nothing personal against him. They are feeding off the fact that people feel helpless. There could be thousands of people in that auditorium and I know people that, that have gone to multiple Tony Robbins events, that have gone to events based on the secret right on, you know, and just stuff like that. And you know, again, there’s been so many different ones I’ve been told over my lifetime and all they are is pitch, pitch, pitch. There’s people, they’ll say to you, I remember being at an event where they, and they even said that at Tony Robbins events you can break it up over three payments on your credit card, right? Why do they do that? It’s another, you know, it’s another bait. It’s another thing to make you go and spend money you potentially don’t have. And then once the event’s over, you bought in this program or you maybe you bought something to go to a longer term event with somebody like Tony and it just didn’t materialize because you didn’t have the support after the fact that rah, rah, that energy, that greatness that you felt is gone. You don’t have support. Maybe other people you went with aren’t going to do the program themselves. Maybe you’re the only one. Or maybe they’re going to do the program and you talk about working with it together and it doesn’t materialize. And the program sits and you spend $5,000 US and it’s going to hit you three times over three payments, right? They’re going to divide it up three payments and you know, no interest. But guess what, your credit card is interest. So you’re not doing the program. You, you went through that pitch slap, you went and bought again. Could been going to a five day seminar with Tony. Maybe it’s a course because he sells courses. Too many of them do and guess what happens? It sits there. Nothing’s achieved, nothing’s accomplished. I’ve done it unfortunately myself, not at a Tony Robbins event, but I’ve done it where I bought programs online, where I was, it was misrepresented how I was going to be supported and what I was going to accomplish and achieve out of it. And you know, it’s frustrating because I’m a person that likes working with others. Yes, I can work independent, but if I get a course, I want it to be live. I want to go on. I want to hear these people speak. Okay, a couple days from now, a couple weeks from now, maybe next week, we’re going to have the next session. Here’s your homework. Let’s do it, let’s work at it. Let’s move forward. Let’s go, go, go. Let’s do this together. But most of these programs, they expect you to have self dedication and self ability to just pick it up and do it. Do you have other things going on in your life? I know I sure do. When I’ve bought in some of these courses, you know, in the last, not even six years, let’s say 10 years, and they sat or I’d start doing them and I wasn’t too sure what was going on. I didn’t really exist for me to ask. All I could do is Google things, reach out to the company or read, you know, a Q A area that tried to explain things. But at the end of the day, most of this stuff is just money in their pocket. And very few, very few, not even 1% of that room that is buying those products, that is buying the next conference, actually do anything because they got caught up in the rah rah and they run and they spend. I seen it in 2017, I seen it at that event. I seen all the people lining up at the multiple tables at break time at the end of the event, spending that $5,000 U.S. how many of those people do you think actually had that money just to pay for it outright? I doubt less than 1%. Right. Obviously I don’t know the exact number, but just based on my, you know, my time on the planet and the amount of conferences I’ve been through over my lifetime, I guarantee that most of the people there are going to have that hit their credit card once, then twice, then three times. Or some people will be embarrassed and they won’t want to say no, don’t split it up into three, just put it on once. And they start paying interest after their billing period and they don’t have the structure, support to understand how that program or course works or, or understand that if they bought another program to go into it was a live program to be part of, like, like Tony has done for many years, that it’s going to be four or five days of lack of sleep, it’s going to be rah rah, they’re going to run you down, you’re, you’re going to be exhausted, you’re going to be tired. And at the end of that event, again, this isn’t a personal slight on Tony. This is how most of them run. They’re going to pitch slap you to death. My friend Cheryl talks about that and has a great speech where she goes on stage and talks about pitch slapping. I remember the first time I seen her do that speech on stage and I was so proud of her because what she had to say was so true. So at the end of the day, I hope you realize that if it’s to be, it’s up to me. You need to still have mentors, coaches, supports, courses, conferences, but do your due diligence before you just go and jump into spending money to fly somewhere to listen to somebody, to buy their program, to buy into their longer programs. Right? Again, I went for a day, they were offering up a five day plus, they were offering up courses. And all of it was feeding on the fact of people being helpless, not liking their jobs, not liking their career, not liking their current business. Maybe their business isn’t doing very well and they think that that guru, whoever it is on stage is going to be the magic cure. They might have great stuff to teach you, but unless you’re willing to take action and have a belief in yourself, right. And then consistently work on it, it falls apart in a very short period of time. So feel free to reach out to me. We can jump on a call and discuss this and what I’ve been doing more in detail. There’s lots of things I haven’t shared, but I did want to share that. You know, the advent of technology could be a blessing. It can be a curse. Use it as a blessing. Learn how to ask great questions. Utilize AI and ask it multiple different ways. The same answer. You’re trying to get to see how it changes. Make sure you tell it. You want factual truths that you want references based on where they’re getting that information from. Ask it more and more questions. Right. If you know somebody that’s utilized a program, a coach, a mentor personally, right. And you trust them, even if you ask them and they give that person a glowing review. Who should you really be asking? Somebody you really don’t know. Right. That you know, utilize that service and asking them their truth. Right. Do that. Three to five people. Find out before you spend money and get yourself in a circumstance where you’re going to spend years paying it off. Right. I hope, I hope this helps you. So thank you for joining me today on GIVE A hack. My hope is that this deep dive encourages you to protect your energy, your finances, your business, and your heart. Trust is a gift. Don’t hand it out without proof that somebody deserves it. You can rebuild. You can reclaim your power. You can rise from the setbacks, the disappointments and the betrayals. Remember, in life, it’s never too late to give a heck.