I should've been more clear about selling an ideal. I didn't mean that as a positive thing. He's selling escapism and his message has lacked substance from the start, but he's obviously selling something people want (if I were going to choose to spend $700 on a sellers course or an LN plane and perhaps supplement with 4 good clean disston saws, I wouldn't be registering for the course).
The idea that Paul isn't "beholden to tool companies" is overpeddled - that's not how he makes his money. If we all got an accurate accounting (from what I gather) of what he did, it would look like "got a job at a museum, then went from there to teaching students - or perhaps both at once - almost 40 years ago and then saw the power of online media at some point"
I tried to find his portfolio by googling it:
Has anyone seen a portfolio of stuff paul has made by himself? When I googled that, I got this:
https://paulsellers.com/2015/05/working-for-yourself/
This is really fantasy stuff. Full of "could" stuff, along with a comment at the bottom that once you're your "own boss, you can just extend deadlines further and further if it feels like pressure" and the comment that "I won't let anyone tell me I couldn't make a living making furniture".
Well, Paul, you probably couldn't. The finest maker I ever met charged a shop rate of about $50 an hour to do exceedingly fine work that almost nobody else could do. He didn't make furniture. Anyone I can think of who made more became a "company owner", which isn't nearly as pleasant as working by yourself.
This kind of thing is a lot like the investment guru who gives seminars and talks (paul's page says he'll come for a fee and give talks, i'm sure he's already got it all worked out in terms of puffing up a group), and who tells you just how much success you could have if you keep taking their classes and use their strategy. The only thing missing is the fact that they're not employing the strategy, they're seeking out other people to do it. I guess they're all altruistic. The reality is they're definitely not going to coach you about how they really make money - Paul doesn't teach you how he makes his living because it wouldn't be great for pitching how he makes his living (finding beginners), and you might do it.
Here's what I see - first, paul learned as a Joiner (not a cabinetmaker). Then, he learned that teaching people is preferable. Inevitably (my opinion), you'll find people teaching things when they tire of the making, not because they just have the "gift to teach, but are a world class maker, and it's such a tough decision". And not sure if he does in person classes at this point, but the magic of the internet probably makes selling memberships on sites more profitable and easier to manage than coordinating in person classes (e.g., dealing with people who have a relative who gets sick and want a refund, weather issues, ...ahem...covid restrictions). Giving talks is probably pretty profitable, too, if you can be booked to give a talk that you've already given other times.
long story short, if you want to know what's what with tools, find someone who does really fine work, and see what they think. Most of them will have a tool obsession and some won't, but not many will have strong opinions on what you must have because they'll be conveying that you need to have something that you want to make finely, and then the fact that you have to do all of the bits of it finely - not just what feels good.
Paul would have less trouble figuring out how to sharpen a clifton blade easily than he would providing a list of career woodworkers that he's taught.
