Yeah, that "guru" stuff is a bunch of BS. I connect marketers with advertisers to help sell their products online. It's all commission based, so if you refer a customer that purchases a product, you get paid a commission. It makes a lot more sense to advertise online in this manner because as an advertiser you only pay for when someone generates a lead for you. It works out for the publisher because they can get paid a lot more than they would via traditional methods for their traffic.
Selling knowledge/information is typically a hoax. No good marketer gives away real secrets. They'll give you just enough info to pique your interest and get you to pay them.
Nevertheless there are plenty of legit ways to make money online including blogging as someone else on this thread mentioned. Pick a topic you love that will interest others, provide good content, include reviews on products you love or have tried (many of which have affiliate programs which will pay you to generate sales) and grow from there.
The internet can provide freedom that people 20-50 years ago could only dream about. I remember when we got our first trailer, we were 27 and we traveled the country for a few months. People used to get mad at me because they had waited and saved their whole lives to be able to have an RV and the freedom associated. I like to enjoy life and figured if I could travel at 27, why wait til I was 72. It's a whole new world out there and I'm trying to take advantage for a better quality of life for my family.