PaulMaxime has been consistent in what he's said since coming onto the forum. Just go read his post history. For 5 years, he's consistently mentioned Motley Fool and several outperforming long term holdings (including, credibly, Apple which is worth 3x compared to 5 years ago.). I think it's unlikely he's lied consistently for the past 5 years. Nothing to gain with forum anonymity other than sharing experience and opinion, which everyone here does.
waltworks, and many pseudo-investing experts here, believe beating the index is impossible. Likewise, many "financial experts" have also said early retirement was impossible. The truth is there is no one way to accumulate capital. You can find undervalued assets or assets with exceptional potential in stocks, real estate, entrepreneurship, etc. with knowledge, skill, experience, vision, and yes, a little luck. Indexing is a perfectly legitimate strategy to accumulate capital, but it's bizarre to believe it's the highest performing way. Weird how there's so many people who've experienced the impossible...