Tom is suffering from a swelled head. I once challenged something he said (in a private email no less) and he couldn’t handle it. He’s a kid drunk on his own precociousness.
He believes he knows everything. There isn’t a humble, gracious bone in his body. Anything but praise he rejects as trolling, no matter how politely it’s expressed. He has no clue what it’s like to be you and is in no position to advise anyone beyond his narrow scope of experience.

Here’s my philosophy. Don’t engage with the Medium whales. They don’t need more praise and attention. They get that from the suckers who think they’re infallible. In addition, they don’t believe they can learn anything from their readers they don’t already know, so there’s no point in trying to give them a fresh perspective.

What’s really funny about this exchange you had with Tom is that he’s shooting himself in the foot when he attacks mentorship because that’s what he’s selling. He’s right in one respect: you can get everything his courses provide for free with a little googling.