Monday, December 17, 2012

Amway Friends For Life

You hang out with friends, generally people you like and have similar interests. You have good and bad times, but your true friends are there for you when you need them. You move residences, your friends are there to help you move. They may play a round of golf with you, or watch some sporting events, dinners, backyard barbeques, etc. These are folks you will likely end up retiring with and enjoying your golden years. Sure, circumstance may break apart some friendships. or moves made out of necessity. But these folks will likely remainas your friends for a long time to come.

But suddenly, you get enticed to join Amway. You see the "chance" to get rich, with a shortcut (not get rich quick, but a "shortcut"). You sign up and your sponsor is your new "best" friend. Most of the people you enjoyed being with think Amway is a questionable venture to get involved in. Suddenly, because of what you have been told or taught, you view these same nice people as "broke" or "losers", simply because they do not share the same ambition of untold wealth working 12-15 hours a weeek. Suddenly, your friends become prospects, or people you want to sponsor so you start recruiting them. Some may join, but most won't. Suddenly you are immersed in recruitment meetings, functions, and avoiding "negative", which is people and events that do not support your Amway business.

Now you are missing birthday parties, barbeques, and other social events. Your social events are now recruitment meetings, seminars and Amway business related events. You are taught that these events can be put off and your gratification delayed. You can do whatever you want when you go diamond. (Even though there may be only one (1) diamond out of every ten or twenty thousand IBOs) Your dedication will pay off right? Sadly, for most people, even very dedicated people, all they will see is losses on their yearly tax returns, mainly due to the purchase of cds, books, voicemail and function tickets. But these are your "friends" right?

Here's my take on it. Try missing a few meetings or functions. Stop buying cds and see how many "friends" remain from the business. It is likely that your upline will claim that you walked away from the friendship by slowing down on the "system". If that happens, then you have conditional friends, or fairweather friends. They are your "friends" while you are pursuing the same cause. They are your friends when you are attending functions. Are they there for you in bad times or are they your friends while you are buying tools and function tickets?

A short while after I attended my last function (I was still an IBO, just not a business builder), my dad passed away. Not a single one of my IBO "friends" bothered to attend the memorial service. Not a single one of my IBO friends called or dropped by the home to pay their respects. All of my "real" friends, who saw through the AMO smoke and mirrors called to talk to me and/or attended the memorial service.

Are your IBO friends conditional friends? Mine were.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a former platinum i can confirm there is no such thing as friends in amway. I went platinum in 7 months which i believe was a good achievement. I then quit as i did not want to dedicate my life to something even if it was going to deliver any of the promises. My life was worth more than that. I have followed amway from a distance for over 25 years. I dont criticise it. But one thing i do know is that not one person from amway ever contacted me since i left. So frienship is only available if you are seen as contributing to somebody elses pocket.

Anonymous said...

+1

Anonymous said...

Hi Joe - I'm sorry to hear, that your beloved father passed away & that your Amway friends didn't offer any support to you. Kind regards; Lady G.

Joecool said...

Lady G, thanks!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I was told by one of my distant relative about this. He told me they're not friends for your life and they're no way interested in your success. But I was a core cult IBO and I didn't believe it. However, now I realise that, no one in Amway are half-way close to being honest and truthful about what they speak. As long as you put PV and do what your up line says, you're there the day it changes slightly also, you do not even figure in their list.

Anonymous said...

hmmm.. I wouldn't help true friends move, bump that shiet!