One of the things I thankfully never missed because of my involvement with Amway was a superbowl party. It truly is an event that I enjoy. We would hang out with friends for the afternoon. Lots of great food and great fun! But as an IBO, I remember the upline always wanting everyone to make sacrifices in the name of the business. For example, my sponsor told me that he gave up on all of his hobbies in order to focus on Amway. That the delayed gratification would eventually pay off. Sadly, my former sponsor is still active in Amway, 19 years worth. I don't know if his hobbies are still on hold, but I remember people being edified for dumping their golf clubs, their tennis club memberships and other sacrifices, including family time.
I remember people would say how they would one day travel the world to play golf, or to fly and play tennis in world famous venues. That idle time spent with family and friends would not be missed but one day would pay off big when they had diamond groups. That one day, they too could stand on stage, tell about their selfless sacrifices and how it propelled them to diamond. They would look back and realize how small of a sacrifice it really was. "It's so worth it", the diamonds would say.
The reality is that IBOs often ended up sacrificing valuable time with their families, their kids, and their friends for nothing. Not a single crossline IBO from my days in the business ever hit even the platinum level. I saw kids who grew up with their parents missing important events in their lives in the name of Amway and the dream of financial freedom. The diamonds would say that when the kids are sleeping, you can be showing the plan. But sadly, time passes quickly and can never be replaced. I wonder how some parents, who finally quit after a number of years, were able to explain to their kids about the dreams and unfulfilled promises? I hope honesty was involved in these cases. I truly do.
Luckily for me, my involvement was about a year or less. My damage was minimal. But I feel for people who neglected family and friends to chase a dream that will never come true. Hopefully, the family and friends of IBOs who quit will be patient and understanding. Maybe this article will help someone cope. Hopefully, the word will get out so fewer people sell their souls to the upline. I hope everyone has a safe and happy superbowl party and gets to and from their parties safely.
P.S. I think San Francisco wins this one, but good luck to Ray Lewis and company as well.
5 comments:
What i think about the plan is even if you become a high pin it is not worth the effort. You said it you cant recover time. All the pins worked this business day and night to get it. Then they have to continue to do so to maintain their income. There are 2 major negatives in the business. First 99 per cent make no money and probably lose money. These are lucky as normally they quit in a year or. Second those who reach pins give up their lives to do so. They have no freedom at all , like being in prison. The guy in a job or a normal business has eveings and weekends free to enjoy events like you mention or play with kids. This rather than being on the road showing plans. So i just cant see any attraction in the plan at all. Thats why i said no 20 years ago. Since then i played golf twice a week , cycled 2 eveings a week, brought my daughter to school and helped her homework and much more. In amway all that would have been impossible.So i cant see it.
As a ps to my above comment and at superbowl time ( a game we dont understand here in europe) i wanted to say over those 20 years i watched with friends such events as 6 world cups, tiger woods growing from an outstanding amateur to winning over 70 events, 5 olympics and spent a day walking around the french open jus beside a young rory mcilroy knowing the time would come when nobody could get close to him. Again could i have experienced such events if i was core in amway. Never.
Thanks for your comments. I agree with you.
19 years? That is heinous! Some people don't learn even after peeing on a live electric wire do they?
Some way or the other, people get tricked into such scams. However, one with more common sense will quit sooner! My up line was quite happy to see us in the open meetings, on our birthdays or any other such important occasions. We live this life only once and hence no point in delaying gratification till death!
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