One of the silly things many IBOs are taught is to avoid negative. I believe this is taught today by uplines and it was certainly a point of emphasis even in my days as an IBO. The upline diamond would say that the world of full of negatives and that we as people take in too much of these negatives. Therefore, the IBOs were told to avoid television, newspapers and other forms of communication with the outside world. The group was also told to avoid people who speak negatively about Amway. For this reason, many people have considered Amway groups such as WWDB or N21 as cultish or cult-like. (information deprevation or information control).
I can agree that you surely don't want to only take in negatives as it can wear you down, but not seeing the news or reading about current events in the paper simply makes you apathetic and uninformed. For example, wouldn't you want and need to know if there was a storm heading your way? I live in Hawaii and we occasionally have hurricanes. Avoiding news could be very detrimental to your family and home. If you lived in the midwest of the US, wouldn't you want and need to know if a tornado was headed your way? Do you avoid the doctor because his assessment of your health might not be "positive"? For these reasons, I believe that many Amwayers walk around wearing a mask with a false smile, trying to overly positive.
Another important thing that many IBOs cannot distinguish is the difference between negative and the truth. If your wife asks you if her new dress makes her look fat, the truth might be that the new dress indeed makes her appear fat. That answer may be uncomfortable for you to deliver, but the truth is the truth. The truth at times can be positive or negative but it is still the truth.
Most IBOs earn less than $100 a month. That is the truth. Most IBOs lose money if they participate in functions and standing orders and such. That is the truth. Most IBOs will never even sponsor a downline. That is the truth. Most IBOs, filled with motivation and dreams, will never see those dreams fulfilled. That is the truth. Many upline diamonds, who advise IBOs to purchase tools and attend functions, and fill the IBO's heads full of dreams, make significant incomes from the sale of tools and functions. That is also the truth. In a 1 year timespan, approximately 50% of IBOs will quit. That is the truth.
Is it negative to tell the truth? Or can IBOs not handle the truth?
Well said. Again, this is an example of a "principle" or "truth" that is misappropriated for the purpose of controlling the unsuspecting new IBO. It's a "specious" argument which is to say that it sounds good but upon further critique had major flaws in its logic - which I may add you pointed out well.
ReplyDeleteOnce an IBO or anyone (including politics, etc) accepts a line of thought as "principle" never to be deviated from and accepts the giver of the message as completely altruistic, they are completely set up to be controlled. "Positive thinking," as it were, was used as an excuse for everything from going to events I couldn't afford to purchasing products up front that I couldn't afford and so on. It was used as a mask to ignore overpriced goods, damaged goods, holes in the compensation plan, group loss, everything.
Don't be deceived.
Positive thinking by itself is not a bad thing but to avoid all negative becomes stupid. Many of your friends and family might not agree with Amway but avoiding them for that reason is dumb. What upline wants is to isolate you so you don't seek help or listen to voices of reason. What's scary is that this tactic is used by domestic abusers. They cut the victims off from potential help.
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