One of the things I recall as an IBO was thinking how sorry I felt for people who were not Amway IBOs because we were all going to be rich and everyone else was a loser. Our upline used to tell us that we were winners - and if you weren't a winner, then obviously, you are a loser. Many times, the term "broke" was attached to the term loser. That was my mindset back then, but having been out of the system more than ten years, I can look back and laugh, realizing that the losers were the ones buying stuff they don't need, stalking people at malls and bookstores, and wasting their time and money on tapes (cds), books and functions.
What goes unnoticed in many cases, is how much time and money really goes down the drain for IBOs who work the system. Your life revolves around the business if you are dedicated and hard core. You are always looking for prospects and people to show the plan to, and you have to rearrange your schedules, or outright skip social or family gatherings because of the neverending number of meetings and functions, many of which teach you nothing about running a profitable business. When I first left the Amway business, I was sort of angry at the time and effort that was wasted, along with the cahs I threw down the crapper.
But after I did finally cut ties with the business and the people associated with it, I got back into a routine of sorts. I focused on my job and after some years of gaining experience and working my way up the corporate ladder, I received some promotions and I am scheduled to be retired before the age of 60 with a decent retirement income and will likely have my home paid off by then. So while I did have to work a dreaded job to be able to retire, pretty much all IBOs are also working a job or business PLUS having to expend their time and money to run their Amway business which has little to no chance of providing a long term stable and significant income. And if I may add, it is the systems such as WWDB or N21 that usually end up costing the IBOs the most money because of things like the functions.
So I will ask the question. Who's the real loser? The person diligently working and saving for their future or the person chasing a dream that is unlikely to materialize? Factoring in the expenditure of time also makes the systems even more costly than it appears on the surface.
Calling other persons "losers" simply because they are in a different line of work than yours is a sign of deep inadequacy and defensiveness. But that in fact is what is true about the great majority of Amway recruits -- they are pathetic little nobodies with a precarious financial future. Isn't that what every Diamond couple admits on stage at the functions? That they were living out of garbage cans? That they worked for minimum wages in a luncheonette or a gas station? That they needed to borrow money to go to their first Amway meeting?
ReplyDeleteIn other words, the myth of Amway is that we all start out as dopey small-town schlubs who are destined to go nowhere, and Amway is our Great Salvation. Nothing else could pull us out of the hole of financial inadequacy. Amway has saved us from being hopeless losers!
The notion that anyone who isn't in Amway is bound to be a "broke loser" is surreal. Is a stockbroker financially embarrassed? Is a brain surgeon a loser? Is a civil-service policeman or fireman dressed in rags? Is an insurance salesman out of cash? Is a banker headed for the poorhouse?
When you say that everyone except yourself (and those who are like you) is a hopeless failure, all you do is show the world how defensive and frightened you are about life. Intelligent and well-adjusted people don't worry a bit about what other people are doing, and they certainly don't rant and rave about how those other people are "losers."
Can you imagine being a real "store owner" and calling someone a loser if they walk out of your store if they didn't make a purchase?
ReplyDeleteYes. Amway is the only business where "the customer is always wrong," if the customer declines to buy stuff.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of valuable lessons learned over the years I was involved in Amway (INA/Colorado) that served me well later on in my business and personal life, so it was not a waste of time. But it was clear fairly early on that the business was not a fit for me, and that it takes a unique individual to consistently do the eight steps properly while keeping the rest of life in balance. I was not that individual.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest part of what people call "brainwashing" is moving away from consumerist thought patterns that turn us into suckers for the advertising industry and distancing yourself from the cultural debasement spewed out by Hollywood. It's just that listening to several hours of business/motivational tapes becomes another form of programming, and what is really happening is trading one form of conditioning for another instead of developing one's critical thought.