One of the things my Amway upline taught us ad nauseum was that we needed to have faith in our business and in our upline. That we needed to believe that we were going to be successful. IBOs are told that they should act successful even if they are still working their way up the ranks in the business. It is why they ask (require) IBOs to wear suits and business attire to all meetings and functions. This is one of the weird quirks about the business in my opinion. I live in Hawaii and I remember a function they held in the middle of July in a high school auditorium and there was no air conditioning. I think my suit needed special cleaning because it was completely saturated with perspiration.
Anyway, with this part of the year, soon there will be thousands of IBOs shuffling off to a function called dream night, or in some cases, winter conference. The tickets are about $75 to $80 and includes a dinner. What IBOs are often unaware of is that many venues will allow you to run these conferences for $25 to $35 per person. The rest of that ticket prices goes directly into your upline's pockets. Anyway, the dream night function will feature slide shows of mansions, yachts, jet skis, sports cars, fabulous vacations and other trappings of wealth.
What many IBOs don't realize is that this display of wealth is just that. There is no bonafide evidence to indicate that these diamonds actually own all of those toys and goodies. The diamonds probably won't verbally confirm it either, because these toys and goodies may not really be owned by them. It could be rented, or maybe some upline crown ambassador may own the mansion, but IBOs will assume that these trappings of wealth are common once you reach diamond. As an IBO, I never actually knew how much a diamond really earned. I just assumed it was a lot because we were shown all of these goodies and just assumed all diamonds had these kinds of lifestyles.
If I posted a picture of a mansion and a jet and said I owe it all to my earnings as a blogger, people would cry foul, that I am lying or making things up. And they would be right. Well, I would guess that many diamonds are doing the very same thing if they appear on stage and implying that they have jets and mansions. As I said, someone may own a mansion and a jet, but to imply that this is a part of the typical diamond lifestyle is a stretch. The evidence is there. Some diamonds have lost their homes to foreclosure. My old LOS diamonds (WWDB) taught us that diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. Now confirmed as a blatant lie. Who knows what else they may have misrepresented?
I ask IBOs and prospects who may be attending dream night, to watch with a critical eye. What is being implied with the display of wealth? Analyze if those goodies can be purchased with a diamond income ($150,000 plus some tool income). Ask yourself if this lifestyle is truly sustainable? Ask yourself if you can live with yourself if deception is a part of earning your diamond lifestyle?
10 comments:
It's always easy to pretend that you're richer than you are. Amway encourages this sort of thing as a general policy for anyone in the racket.
"Fake it till you make it!" is what your up-line screams at you. So you are encouraged to wear a business suit, keep a cellphone glued to your ear, tell people you have a secretary called "Kate," and always have a big stupid smile plastered on your face when you're out recruiting new suckers.
I believe that all too often, IBOs fall into the sunken cost fallacy. They have to believe that success us right around the corner, that they will succeed if they just don't quit. Because to admit that upline is full of crap would mean their big dreams might not come true. That they might be working for 40 years as an adult.
If they only knew the truth. That being a diamond is just another for of work that doesn't pay nearly as good as the diamonds would have you believe.
Well then, being an Amway IBO is like playing at the roulette wheel in a casino, and being on a long losing streak. You keep on betting and betting, simply because you are afraid of walking away from the table and admitting that you had a bad night and that you lost a fortune. So you keep on betting, in the forlorn hope that at last you'll hit it big and get back all the cash you lost.
At least at a roulette wheel there's actually a one-in-forty chance that you will win sometimes. Bad odds, but not unreasonable. In Amway, your chances are less that one percent! According to Amway's own printed literature, over 99% of IBOs never make any money at all.
In Amway, the only way out is to admit to yourself that your up-line is either a deluded fool or an outright liar. Once you make that major step, you can begin to get your life back.
I completely agree with the sunk cost fallacy when it comes to IBO's. I sometimes think about my former upline direct. He had made it to Ruby and was in Sapphire qualification during the heady Quixtar days.
Sadly it didn't last. My former 2,500 went platinum with quixtar, but has quit and is now doing another MLM. I don't believe my former upline is still even a Ruby anymore but the last time I checked, he was still sold out on Amway.
The kicker; he worked part time as a waiter in a downtown Toronto restaurant, his wife is a SAHM and they had used her retirement payout from IBM to set up some passive income for them both. They lived off the interest of the sum in the bank.
I have no idea how long my former upline had been before I started, but this summer will make 20 years since I saw Amway through DIBG. After everything he and his wife have sacrificed for Amway, I can see why they wouldn't want to see that the last 20 plus years were a total waste
An old friend of mine reached out to me last year to get me involved, so I attended several meetings. After the upline kept repeating that we shouldn't go online and research Amway, I obviously saw that as a red flag. I came across your blog and read it every day. Thank you for putting this info out there! I also read Merchants of Deception. I simply dropped off and stopped going to meetings because I was essentially scolded for not attending a couple of those conferences. (I never attended one.) The upline still keeps sending me text messages inviting me to events and such. I haven't yet told them I am out just because I am curious to see what happens. Every Wednesday night, they have a team call that I have never joined. Anyway, very early yesterday morning, the upline sent me a link to listen to the call. I listened to it today just out of curiosity and wow! Essentially he went on and on about how missing even one event is a horrible thing and will put you way behind in "building your business." He said missing ONE event is the downfall of the whole business because your "poor decision" to choose a life event over an LTD conference will mess up the whole thing. He said these events are "game changers." He then proceeded to say that no excuse is a good one for missing them... that if your boss tells you that you cannot take a day off work to attend their stupid functions and you don't stand up to your boss, you are a weak leader. And you should always cancel personal events in life when there are functions as functions will make big money for your business. One other thing he said was that you should always try to work overtime and do what you have to do to make an additional $100 so you can use it for LTD events. Just unbelievable. For one... I am NOT a weak leader. I am just not stupid and won't fall for crooks stealing my money. I will NOT waste my precious time or money to go sit in a cult meeting that will put all of my money in the upline's pocket.
Anyway, this guy sent the text out like it was addressed to everyone on his team; however, I am the only one he sent the text to. I am sure he sent it to me to listen to because of the content. It was like he was preaching to me and scolding me and calling me the weak leader because I have dropped off.
I have nothing good to say about this whole thing. They are simply trying to brainwash people to give up their time and money for nothing...just so they can continue to fill their pockets. It makes me livid. Anyway... just needed to vent. Thanks for your continued blogs!!
Profgirl12,
Thanks for your comments. I heard that deal about setting your business back by not attending functions. It's total BS. Out of the thousands who attend, how many learned something valuable that actually resulted in more sales as a result? Without more sales, your business is going nowhere.
The upline teaches this loyalty because the income they receive from functions and tools are possibly their main source of income. Oddly, these same leaders will tell you that God and family, and work comes before Amway, but at the same time, they will tell you to skip a family function or even your brother's wedding if it conflicts with an Amway function.
It's amazing that people don't see through their BS more quickly.
What Profgirl12 said is actually quite frightening.
The guy pestering her with all those calls was like a stalker! He wouldn't take no for an answer, and made the assumption that she was a slave whose job was to obey instantly any commands.
Missing a meeting? Missing a function? The idea that those two things are anything but a pep-talk and a hype-festival is ridiculous. They are nothing but ways for up-line and the Platinum to get fees, and to impose a habit of obedience on the lowly IBO.
I remember in the beginning they spoke about God, family, and work coming first... essentially making me think they were good people who actually respected those things. It only took me missing two conferences for them to show me they thought otherwise. (I have read enough about the conferences to completely turn me off. And, there was just no way I was going to pay full price for a hotel room that would be shared with several other women. Funny how you cannot go by yourself and get your own room... even in another hotel if you want since "those rooms sell out fast." They clearly do not want you to be able to have any freedom during those travels.)
They also sent me an invitation to a Super Bowl party at the upline's house. They strictly said it was only for business associates... no outside friends or family. (The upline said, "you guys are our best friends...we love you.") The Super Bowl has always been a fun event for me... like it is for many folks. I host a party every year to enjoy the evening with people closest to me. (I obviously declined their invitation.) They are trying to separate people from their friends and family. They only want you hanging out with other people in the "business." What's next...will they only allow you to celebrate Christmas or other major holidays with business associates?
I also agree that it is amazing that people don't see through their BS more quickly. I feel sorry for those gullible people caught up in it.
Dear Profgirl12 --
I'd say that, even worse than the Amway need to drain money from IBOs, is their cult-like urge to sever persons from their non-Amway friends and family. This tendency has been noted over and over again at various anti-Amway websites, where there are countless anecdotes that are parallel to what you have just described.
Amway actively encourages divorce if one spouse in a family is not enthusiastic and supportive of the Amway fake "business opportunity." You are actually told to "get rid of" your wife or husband if that person isn't wholeheartedly devoted to the Amway racket. And they don't want you to have any acquaintances or friends who might be critical, or even just mildly questioning, of the entire scheme.
Also, the idea that you would be required to pay full price for a hotel room, but then have to share it with several other women, is a dead giveaway as to the Amway desire to rip off IBOs. The rooms in that hotel were arranged and paid for by your up-line or his Platinum. They got a break on the price because of large-scale convention rates. But rather than pass on these savings to their down-line IBOs, they charged each and every woman THE FULL ROOM PRICE! So a room that they got for perhaps $100 per night allowed them to collect $700 per night from seven women!
This is a perfect example of the lying, cheating, and stealing that are hidden in all Amway "functions."
Had some "friends" once that I knew for quite a few years.
They then got sucked into the Amway racket.
When I didn't they stopped all contact.
Better they keep to themselves rather than spread the Amway mental illness anyway.
Why would you want to spend a happy time listening to Amway deluded cultists?
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