One of the things I recall as an Amway IBO was thinking how sorry I felt for people who were not 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. And the irony of it all was that the people in Amway were paying to be taught to think in that manner.
What goes unnoticed in so 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 never ending 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 cash I threw down the crapper. You can always make up money lost in the Amway scam but you can never regain the lost time or memories from missing social gatherings or family related events.
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 now retired, well before the age of 60 (50) 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 an Amway 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.
6 comments:
Why do you say 'dreaded job'? Working a Job is not as bad as IBOs make it to be. Infact, I enjoy my job :)
I wish I could agree with Anonymous, I am not a huge fan of my job. I am grateful that I have a decent paying job... my bills are all paid, and my family is well taken care of, but I wanted so much more than this.
I am sick of Feeling like my life is a series of what I call XEROX days. The same routine over and over, no matter what breaks come my way my situation never really improves.
So I ask - have you ever considered that it's possible to do both? Working Hard, Saving For The Future, and Chasing My Dream by developing a Network Marketing Business powered by Amway?
I would define a loser as someone who won't attempt to do something they are truly passionate about. Also in the simplest terms is someone who plays something that provides an outcome in which they didn't win.
*Basically "LOSER" doesn't apply to you, or anyone who quits, or anyone who never makes it.
Another way to look at it is follow this motto (being my only real advice as I am in no position to advise anyone) "Work Hard and Hope for the Best, yet always be prepared for the Worst."
Of course people should strive to do something more with their lives and to provide the best life you can for your family.
But to frame some context on that comment, you need to look at the big picture. Yeah there are a handful of "diamonds" or other big shots in Amway. People want to be one of the diamonds because they believe it is the good life. How awesome it must be to not work and live a diamond lifestyle.
But the fact is you don't know how diamonds live in real life. They might be in debt trying to appear wealthy to attract potential recruits. They might not have it all like you like.
It's sort of like analyzing the lottery. Yeah, people would love until wealth but when it's all said and done, many lottery winners wind up broke and unhappier than before they won the lottery. And that's not even looking at the multitudes of people who are worse off because they played the lottery. Same with Amway. You have the vast majority of IBOs losing time and money chasing an Amway business that never bears fruit.
The focus is on the fabulous lifestyles of the diamonds expect that showing slide shows of vacations and cars doesn't mean they have accumulated wealth. They could be in debt but showing you an illusion of wealth.
Bottom line is there are many better ways to better yourself financially than Amway.
Sure, a regular job can become boring and tedious. The same routine, the same tasks, the same duties to perform... naturally one can get fed up after a while. And it's perfectly understandable that one might fantasize about doing something more fulfilling, more exciting, or even just different.
But let's be real... how can one be "truly passionate about" something like Amway? I can see a person being passionate about music, or painting, or writing, or sports, or detective work, or exploration, or search-and-rescue operations, or anything else that presents an intellectual, physical, or creative challenge.
But AMWAY? How can you have a great passion about pushing soap products and generic cosmetics? How can you be fulfilled by selling Perfect Water, nutritional bars, and energy drinks? How can you get worked up over PV levels and ten-buck monthly refund checks?
Let's face it -- Amway is completely devoid of any kind of excitement or charisma. When my cousin tried to rope me into joining it, even he said this: "To tell you the truth, I don't want to be selling soap for the rest of my life. I just want to make a lot of money in Amway right away, and then quit." In other words, Amway was a bore, and the only reason to join it was to perhaps make some cash.
So let's be logical -- if Amway is emotionally unfulfilling, then the only rationale behind it is possible profit. But -- and this is a VERY BIG BUT -- 99% of people who sign up in Amway never make a single cent of profit! So here's a business where there is neither excitement nor actual money!
I want to know how anyone can "be passionate" about something like that.
The IBO who introduces a person to the plan shares this business idea as “Easy Money” than that IBO (many stupid people in the world mind you) is basically an idiot, and unintentionally or intentionally lying to their prospects. Network Marketing is a system to get rich over a serious amount of hard work, not time. A person could be involved with the Amway Business for years and years and it wouldn’t accomplish anything – because these businesses are built by sharing the plan over and over and over and over, not by being involved for an allotted amount of time.
Now the correct business plan doesn’t say that you could become a Diamond or a Multimillionaire in 2 to 5 years, as the critics suggest, the Plan says that by working your ass off for a minimum of 15 to 30 plans per month for a consecutive 24 to 60 months will earn that IBO a 100,000 dollar a year income (aka 6 Figure Income). Now some people have gone emerald in 6 months, and Korean people go from Platinum to Double Diamond in a year, but these feats which are very rare mind you are developed by working your ass off, not by working the business occasionally or when you feel like it. This knowledge should be shared in the plan, if it is not then I apologize personally as it should be. I have met Platinum’s that make 6 figures and I have met Diamonds that are starting over from scratch, but if an IBO is willing to work their asses off, they will EVENTUALLY make significant money in the Network Marketing Industry, however that needs to be done with consistent work, not Time.
Lastly I will say this – Many IBO’s Dream of becoming Diamonds and making 200 K a year in income, just as many people (outside the business) Dream of becoming Millionaires, but a problem always occurs when we ask the question…
“Hey would you like to earn a 6 Figure Income” or “Would you like to be a millionaire”?
*Anyone with a brain in their head will answer Yes to these questions, the problem is how it’s framed or asked.
*Because the question is wrong (how it’s delivered and how it’s heard/received)
The correct question to ask is.
“Hey are you willing to get out of your comfort zone on a daily basis, and work your ass off for 2 to 5 years so you could potentially earn a 6 Figure Income?” or “Hey are you willing to get out of your comfort zone on a daily basis, and work your ass off to become a millionaire?”
If these questions were framed the correct way, perhaps more people would understand that Network Marketing isn’t a get rich quick option, and they wouldn’t view it as “Easy Money”, yet the funny thing is that real scams such as the Ponzi Scheme had people diving right in, no questions asked. Getting sponsored in airplane and other pyramid scams is far easier then sponsoring people into MLM, Network Marketing, and Amway.
Joe Cool – I am sorry you had a negative experience with Amway, sounds to me like your sponsor or upline was a total jackass/moron. They are upline, aka business consultants, not relationship or marriage counselors. The upline who said that if his upline diamond suggested he leave his wife and he would is an even bigger moron. The upline is supposed to mentor and coach you on how sponsor more people into your team and how to sell more Amway products to the general public. If I was you Joe Cool, I would let your readers know who this guy is in Hawaii and let them know that he like so many other people is a stupid person.
Just Saying
-MLM Guardian
@MLM Guardian.
If the business of the Amway opportunity is mostly about getting others active in Amway like yourself (who would join hoping to do the same), then the opportunity is that of majority failure by design. That's regardless of whether you have a group that's free from tool expenses, regardless of whether the "jackass" uplines are worked out, regardless of bad apple groups, regardless of whether everybody that joins understands it's not get rich easy and quick, regardless of whether they all work for 20 hours a day, showing 10 plans per day. If you read more than 5 postings on the blog, you'll see that his complaints are more than a rogue upline given a fantastic opportunity a bad name.
I actually agree with you that Joecool should warn the people in Hawaii. But I take that further, he should also warn those in the rest of your country, the whole of North America, and everywhere in the world where the internet can reach. From where I'm sitting on the other side of the planet, he is doing a fantastic job already.
I don't know how old you are and how many working years you have left, but you string decent senteces together, so I assume you are reasonably well educated. If you are as willing to work hard as you say, there are many alternative ways to have a very decent income. If I can give you one pointer, if you cannot tell strangers up front what brand you represent because it's going to scare them away, if you can't imagine proudly wearing a tie or t-shirt with the brand's name on it when talking to prospects, you are probably in the wrong business. Just saying, and good luck.
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