I recall my Amway upline saying how our group was “broke”. He says we’re not bad people but being broke was the result of our mentality. That we somehow think working 40 hours a week for 40 years is the answer to our long term finances. That we needed to shift our thinking away from the broke mentality. So apparently anyone with a job was broke because working was not the answer. Even though you're told that Amway is "hard work", somehow that doesn't count as work in relation to having a job.
The diamonds thought they had it all figured out because they allegedly play all day and night without a worry in the world. They have the right mindset because they have a business that is earning for them while they do other things. They are the greatest business minds because they have it all. Or so it seems.
There never was any explanation given when a WWDB triple diamond filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy some years ago. Some IBOs flat out denied it despite there being publicly available records of it. But this diamond was fiercely defended by the faithful, clamoring that they were lucky to be given advice from someone with his business acumen. That despite his wise decisions resulted in credit card debt that he could not pay off, and loans that he defaulted on by declaring bankruptcy. So much for that financial acumen and integrity that IBOs often speak of.
That leads me to another point. Nobody knows how well off or not the diamonds are. They put on a good show but has anyone seen their tax returns or bank statements? How do you know that the diamonds aren’t as broke as everyone else? A luxurious lifestyle is not cheap and diamonds don’t make millions of dollars as they would have you believe. It’s very likely that many of them are in debt just like many other Americans who live beyond their means. Having a higher than average income doesn’t shield you from living beyond your means. Go and look at Amway's disclosures. A Q12 diamond (Q12 is the exception, not the norm) makes around $600k gross income. A regular non Q12 diamond (the norm) makes a lot less. Even with supplemental income from tools and functions, you aren't buying mansions and $100k sports cars in cash.
If IBOs are broke, then it’s very likely that many diamonds are as well. The only difference is that the diamonds don’t man up and admit it. Instead they put on a show to rip off their down lines with rah rah tools and functions. The diamonds are more like actors who put on a show for their downline.
3 comments:
Amway freaks are famous for refusing to face reality. When Diamonds go into bankruptcy, or get divorced, or quit the business, the reflexive response of Amway freaks is to scream "It didn't happen! It's a lie!" This has happened over and over again, in all the Amway subsystems.
For an Amway freak, a Diamond is God Almighty. He is the supreme being in the universe. He can do no wrong, and can make no mistake. He is the marble statue on a pedestal to which everyone must pay homage and allegiance.
So when a Diamond goes bankrupt, or gets divorced, or quits the business, it is a psychological earthquake for IBOs. They can't handle it. It simply doesn't fit in with their worldview. And their immediate response is to go into denial.
To understand the typical Amway freak's response to a Diamond getting divorced or going bankrupt, you have to understand the psychology of theater-goers at a dramatic performance.
A theater-goer is at a play to be entertained and emotionally moved. He never stops to think that the play is a pure fiction, written by a playwright, directed by a director, produced by a producer, and acted out by paid actors. The theater-goer is in a state of "suspended belief," which just means that for as long as the play is going on, he responds to it as if it were something real. This is a simple fact about theatricals that has been known for thousands of years.
In Amway, the ordinary IBO is in a state of "suspended belief" all the time that he is in Amway. He goes to all those asinine "functions" (Dream Night, Family Reunion, etc.) with the same emotional needs that he would have when he enters a theater. And for most of the time, he's not disappointed -- the Diamonds and all the other frauds at the "function" fill him with energy and enthusiasm and hope, climaxing in a big celebration of the glories and future riches that await anybody who adheres to the Amway soap-suds racket.
Now if by chance it turns out that a Diamond is caught lying, or goes bankrupt, or if he gets divorced or commits some crime, the theatrical experience is violently shattered. It's as if you were watching a very moving play, and all of a sudden the main character turned to the audience and shouted "DO YOU JERKS REALLY BELIEVE ALL THIS CRAP YOU'RE SEEING?" This destroys the dramatic illusion (actors call it "breaking the fourth wall," which is their phrase for the separation that is always there between actors and audience).
When an Amway freak is told that a Diamond is just a lying windbag, or that nobody gets residual income in Amway after retiring, or that some up-line big pins are not living a jet-set lifestyle, or anything else that "breaks the fourth wall," the Amway freak goes into violent denial. He screams "It can't be true! How can my emotional experience be a lie? I'm seeing all these beautiful slides of the Diamond lifestyle, and you're now telling me that it's fake?"
The plain fact is that much of the Amway experience is pure fantasy, like watching a Disney film or playing an exciting video game. The only difference is that sensible persons know that the performance they are seeing or the game they are playing is just a temporary diversion, and not real life. When it's over, they return to reality. Amway freaks never make that step -- for them, the fantasy of Amway is always real, and the actual real world is just an illusion.
Great comments. Spot on!
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