The really insidious part about some of the LOS leaders, such as the ones I had in WWDB, is that they apparently are cutthroat ruthless businessmen with nice suits, and disguised as your mentors and friends. They get you to trust them, and they will tell you that they have your best interest at heart, or that they would never purposely lead you astray. On the surface, you may think this is true, but look at their actions and you can easily discern that some of these uplines are absolutely ruthless businessmen who would take every cent from you if they could. I was in WWDB and I have good reasons to believe that they are still doing this, based on a WWDB IBO blog. On this blog, I see all the same teachings today, that I heard as an IBO and some of the same claims such as buying homes in cash. It's scary. (Unfortunately, the "Expeditions of Truth" blog is now defunct as the IBO apparently quit Amway - surprise?)
As an IBO, the diamonds would tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for a funeral - your own funeral. I recall some crossline IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniverssary parties, weddings, and other special family events in the name of being core and attending all functions. Some IBOs actually did quit their jobs to attend functions and they very well may have done so because some uplines taught this. IBOs were also encouraged and told to go into debt to attend a function. This was okay because it was an investment into your business. The diamonds will say and do anything to extract money from their less fortunate downlines. That's something I could never imagine doing.
Our group was also strongly encouraged to buy extra cds every week. To be core, you needed to listen to a cd each day and you cannot listen to the same one each day right? Couples were told to buy their own seperate standing orders. Brad Duncen even had a true north tape (cd) that said sponsors were to eat the standing orders for downlines who quit because it was too much trouble to call upline who calls upline who calls upline to cancel a standing order. Oddly enough, they didn't mind upline calling upline calling upline to add a standing order.
In the end, I was lucky enough to have been progressing up the pin ranks so my losses were not that devastating. I ended up losing in my early months of the business but mostly broke even when I was at 4000 PV. Sadly though, my crossline did not fare so well. I know of one couple who declared bankruptcy. I don't know how much their WWDB involvement contributed to bankruptcy, but I am certain it was a major factor and I know of two couples who had homes foreclosed, and I believe that their allegiance to WWDB was a factor in those foreclosures. But I guess hey, two WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed so maybe they were duplicating?
Do not be fooled. The diamonds may have a nice smile and a nice suit, but they are ruthless businessmen who will take your last dime if you allow them to.
In any MLM scam, it is only the ruthless, dog-eat-dog entrepreneurial types who get anywhere. They are totally and fanatically committed to making money, and will do ANYTHING to succeed. They are the ones who become "CORE," and who mercilessly pressure their down-line IBOs to do the same.
ReplyDeleteBut hey -- isn't that exactly what Amway preaches to every member? That if you commit yourself totally and passionately to "The Plan," you'll make it big?
Sure, it's a lie -- many persons in Amway work their ass off for years and still fail to hit it big. But none of the one percent who DO hit it big in Amway were anything except maniacal go-getter types.
And yes -- this meant that they had no morals at all, but would do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to squeeze cash out of their down-line. The bottom line is that Amway is made up of exploiters who get rich, and the exploited victims who lose money.
Yes, I agree. To succeed in Amway, you need to step on others and take advantage of many. It is why I heard diamonds telling people to skip meals or to sell their cars or to skip mortgage payments, anything to be able to attend that next function. These folks are willing to take you last dollar and make you think it's a good idea.
DeleteIt's also why they expected you at all recruitment meetings, even if you didn't have a new prospect with you. Because your attendance allowed the diamond to make a few extra bucks at the door.
Joe, aren't you angry at the guy who scammed you into this hell? If so, how do you deal with that anger and desire for revenge?
ReplyDeleteJerry D., when I first discovered the lies and deceit that was used t scam me, I was livid but not much you can do about it years later. I started by participating on a forum called "Quixtar Blog", now defunct, but I learned so much.
DeleteI later decided to start blogging so people seeking information about Amway and the groups such as WWDB or URA would be able to find information quickly and easily. My blog contains countless stories about my experiences and other tidbits that can warn people about what to expect if they join and the red flags to watch for. Some people join anyway but many stop after they see my blog.
I was going to retire the blog at one time, but because of a joker named IBOfightback AKA David Steadson, who really ticked me off, I found the motivation to keep blogging so my blog would remain high on the search engines.
A lot of my articles now are re-posts or variations of something I may have written in the past, although I still create new articles every so often.
Since little in Amway has changed over the years, many of the issues from the past still apply today such as the tools scam and deceptive recruiting by IBOs.
That shithead David Steadson (IBO Fart-Back) seems to have disappeared. Considering his basic incompetence as a debater and polemicist, I suppose Amway simply pink-slipped him. No sense paying a salary to a loser.
DeleteHe's still around but he's been quiet lately. Anyway, he was a major reason why I decided to keep blogging instead of fading away. His BS motivated me to keep going.
DeleteThanks, Joecool. But what if Amway defenders stop commenting here, could you get bored with this blog one day and stop?
ReplyDeleteJerry,
ReplyDeleteThere were some stretches of time when no comments came in, although there were plenty of site visitors. I kept blogging and posting articles anyway because I am fighting the good fight.
I suspect that in about 3 - 4 years, I will be retired from my job and the blogging may slow down as I'll be doing things that like traveling that may slow down my posting. But I don't have plans to quit blogging altogether.
Even if I did stop, the blog will remain as I won't shut it down. This blog has nearly 700,000 visitors since 2009. My goal is to hit one million.
Thanks, Joecool! You might want to consider some method that allows commentators here to submit a post to you and have you put it up here for the blog's visitors to read and comment on. Sort of like an open source blog or group blog with lots of contributors that you host, Joe.
ReplyDeleteJerry, you can already do that. You can post it as a comment and let me know as I moderate comments, or email me. My email contact is posted in the "about me" part of my blog.
DeleteThanks, Joecool!
ReplyDelete