Brainwashed Amway IBOs?

You may have herd the term "brainwashed" IBOs before.   The idea that Amway uplines teach their downline IBOs basically nonsense, but IBOs trust and believe in their upline because they so want to believe that they are 2-5 years away from retiring at the age of 29.  To not believe upline is to admit that you will be working until you're 65 years old to retire.  Most people are young, motivated and often hard working individuals looking for a shortcut to retirement and not much more.  They've been told that Amway provides that vehicle for them.  Sadly, part of the brainwashing is to ignore obvious facts such as net business losses month after month.  Uplines will often say you need to be "brainwashed" to think positively and more about business.  (It's all a bunch of hooey)

Sometimes it happens to the nicest of people and it often happens slowly and subtly. These are the signs that you are becoming indoctrinated, and you are likely annoying your friends and loved ones at this point. I hope this helps you. But seriously, the Amway IBOs begin to believe anything upline tells them and they begin to act out what they are taught and are in danger of becoming Amway zombies. Here are some warning signs:

*You're driven to recruit everyone you know. You may even resort to deception or outright lies to get people to meetings. Before you know it, your family and friends avoid you like the plague. You end up spending time at malls and other public places such as Starbucks desperately stalking and scouting for "sharp" recruits. Much of your time is spent doing this activity when you're not getting more brainwashed at rah rah meetings.

*You're encouraged to develop an unreasonable, irrational zeal for the products. Even so far as to justify the quality of toilet paper or to call the products prestigious. You may even argue the quality of energy drinks or about phytonutrients, something you may not even know about. You even argue about concentration values in dish soap or laundry detergent.

*A whole bunch of demands, promises, subtle threats of failure if you don't try hard enough are made in the promotional material and motivational seminars. i.e. If you quit, you are a loser destined to die broke and unhappy. Or you let someone steal your dream. These ridiculous claims are how your upline keeps you hooked. There is constant pressure to never quit and to keep on pimping Amway to recruits.

*Because the system is touted as the way you're going to make yourself fantastically rich, you're under constant pressure to drop any conflicting or competing interests such as your softball or bowling league or golf club. Nothing else in life has importance except for the quest of financial freedom. All activities in your life must enhance your Amway business and have an affect on your financial future. No other activities matter to you unless it affects your dream filled Amway financial future.  Even the money you spend must be spent to achieve that end.

*Your upline soon becomes your most trusted friend. Your thoughts and feelings are shaped in large part by the cds, meetings and functions.  Thus you may have heard the term "tapespeak", when groups of IBOs parrot irrational thoughts shared by upline at a meeting or hear on an audio.

Do you recognize these behaviors? Hopefully you aren't displaying these behaviors.