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.
As an IBO, the diamonds would tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for your own funeral. I recall some cross line IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniversary 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.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 separate standing orders. Brad Duncan 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 cross line 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.
Diamonds become Diamonds because they are viciously ruthless with their down-lines. There is no other way for them to build up enough sales credits to attain the Diamond level.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are an IBO in Amway, your Diamond looks upon you as merely a cash-cow for himself. The notion that he is trying to "help" you or to "teach" you is is absurd. All he really wants is for you to stay signed up in Amway forever, and to sign up plenty of other IBO's underneath you. And if he can turn you into a "Core" Amway fanatic, so much the better. You'll do the hard work and he'll reap the benefits.
In order for this racket to work, the Diamond (along with his down-line Platinums) has to do one main thing: GENERATE ENTHUSIASM. As long as he can keep you in a state of rah-rah frenzy and excitement, he's got you as a contributor to his bank account.
In addition, he has to keep you scared and obedient, like a slave. Those persons who become Amway Diamonds have these paired qualities: they can fire up people with mindless enthusiasm, and they can frighten people with threats and commands.