The Shot Heard 'Round The Upline

Disclaimer: The thoughts in this blog are my own opinions. Names (if any) have been changed in order to protect everyone's privacy. The thoughts in this blog do not address Amway directly, but rather the motivational organization known as URAssociation (URA).

I was fatigued.

I was being worn down bit by bit since getting back from Summer CONference. It started off with our upline platinum's comment about the first order of business being to get our fall tickets locked in, which of course was passed down from the higher ups (a.k.a. the speakers who make their money by taking ours). I was driving 30 minutes once a week for "weekly business briefings" which was a whole much ado about nothing. We'd listen to a speaker via facetime, or go through more of the same motions we got from CONferences: Make calls, build your business, 6% circles, yadayadayadayada.

I wasn't making much money from my job at the time and I couldn't keep dropping gas money and time to listen to the same old same old. Even our upline diamond, the upline leaders son-in-law who we'll refer to as "Mr. Prince" had lost his appeal with me. I called into a conference call right after work that he was holding, and I was bored in the first five minutes. I sat there thinking "WHAT am I doing here? This is doing NOTHING." We would have "accountability calls" and I'd have nothing to report, it just seemed like there was always something going on and NONE of it was focused on building the business.

Granted, had I had a better paying job, I would've been able to take more action, but after coming to the end result like some of my other blogging allies, I couldn't be happier I was poor. I know THEY lost way more than I did.

My sponsor Matthew wasn't helping matters. He kept trying to peg down times to meet with me and I had other things going on. This Amway business was meant to be PART TIME. A side gig to make a little extra money. There were other things I enjoyed doing besides the business. There were a couple speakers who downplayed doing activities outside the business. They made them out to be "losers" who were going nowhere in life.

That didn't sound very appealing to me. I LOVED doing other activities like playing softball, watching my sports teams, and coaching basketball.

Matthew's persistence finally came to the surface after we had shown the plan to a friend of mine. After he left, we met outside the coffee shop where we showed it and he sat on a bench with me telling me basically that if I didn't start putting "more of an effort" in that he was going to "spend time with people who were more serious about building their business."

Strike one.

Forget the fact that WE JUST SHOWED A PLAN. The next incident came after I'd blown my knee out in a softball game. It wasn't to serious, but I had hurt it badly. But after the game, did I go the hospital? Home to rehabilitate? NO! I WENT TO A WEEKLY BUSINESS BRIEFING 30 MILES AWAY!

DEDICATION BABY!

Halfway through it however, the pain just became overbearing and I left early. He decided to mention that to me as well...even though he knew I was hurt.

Strike two.

Now in my previous blog "Come to My Seminar" I mentioned how a friend went with me but quit after what he experienced. He DID however say that he was going to support my business and be a customer with me but hadn't registered so far.

Finally one day I was doing a job for my grandmother when I get a text from Matthew.

Matthew: "Has (your friend) registered to be a customer with you yet?"

Me: "Not yet."

Matthew: "Well you've known him long enough. Call him out on it."

Holy Santa Claus Shit.

Call him OUT ON IT??? This guy can't be serious. CALL HIM OUT ON IT! Like he forgot to pay me back money he owes. Is that how the major retailers get customers? By calling them out on it? Every negative thing I had heard about MLM's was slowly unveiling.

Strike 3. I'm out.

I had begun ignoring Matthew and the others. I was depressed. This isn't what I signed up for. One night Matthew texted me saying "Don't lose your fire!" But it was extinguished. I finally texted him back with all my grievances that you have seen in this blog, or will see.

My phone rang. Guess who. 

Not being a coward, I answered it and an ugly argument followed. I basically called HIM out on the fact that when I was recruited to which he quickly responded "you were NEVER recruited, we presented you with an opportunity."

Yeah and Nick Saban gives high school football phenoms a chance to get an education. 

 He started backpedaling from things he had told me over time and what not. We eventually got to the question of where the money was going from our conferences and URA memberships.He tried to tell me that the money goes to the URA app, money to rent the facilities for CONferences, etc. When I told him that it doesn't take over a million dollars to fund those miniscule tasks, his retort was THIS: 

"You know what? I DON'T CARE where the money goes." 

He was got. He didn't realize it, but he was got. Like GOT DAMN he got got! He basically just exposed himself and the business for THE CULT it was. When you and several other suckers are funding a million dollar business without giving a tenth of a damn where it goes. You are GOT. He was GOT in the argument, he was GOT in the URA. The URA had him. He was beyond the point of no return. 

I basically replied "man, you have drunk the kool aid." 

Surprisingly the conversation ended on a good note. But I was gone. I wasn't done with selling Amway, but I was DEFINITELY out of the URA. I was going to try to sell the products on my own and see if I could. Eventually I realized it wasn't going to work (future blog about that).

See you on the next blog.

Oh wait...I forgot. 

The day after Matthew and I had our spat, I was on a road trip when I got another call from him. He then said that he had called my friend and confronted him about what he had said to me. 

Oh NO you didn't...

Of course, my friend was very non-confrontational and didn't want trouble so he basically told Matthew what he wanted to hear to shake him off his back. He said I'd probably be "getting a call" from my friend to discuss me throwing him under the bus. Luckily, he didn't call. I texted him and smoothed things over. Truth be told, I shouldn't have mentioned him. That was my bad.

Matthew then went on and in a roundabout way expressed his concerns that I was going to tell the other team members about how I felt. He was scared shitless, and he was scared because he knew I had a point. He used the rationale that I could bring their optimism down. He said I could "kill their dream." 

No...I could kill YOUR dream. 

The conversation eventually ended, this time on a less pleasant note. I wasn't going to give in and come back. Matthew and the upline thought really highly of me. I had a network larger than anyone in our group, including Matthew. I knew hundreds of people from high school, college, professional world, etc. There are four metropolitan areas within a couple hours of my town and I had contacts in every one of them. Honestly, I had more potential to build a successful Amway business than most. 

The level of my importance was even confirmed when our upline platinum sent me messages and several phone calls. I wasn't responding. I wasn't about to have yet another fight that went nowhere. But then it took an even crazier turn. 

Our upline EMERALD messaged me. 

Anybody who's been in an AMO knows that's some heavy shit. The Emerald (who I said earlier is a real nice guy), played it cool and asked me how things were going and if I needed any help. He offered to help me make phone calls and help build my business in any way he could. I was blown away. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it, but I eventually realized they were only trying to get me BACK IN. 

I had enough respect for Matthew NOT to tell the other members how I felt. I think in the end I chose not to because AMO's are a "hot stove" lesson. You've gotta get burned before you learn not to touch it. Slowly but surely, the others have now left the business. I haven't talked to them though I plan to in time. 

I always thought it was funny how Matthew said I could kill their dream. America is a country that's built on dreams and the pursuit of those dreams. But for THIS dream, I'm very grateful that my alarm clock went off when it did and my fellow bloggers are too. If you're dreaming the Amway dream, I implore you: 

Wake up.