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)
Larry Winters (yes, I said his name, he's not URA) is a "legend" in the Amway business. He's a double diamond who leads the AMO known as LTD (Leadership Team Development). They, like the URA are a splinter group from Britt World Wide (BWW). Winters is a friend of URA founder "Mr. King." This post will address Winters as the inaugural post in a series I'm calling "Cultism on YouTube." This series will address RARE videos on YouTube where you get a glimpse at the cultism that takes place in AMO's such as the aforementioned.
Here's the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoH1Y25_6U
RIGHT OFF THE BAT, after telling the audience he makes a million a year (of course not saying HOW he makes that money) Winters subtly hints at the cultist mindset by saying it's you and your significant other "against the world" and what makes LTD so great is that you work together to "attack the problem" (who said there was a PROBLEM? I just wanna make extra money). Of course, the materialism isn't left out either. Winters brags that he owns 13 horses before his wife reminds him that they have 14.
Who the FUCK needs 14 horses?
Anyhoo...Winters finally starts on the main point that I'm addressing in this post. He says that while you build your business, you're going to run into three types of people. LAWNMOWER PEOPLE! (DUN! DUN! DUNNNNNNNN!!!!!!) Allow me to educate you on the three types of lawnmower people Winters is talking about so you don't have to hear it from the "highlight" video that lasts 20 minutes.
Lawnmower person #1: When your grass is getting tall, they're going to complain. They won't complain about it to you, they'll just complain. It doesn't matter if your lawnmower is broke or whatever the circumstance. They'll complain. They don't have the BACKBONE/CLASS to complain about it to YOU, they'll complain to other neighbors or the city or whoever. They have to spread gossip/lies. And according to Winters, they're "losers" they're "bloggers" (Hey Joe! Hey Anna! HE TALKED ABOUT US!!! LOL), and they're "quitters" who have to tear it down.
Lawnmower person #2: People that will actually complain to you, but won't spread lies/gossip. Regardless, they won't do anything to help you cut your grass.
Lawnmower person #3: What LTD/other AMO's do. They'll help you in any way they can to cut your grass. They'll let you borrow their mower, they'll give you the gas if you need it, they'll give you a spark plug if you don't have one, etc. They will help you cut your grass no matter what the circumstances.
Well get ready for a bombshell folks...
LARRY WINTERS IS RIGHT.
He's dead on! Right on the money! Bulls eye! WHAT you ask? How can you agree with what an Amway big shot is saying? Have you lost your mind? Why are you agreeing?
Because it's the TRUTH.
AMO's like LTD/URA/BWW/WWDB and any other initials you can throw in there ARE the type of people that will you help you cut your grass. Not only will they help you cut it, they'll make your lawn the BEST in the neighborhood! They'll show you where you can buy sharper mower blades. They'll show you where you can buy sod, weed killer, seeds to strengthen your lawn, chemicals to make your grass look greener than anyone's in the neighborhood. Your neighbors will envy you and want to know how they can do it to! And YOU'LL SHOW THEM! And they'll get involved and pretty soon, your entire neighborhood has the best looking lawns in the city!
But after a while, you've become so obsessed with your lawn that you don't notice your paint inside your house is peeling. The shower is overly grimy and rusting. There's no food in the fridge. The outside of your house has become dirty and doesn't look as appealing. Your windows become covered with dirt and all kinds of crud. Termites have invaded your home but you can't afford an exterminator because you've spent your money on lawn care equipment. Your neighbors experience the same thing and all of the sudden you have a slum neighborhood with a bunch of nice-looking lawns. A turd in the middle of a glorious chunk of grass.
That's Amway Motivational Organizations for you. You get so caught up chasing "financial freedom" that you become a prisoner. You lose sight of the bigger picture. You sink dollar after dollar into these CULTS. And they'll tell ya "don't worry about your house, your lawn looks GREAT!"
So Mr Winters...
What people like myself, JoeCool, Anna Banana, etc. do is not try to "justify why we didn't make it" as you so eloquently put. We didn't make it because we realized WE DIDN'T WANT TO. We saw the "business" for what it really was and we are MORALLY OBLIGATED to keep people from doing the same. We don't "just leave." We keep people from making the same mistakes WE DID. When it comes to "justification" I don't see how you can justify taking people's money 4 times a year to motivate them in a business where YOU KNOW only a small percentage CAN succeed.
As far as being a person who doesn't have the backbone/class/manhood to complain about it to the right people. I addressed my upline and got a bunch of the regurgitated bullshit rhetoric (see my post "The Shot Heard Round the Upline") that you, Mr. Prince, Mr. King, and others spew out repetitively every CONference. I HAD the manhood to address it directly.
If you ever want me to address my complaints to YOU, feel free to let me know. e-mail is in the top right hand corner of this blog. I'll be happy to let you know how I feel about you and the rest of your fellow scammers/cultists. But of course, I probably won't hear from you just like Chris Hansen never did when Dateline investigated BWW in the early 2000's. Bet ya thought we forgot about that.
Now go mow your lawn Mr. Winters..it's littered with horseshit.
Wait...NOW I get the 14 horses.
*Drops mic*
Awwwwwwwwwwwwww Shucky Ducky!
ReplyDelete?
DeleteI think you give the Amway people a bit too much credit. They may lend you their tools to help you get started on your lawn, but eventually they will want something in return and that won't stop until you can't give it to them anymore. They don't give without strings attached, and if they helped you with their lawn, then they would expect you to return the favor, but also help paint their house, pave their driveway, wash their cars, fix their roofs, and this wouldn't be a one time thing. They would expect that forever...
ReplyDeleteValid point. Could've gone with that angle as well. Just emphasizing that they lead their sheep away from the bigger picture.
DeleteMy story's a bit different. I was actually on my way to "making it", having reached 4000 PV. But I found that there was no money at 4000 PV. The WWDB leaders expected people to spend any profit on tools and functions.
ReplyDeleteSo there's really no money for anyone who's "teachable", until you start to get a cut from the functions (emerald and higher).
Yes, Amway people will loan you tools but they will raise the bar as your commitment grows. Eventually you'll be expected to do the same for your downline when you become a "leader".
Which was an even greater emphasis to my point. I forgot about how you were doing better than most.
DeleteI found that there was no money at 4000 PV.... yeah, give me a break man! If there was no money at 4000 PV then there should be no money at 100 PV either! You're trying to tell me that you went 4000 PV when there was no money at 100 PV?! Like I believe you! Nice try though!
DeleteI think what my brother in arms is saying, is that after "business expenses" like CONference tickets, CD's/Tools, traveling, buying samples/PV,etc. that there's not a DECENT profit at the end of it.
DeleteHe's speaking FIGURATIVELY!
Example: The URA may not be constipated, but they're still full of shit. :)
-URASucker
What's funny is for every one person that quits and becomes a blogger, I guarantee there is someone that stayed in, maybe learned a thing or two about success. Maybe they applied it to their business or maybe they took it somewhere else. I'm an IBO. Learning from LTD taught me how to have a valuable self image and great people skills. With that knowledge I have more than doubled my income outside of Amway. Within Amway we are still trucking, but I'll admit, I haven't really done anything. I've been hanging around for the positivity, encouragement, and success training.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they are very open about where and when the money comes. Structure is VERY important. It's super easy not to make any money at 4000pv, all you have to do is not get wide. I was making $400-$500 a month at 1000pv. Not a ton, but certainly enough to matter.
DeleteI can agree with that to a point. They DO give some good life advice and there's even a couple points I'd use as a coach. The PROBLEM is, that we attend these CONferences to find out how TO MAKE MONEY LIKE THEM! Motivational speaking is a good appetizer, but we need to get to the meat and potatoes. HOW...DID...YOU...DO...IT.
DeleteYou mean you've been hanging around wasting money. Join book a club that's basically what most are getting anyway. Go see a licensed therapist if you need encouragement you're suffering from a psychological disorder. You need good friends, not people taking your money.
DeleteUnknown on August 25th said, "What's funny is for every one person that quits and becomes a blogger, I guarantee there is someone that stayed in, maybe learned a thing or two about success."
ReplyDeleteI don't think this comment came out the way you meant. You are basically stating, because I'm sure you realize how few bloggers there are in relation to people leaving Amway, that about 1% of the people who join Amway learn something because at most 1% of quitters start a blog (and I think I'm being extremely generous with that number). That means the other 98% simply failed and didn't learn anything? That's not very good numbers.
Unknown said, "Learning from LTD taught me how to have a valuable self image and great people skills. With that knowledge I have more than doubled my income outside of Amway. Within Amway we are still trucking, but I'll admit, I haven't really done anything."
There are plenty of people out there that can be hired to be success coaches. They will focus on your image, self-esteem, and mentality. They will do it for a fraction of the cost since LTD's "teachings" are never ending. There is no reason to join a "business opportunity" to spend insane amounts of money on developing life skills. It is supposed to be a way to make money, and that needs to be addressed.
You have even admitted you aren't making much in Amway, and I'm going out on a limb to say this is your best attempt at saying you are losing your shirt. If you already have a good job, have gotten the life skills training you needed, and aren't making anything in Amway...then it begs the question...why the heck are you still in it? Why are you doing research on the negative aspects of Amway?
You win.
DeleteExactly. If I want motivation I will watch YouTube. Plenty of free content that can change lives if applied. I didn’t join Amway/URA for that, I joined to make money. You don’t make money in that business. Period.
DeleteLet’s call it like it is.
ReplyDeleteMr. King - John Crowe
Mr. Prince - Dave Dussault
Conmen at best
I did. I quit. Best decision EVER. How deep in the hole are you now?
DeleteI am. I’m telling them about how to save their money and stop fattening the pockets of con men.
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to the Amway business from my son, I saw what was going on and after 2 "functions" I walked away. I can not convince my son that they are a "cult" and I have read where MANY have lost so much money that they have had to file for bankruptcy. I have even read the book Merchants of Deception, which was written by an Emerald in the business before he figured it all out himself. I only wish that I could convince my son before they bleed him dry.
ReplyDeleteI know the book you're talking about! I'd like to read it myself. Guy's name was Eric Scheibler I believe. He was interviewed on Dateline's investigation of it. Ironically, there's footage of Winters on that investigation as well!
DeleteI’d say cultish. True cults focus on a false religion. My exposure showed them to never deny Christ. I agree 100% that anyone looking at this should look at it from profit loss like a true business. Granted one may make $800-1000 as a 4000 Pv but what was the net after business expenses? Don’t even factor in the premium priced products? Which is a constant drag on the budget. Yes, the motivation and education has benefits but again a premium. Bottom line as someone said, the real money is in the education (books, tapes (yes old term) and functions. They sort of disclose this but never to the true reality. The biggest issue to me is how they co mingle business and Faith. I heard so often how the Sunday morning service was why they did what they did. Ok then why were you so explicit about anyone attending the function MUST be sure and buy their ticket from their uplines line of sponsorship? Because ultimately it was about keeping track of attendance or ticket sales and this dictated how much of the cut of the proceeds they received. Seems awfully disingenuous. Lots of smoke and mirrors with some hint of truth. Disclosure I guess. They only disclose what they believe you are ready to hear and not divulge, sort of like the firm.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
Delete