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*
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Thursday, August 4, 2016
A "Cause" for Concern: URA's version of the 'bait and switch.'
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).
They "bait" you with promises of financial gain, freedom, yadayadayada, then switch the mission statement to serving people, building future leaders for America, and yes, even glorifying God. I'll explain.
When I went to my first summer CONference, a year before I joined Amway I witnessed the "go diamond" rhetoric and promises of wealth but I ALSO noticed something else. They bashed the democrats in Washington (as a Republican, I took a liking to that), as well as a video at the end that showed American Pride. To be honest, I welled up inside. I'm a patriotic American being the son of a former Air Force Officer and the ideals of the URA/Amway really hit home and encouraged my joining.
The problem in AMO's is that the rapport, friendships/personal relationships you build with your fellow IBO's, along with the religious/patriotic ideals start taking a higher precedent than the REAL REASON you joined Amway: TO MAKE MONEY!
Our upline diamond Mr. Prince was very adamant about building character and developing a new group of people that would help lead this country back to ways of integrity. Is there anything wrong with that? No...BUT, when you take it to the level he was taking it, it becomes a red flag.
When I went to my Summer CONference after I joined, I was pumped to see Mr. Prince and was severely let down because I wasn't learning anything. He spoke that Saturday night and he spent the last part of his speech telling us a story about his kids. I don't remember it verbatim but it went something like this.
Prince is an avid tennis fan and took his two sons (elementary age) to see a professional tennis team (ironic considering Emeralds/Diamonds preach against going to sporting events, but I guess the rules don't apply to the bosses...anyhoo) he had a three day pass to the event. The first day, his kids were clinging to his leg. They were real apprehensive and didn't talk to anybody. Prince told them they needed to be more assertive and not so shy. The second day they did better, socializing with fans, security guards and cheering for the players. The third day, they were practically independent of Mr. Prince and were known by the people at the venue.
After the match, one of the top doubles players in the country came up to his oldest son. Gave him some wristbands and told him that kids like him made the game worth playing. Prince went into EXPLICIT detail, quoting dialogue word for word. Evidently the player kept telling the media to hold on so he could talk to Prince's son and everything. Honestly, it was a great story because you love to see little kids impress famous people.
And here it comes...
Prince's point of the story was to inspire the crowd to build a legacy like him. To groom leaders who weren't shy or afraid. Then he ACTUALLY SAID:
"What we do here is not just a business...IT'S A CAUSE."
Uhhhh...what?
"It's a cause to create a legacy of..."
I had tuned him out. He had lost me. He didn't teach us any of his insights or tips to grow our business. He had just told us a story about how awesome his kids were. The crowd was inspired...I was pissed. I don't give a shit about "causes." MY CAUSE was to make MONEY. That moment (like many others) had a delayed effect on me which influenced me to quit the URA.
Is it nice to work with people who feel the same way you do? Definitely. But is that WHY you go to work? NO! YOU GO TO MAKE MONEY! But IBO's aren't making money with Amway. Do they realize it? Maybe, but they become so attached to the bells and whistles of new friends/family environment that they don't want to leave. And THAT is why AMO's are CULTS.
You're lured in with the promise of making extra money, but then it becomes more about keeping/developing personal relationships with the other hamsters on the wheel. You're losing money, you're losing money, you're losing money and all the while your too busy supporting "the cause" to notice...or worse yet, care.
I never was a good fisherman anyway.
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