I've gone through each and every one of these posts. It's interesting to note that virtually everyone who supports Amway appears to have poor spelling skills. There are numerous typos and grammatical errors posted on this forum by those who jump up and down reciting Amway's numerous virtues and benefits. It is a ruse, as well as a groupthink phenomenon of unprecedented proportions. From a psychological standpoint, Amway makes every effort to keep people separate from those who would question the legitimacy and operations of the company. This is not dissimilar to how Hitler or any other leader would silence opponents or dissidents by having them "removed" from the discussion or decision-making process. A similar argument can be made in this case. Amway teaches people to ignore and remove obstacles and people who challenge the system, even if those challenges are completely rational and offered by people who have the interests of the IBO's best interests at heart. It hits IBOs where they are most vulnerable: in their relationships with family, friends, and freedom (the 3 Fs), and it encourages them to rely on emotional reasoning rather than very cognitive-based, rational dissection of data.
Amway Independent Business Owners (IBOs) are taught emotionalism rather than rationalism. It is a complete farce from a business standpoint. IBOs are not business owners because they wear the collars of their uplines, who are their sponsors. I've been told over and over again to follow the orders of my superiors. What if my upline is a complete moron, despite the fact that I have a law degree and an MBA? I'm supposed to follow these uplines, am I correct? Yes, according to the system, the words of one's superiors are extremely important. IBOs are not entrepreneurs, and they do not gain any real-world experience in the process. IBO is a fancy name for a distributor, and that's all there is to it.
I had the opportunity to speak with a number of "diamonds" and "emeralds," all of whom had either left the business to pursue other opportunities or were still struggling to make a living, earning approximately $30,000 per year. In addition, the IRS does not consider pro-suming or tickets to a convention (to hear diamonds scream at you) to be business expenses, which is why many of them are posting massive losses. Good luck in your efforts to recoup your losses. It is a pyramid scheme for the simple reason that, mathematically speaking and taking into consideration the law of averages, a downline can never earn more than his upline. It simply does not occur - it is a lovely concept, but it does not materialise. I ran through a number of scenarios with a friend, trying to figure out how I could out-earn my upline. We came up with a number of variables that would prevent this from occurring. Now, you might be able to outrun your sponsor, but that's only because the vast majority of people in Amway do nothing and quit. However, I seriously doubt that anyone will be able to jump in and out and earn their spline diamond. Due to the fact that upline diamonds have a form of seniority and power, this is highly unlikely.
In the end, on a personal level, this Amway nonsense cost me a great friendship with an Independent Business Owner (IBO) who decided that taking a chance on some crazy dream was more important than those who cared about him the most. I believe he will continue prospecting and promoting "the plan" until there are no more prospects available. If you know someone who works for Amway or who is seriously considering joining the company, you should be aware that they will soon be out of business. People who work for Amway are very similar to crack addicts (in fact, they are very similar to psychopathology), and they will choose Amway over you, their family, their friends, and anything else that gets in their way. In the case of the Amway groupthink phenomenon, this is the reality.
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