When I was on another forum, I came across some comments from people who said they had heard people say things like "Pigs don't know pigs stink." I'm confident that it originated from a tape, CD, or audio recording made by a diamond named Dave Severn (wife was Jan). In the 1990s, I was a successful independent business owner, and I'm confident that some Amway independent business owners still use this slogan. It was primarily used to describe people who were not affiliated with Amway. They put in long hours at their jobs, but they were essentially "broke" and didn't seem to be moving forward in their lives financially. At the very least, the Independent Business Owners (who were also broke) were taking steps to improve their financial situation (Amway!). As a result, the ignorant majority of the population was unaware of the problem, leading to the adage "pigs don't know pigs stink."
After being out of the Amway business for several years and conducting extensive research on Amway and Amway groups such as WWDB and BWW, I can say the same thing about independent business owners (IBOs). IBOs are completely unaware that IBOs stink. Of course, I don't mean that in a literal sense, but business-building IBOs place monthly orders for their products. Those who attend all of the functions pay for their standing orders, book of the month, voicemail, and any other expenses. They make a desperate attempt to recruit new prospects, employing all of the catchy phrases taught to them by their upline, whether in person or through the use of a tape, CD, or audio (thus the term "tape speak") They are almost certainly losing money each and every month, all the while believing that they are becoming more successful and that they are becoming better or nicer individuals. They sometimes suffer massive financial losses in the thousands of dollars at the end of the year because the cost of purchasing all of the tools and training materials adds up to a substantial sum of money after a while. Because this is what spline teaches, they may even believe they are successful while actually losing their money. That you are successful because you are attempting to improve your financial situation, despite the fact that the facts may indicate otherwise.
Even when they are losing their shirts, the Amway Independent Business Owners (IBOs) maintain a positive attitude at the functions. It is upline's responsibility to edify their commitment to the system and teach them two extremely important, but self-serving pieces of advice. IBOs will learn that they should never give up, and that if they do, it is always their own fault, even if they followed everything their upline instructed them to do. In this way, upline absolves itself of any responsibility for the IBO's failure to perform. Ironically, the upline is quick to accept responsibility for any successes that may occur (even if there is little to none). Meanwhile, IBOs are attending all of the meetings and carrying out all of the procedures that have been taught to them. They behave in a similar manner, and in many cases, they even look alike. The majority of them also have a common outcome. They are losing money, and in many cases, they are losing a lot of money. They are simply instructed to ignore their losses and maintain a positive attitude. The majority of people eventually figure it out and decide to leave Amway. Most will never speak of their involvement again, and because many are sponsored by friends and family, they will never file a formal complaint or express their dissatisfaction publicly in any way.
The Amway Independent Business Owners (IBOs) continue to associate with their positive and active fellow IBOs, even as their bank accounts shrink and funds are transferred to their upline. Pigs are completely oblivious to the fact that they stink??
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