This blog article is about my former Amway sponsor, who began his Amway career somewhere in 1993 or 1994 and, as of last I heard, was still actively involved in the company. At one point, he was able to directly attain the level of Gold. I feel he reached his peak at that point and has never performed at a higher level since. I'm not sure where he is currently located, but I can confirm that he is still active, and I can confirm that one of my old cross lines, who was a member of his devoted downline, is still actively recruiting. My sponsor was/is a physician, and I knew someone who was in contact with his office, so I was able to get some information from time to time from him and his associates.
Soon after he joined, my sponsor (let's call him Jim) approached me and asked if I wanted to join him. I declined, telling him to come back after he had made some money. He returned some years later as a Gold direct, and I decided to join him (my storey is on this blog). I am of the opinion that if you repeat a falsehood enough times, you will eventually come to believe it. My sponsor, despite the fact that he is unlikely to make any money from tools, pushed them hard. He also contributed to the perpetuation of the falsehood (at the time) that no one made money from toolmaking.. He was a wonderful soldier, and I admired him. He never stopped repeating what his upline had told him, and he never gave up or gave in.
My sponsor, I believe, was not solely interested in Amway for the financial gain. He genuinely wanted to go on stage because he has always dreamed of speaking in front of a large audience and being treated like a rockstar, and he informed me that receiving acclaim from the group was more important to him than leaving his medical practise for a better paying job. In order to achieve this, he was exerting considerable pressure on me, believing that I would be his first direct downline.
During my time as an IBO, I had rapid growth, and my sponsor spoke with me on a nearly daily basis. He would even stop by my house at midnight on occasion to see if I was home or if I was out working on the company. The more my company expanded, the more he became involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. He wanted to be a part of every decision I made, no matter how small. He advised me to seek guidance on even the most mundane matters, such as purchasing a new car or even getting married. I had a girlfriend at the time, and he advised me to dump her and focus on growing the business to the point where I could choose any of the single girls in my group as a replacement. At that time, I realised he'd gone off the deep end, so I took a deep breath and walked away. Despite the fact that I was earning 4000 PV, I was not generating any net money, despite the assurances of my upline. I informed my group of my decision to leave and explained my reasoning. They were all with me, with the exception of one or two IBOs who had acquired a strong devotion to the upline. (That girlfriend has been married to me for more than 20 years at this point. )
I received a couple phone calls from my Amway sponsor Jim after I left the company, inquiring how I was doing and if he could be of assistance in any way. "Stirring the pot" is a tactic learned from a diamond (perhaps Dave Severn), and the goal was to stir the pot just enough to see if there was any renewed interest or curiosity that might be capitalised on by the player. I didn't bite, and I quickly moved on with my life, completely forgetting about Amway. I tried to keep an eye on Jim to see if he would awaken or if he would continue to struggle. According to all accounts I could find, he was still going strong, but he didn't appear to be making any strides forward. That came as no surprise to me at all.
Then, in 2001, my wife and I were in the process of acquiring a home (without asking anyone's permission! ), and our real estate agent happened to be acquainted with Jim as well. After we closed on our property, which cost approximately $300,000, our agent asked Jim whether he would be interested in looking at other properties. Jim declined, stating that it was a horrible idea to pay interest on loans and that he would purchase a property when he had the money to do it outright. (This is typical Amway training.) As a result, Jim, a physician, continues to rent a property, while I, a previous quitter and bitter broke loser, owns a home that has lately been valued at more than 800,000 dollars. (From 2002 to 2007, the state of Hawaii had a real estate boom.) My investment has appreciated significantly, and Jim has lost out as a result of following the wrong Amway upline advice in the past.
My sponsor Jim and I last saw each other approximately a year ago. We simply introduced ourselves and exchanged pleasantries. I later confessed to my wife that I felt terrible for him. On Amway, he had a one-hundred percent success rate. He most likely completed all of the tasks assigned to him by his superiors. He made a pact with the system. I'm aware that he put in the miles and put in the effort to keep the system running. I know he did this for more than 2-5 years. I'm aware that his children grew up missing a significant amount of his leisure time, which was most likely due to various gatherings and meetings. While I'm sure a physician can still provide well for his family financially, I wonder what he missed while he was, and is still chasing an impossible dream?
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