The following is a reader's account of how they were indoctrinated into joining Amway and the WWDB cult sect. When the pressure to "fake it until you make it" gets too much.
During the past 1.5 years of our involvement with Amway/WWDB, my husband and I had a genuine discussion about ending our involvement. We had been in it for 3.5 years and only 6 months ago made the decision to genuinely end our involvement. Deep down, I was aware that something wasn't quite right with me, but because of the constant repetition of phrases and concepts that are repeated time and time again, we stayed because we were led to believe that this was the best thing that could possibly happen to us and that we would never be successful in any other way. In actuality, my husband and I were spending hundreds of dollars a month on things we would never have purchased otherwise, such as energy drinks and ridiculously expensive water that tasted no better than the water that came out of the faucet at our house.
I told my husband that I wasn't interested in going to any more functions, and we got into a huge argument in the car in the parking lot because I couldn't believe how much money we had wasted on all of the products, wwdb membership, communikate, and functions (hotels, function tickets, car rental, and food), and we weren't any further ahead, but in fact we were further behind. Of course, they will tell you that you are not establishing your business or working hard enough, and that this is the reason why your efforts are not paying off. Also, I could no longer pretend that I wanted to be there and attend every gathering and event where idolatry was present and people were worshipping, because I couldn't. My appearance at every Amway meeting was a complete farce as I pretended to be head over heels in love with my upline and wanted to take in everything they said. At the conclusion of every Amway meeting, you are supposed to stick around and mob your upline, asking as many questions as you possibly can and soaking up their responses like they are liquid gold. I also found those "motivational lifestyle movies" showing their penthouses, vehicles, and other possessions to be incredibly off-putting, as they made me feel inferior. So much swaggering, especially for a group that purports to be non-materialistic in its beliefs.
Because I was beginning to observe all the jargon and cult-like terminology, activities, and dishonest techniques, I mistakenly suppressed my "negativity" for the past 1.5 years in the business because I was being led to believe that this was the only way to be successful. With terms such as "the one percent," "you're in the A game," and "If you're in this room, someone thought highly enough of you to bring you here," they were able to create the impression that you belonged to some sort of extremely exclusive exclusive group. And, frankly, the recruiting practises (which they would never refer to as recruiting, despite the fact that that is exactly what they are) are quite deceiving. They assume they are "taking control of the procedure."
When a prospect suggests a time for a meeting, we were told to always put ourselves in the “driver's seat” by saying that we were not available (even if we were) because the prospect should never set a time and date because you should give them a time and place and the prospect should make themselves available to you and work around your schedule, even skipping work or school to see how f Aside from that, one thing that irritates me is when people say they will "SAVE YOU A SEAT" at an event or house meeting to make it appear as though you are special and that the event or house meeting is very exclusive and there isn't room for everyone when the truth is that they are just trying to "add value" to the opportunity by making it seem as though you need to come because they are saving a seat just for you. To tell the truth, they don't refuse anyone entry. The goal is to attract employees and help them grow their firm. There is so much more to say that I could go on indefinitely about it. Some people might argue that I never "developed the business," but the truth is that I couldn't bring myself to deceive people by employing these methods.
In addition, we had a family member who was terminally ill around the time that one of the functions took place, and we were not sure when they would pass away. We weren't sure whether we'd be able to make it to the function, but our upline encouraged us to attend even if it meant missing the last moments of our family member's life because, according to them, that's what they would do in our situation. Of course, it was phrased in a more compassionate manner, giving the impression that they genuinely cared. We were fortunate in that we did not have to deal with that situation, but how really sad and infuriating would it be to have missed our family member's final moments of life because we followed their advice? See, the business takes precedence over everything, including family, yet they honestly believe they are doing this for their loved ones. I'm at a loss for words.
After six months of searching, I have finally discovered the language to express my emotions and have been de-brainwashed. This group of people is completely bonkers in their belief that they are saving lives. While it is possible that some people have gained money in this business, the cult-like methods and deception have left a foul taste in my mouth for the time being. The fact is that I just cannot support a group that purports to be saving lives while also deceiving the general public. In addition, prospects were warned not to search for Amway on the internet, and specifically not to visit this blog, which, yes, they dubbed "I married an Ambot," since they can weave their logic and make you feel stupid for ever considering it.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but it took much too long and cost far too much money, but we're finally out of the woods, and I'm relieved that my husband recognised it was never going to happen as well.
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