“Make a copy of your upline.”
To put it another way, the upline speakers claim that this is the secret to their own success in the Amway business.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and I don't mean to be disrespectful or disparaging of anyone's employment, but my upline expects me to replicate them by closing our firm and taking a position working for someone else as a salesperson or painter? We put in long hours at our regular jobs for many years before making the leap and starting our own business in earnest. It is expected of me that I will move backwards from a six-figure self-employed income to low wage jobs? It doesn't appeal to me at all. Perhaps, if we had continued in Amway for a long enough period of time and lost everything, including our savings, our business and home and ended up deeply in debt, I would have had to rethink taking that cashier job at the dollar store.
Perhaps driving around in a junker of a car that is constantly breaking down will allow me to replicate my upline. No, I don't believe that is the case. I've always saved up my money and then purchased new or newer model vehicles with cash, ensuring that they were well maintained. This has been my practise for the past 20 years. When I was younger, I used to drive older automobiles that were prone to flat tyres or experiencing some form of motor trouble at any given time. Then I realised what I needed to do and began dating mechanics. Then I became more astute and began saving money in order to purchase more dependable automobiles. I'm also not interested in going backwards on this one.
What do you think of dressing in business attire for 8pm Amway meetings in someone's living room? Not my thing at all. In the event that I allow someone into my home, I expect them to dress in a manner that makes them feel comfortable. If I'm meeting someone at a coffee shop, I'll do the same thing. You can wear whatever you want; I'm not bothered by it. I worked in the corporate world for 20 years, always in business clothes. Now that I'm self-employed, no one has the authority to tell me what to dress. If I choose to dress casually in shorts, capris, or jeans with a hat on my head, that's exactly what I'll do.
Gee One of the myths we were told was that we would be able to own our own business if we joined Amway. As a company owner, I have complete control over what I wear. In "my" Amway business, I have some upline jerk who expects me to dress in a professional suit every day. My blazers and skirts were given to a charitable organisation a long time ago. You shouldn't expect me to go out and get more right away.
What do you think of replicating our upline and lying to others about what this "global business opportunity" is truly all about? What about duplicating our upline and offending those who work in a traditional job? No way, I'm not going to do it.
At business meetings, I used to watch the hardcore ambots duplicating their upline's information. During my visit, I observed a young lady seated next to the woman who supported her, who I believe was earning roughly 2500 PV per month. It is the sponsor, not the new IBO, who is in charge. It was a chilly evening in the theatre, and they were both seated with their legs raised on the chairs in front of them. That is something that some people do. At the movies, to be precise. This young IBO was always dressed elegantly and with flawless makeup, and she didn't appear to be the sort to be flinging her legs all over the place so that everyone passing by could see her underpants, but there they were, sitting side by side in an unladylike manner. Hmmm. I'm almost sorry that I didn't come up with that one myself! I'd stand there and watch the new IBO clap at the same moment as her sponsor. When the sponsor takes the initiative, raise your hands and applaud. To put it simply, she adhered to her like glue and replicated whatever she did. This woman had the whole "duplicate your upline" thing down to a science!
No, that's not who I am. I'm not allowed to duplicate anyone in my upline's business model. That's not my personal style.
My natural tendency was to do the polar opposite of what anyone in my upline was doing, and this was nothing new to me. If the audience rose to their feet and applauded and cheered for the speaker, I remained seated. In the event that they went around the room welcoming everyone, I stayed in my chair and picked out a trashy novel that I carried in my purse just for occasions like this one. If they were drinking Perfect Water or XS energy drinks, I'd be swigging a Coke to keep up with them. If they ate meal replacement bars or protein bars, I made a big deal out of eating a package of M&Ms in front of everyone. At the end of the meeting, if anyone lingered to talk, I was the first one out the door, making a beeline for my car.
I can't recall ever doing anything to try to emulate our upline. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for that gang of imitators. The vast majority of them left Amway after we did.
Follow in the footsteps of the pioneers.
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