Motivated. . . Against My Will
I had a vision. It was called Amway. Who doesn’t want to get rich? Well, friends started to get involved in this new idea to sell the Amway opportunity. They had products that you sold. The key is becoming a member or distributor and recruiting others to do the same. This allows you to build a downline and potentially become extremely wealthy. Once you reach the diamond level, you’ve arrived at your desired destination: wealth without the effort. Your team members, who have signed up under you, are doing the work, and you reap the benefits of their hard work.
It’s never framed that way, of course, because who wants to admit that your big dreams might just land you working hard so someone else can get rich?
I didn’t care for the technique that was used on us at rallies and weekly get-togethers. The hoopla, yoo rah rah, and being told that we will get out and sell Amway and all its advantages. This technique was used as motivation for all of us left me cold. I felt like I was part of a herd of cattle. “Are we going to go out and sell these great products and join the teams to make as much money as we can?” Everyone in the crowd would shake their heads, shouting, “Yes”. Everyone, except I think me. I just didn’t feel it. Oh, I got several downlines, but it took constant prodding to get them motivated, sell the products, go to the rallies (often on a Sunday night in Milwaukee), make calls to get other people motivated, have weekly motivational meetings, separate meetings with those that were recruited, prepare the orders of products, then distribute the products to everyone who made orders. I might note here that the products were not cheap; I felt they were quite costly, and were not over the top in performance as was anticipated.
Well, as you can imagine, this pyramid theory would work if everyone just did their part. But life gets in the way, and with the workload stated above, it just didn’t. Sure, it seemed to work for the people “at the top”, but for some reason, it seemed to me that those people just kept getting more successful. Everyone wants to be rich and successful. It’s the American dream, right after winning the lottery without buying a ticket. Back in my Amway days, we were trained to approach perfect strangers (or unlucky relatives) with the question: “Are you making all the money you want?” I found this very intrusive and very forward. It was meant to put prospective people on the spot, and that it did, unfortunately.
The idea was that if we just asked that magical question enough times, people would throw down their groceries, sign up immediately, and start dreaming of yachts and passive income.
Funny thing, success always seemed to float upward, while responsibility trickled down. And the ones who paid the price? The families. The kids. The dog who thought he had been abandoned.
Turns out, the only thing “residual” about it was the guilt.
And, of course, you, a very frazzled and frustrated person. While those at the top kicked back and collected their bonuses, their downlines just kept getting busier and more burnt out. There were never enough hours in the day.
So, back to the 9 to 5.
At least the vision is clear.
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