Some time back on the Quixtar Corporate Blogs, a new blog was announced – True IBO Stories. I've been telling Amway and Quixtar for some time they had to get more of the good stories and experiences about Amway and Quixtar out on the Internet. At the moment there's pretty much corporate websites, critics of our opportunity, and apart from this website, not much else. IBOs can read positive stories on the password protected IBO websites and in Achieve, Amagram and similar, but prospects searching the 'net will come up short. True IBO Stories is a response to that problem, as is the Testimonials section on my own site.
Well, amongst all the intrigue of the situation in Amway UK & Ireland, True IBO Stories quietly posted their first story this week. And frankly I'm disappointed. Why? Well, the story is from Steve & Liz Spiro, and they tell a nice anecdote of how they got introduced to the opportunity whilst on a business trip to Ireland. After the trip, Steve explains –
When I got back, I didn't check with my broke friends or some loser on the web.
While I agree with the wisdom of not getting business advice from those without success in the field, years ago Rich De Vos had quite a bit to say about IBOs (then distributors) calling other people losers, and he was not impressed. Yet here we have our very first "true IBO story" spreading the very meme Rich De Vos spoke against. While there are undoubtedly some complainers and whiners on the 'net that don't deserve much respect, most of the folk who have complained have done so after some real experience that soured them against our business. I'll let Rich DeVos' words speak for themselves –
From "Directly Speaking I" –
I hear that very often. “There’s winners and losers. Are you a winner? Are you a loser?” Almost insulting people who don’t sign up. You even got bad terminology. “We’re the winners. Over here are the losers in life.” They’re not losers. They may have a richer, fuller life than those of you that got fancy cars and new clothes or big rings have got. You know, they — Life is not geared by materialism. You do not decide who’s a winner or a loser. There’s too — Life is too complicated for that. We must make sure we always speak of everybody being a winner, even though they may have different goals. My plea here is that when you have a program, you make sure you have people on there who are making $1. and thrilled with it, as well as those who make more. Present it as a plan so that everybody can realize their goal, whatever it is
From "Directly Speaking II" –
You know, when you became a Direct, we offered you a chance to be free and independent; and then I read your mail, and I find out you’ve lost your freedom. And all we want to do is give it back to you, to be as big or as small in Amway as you want to, to make as much or as little as you like in the Amway Plan by working it, and to go to whichever meetings you want to, and to feel comfortable to stay home if you don’t want to, without being branded a loser. Winners go to the meetings; losers stay home. Would you help me get rid of such terminology?
There are no losers in Amway. There are people who choose not to do it; but who are you to tell some teacher that chooses to spend the rest of his life as a dedicated teacher that he’s a loser? Who are you to tell a truck driver that chooses to spend more of his time doing things other than Amway, and maybe just drivin’ his truck, that he’s a loser? Whoever gave you a license to brand people? This business was designed to make everybody a winner, to do as much or as little as they wanted to; and if they chose to do nothing, to make them feel better for having had the experience. We only have winners in this business; and then we have some other winners who choose not to do the business. They just might be bigger winners in life than some of you that have branded them losers. I stand in awe of all people, and I hope you do, too.
Steve and Liz, while I wish you all success in the pursuit of your dreams, please remember in that pursuit that you contribute to the image and reputation of all IBOs. Branding those who disagree with us or who don't chose our path as "losers" does not, in my opinion, contribute positively to that image.
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I believe that this business opportunity is a good one. I was, of course, skeptical at first, but the more I hear the plan and start to understand it, the more it makes sense. The one thing that rubs me the wrong way is the emphasis that nearly everyone I’ve come into contact with puts on material wealth. There are more important things in this life and my priorities are what they are for good reasons. NOTHING will ever be more important to me than my children and their well being. There is a conference coming up in April that, in order to attend (and everyone around me is saying I must), I would have to not pay my bills and not do any grocery shopping. Not gonna happen. My children need light and heat and/or ac and water and a roof and food. Much to my surprise and dismay, this logic seems to be lost on my fellow ibo’s. They look at me as though this may be the weakest excuse for not attending that they have ever come across. The message that is sent to new ibo’s is that if you’re not willing to spend all of you money on this business and their “tools” then you’re not commited and are therefore doomed to failure. Nearly every tape or cd i have listened to contains one diamond or another telling me what a loser I am for not coming to this meeting and that one, for not buying this book and that cd and for daring to complain about how much all this crap they are trying to force feed me costs. If the level of selfishness and big-headedness I have come to expect from these people is what it takes to go diamond, then count me out. If all I ever accomplish in amway is platinum status, I’ll be just fine. Would I love to live that life? Absolutely. But not if it means that I have to become a total and complete douche in order to get there.
If that was my experience I wouldn’t be too impressed either. Indeed I doubt I would work with those people for long. In contrast my experience is with people who talk more about how this business as given them more time to be with families, and to help others. People who have built up one of the largest charitable organisations in the world, using the time and money this business gave them. Sure they like the nice toys too, and some of them talk about that – but it’s about what each individual wants out of life. Your dreams. Your goals.
And in that process they’ve never called me a loser when I haven’t bought stuff (often) and while they certainly recommended the materials and attending the seminars (as do I), the recommendation is to remember you have a business with some of the best products in the world – get out there and market them, there’s good profit! It’s not that tough to make money you know 🙂