Victory from Defeat

Magic of Thinking Big

Chapter 11 – How to Turn Defeat into Victory

David J. Schwartz

Outline

The author opens this book talking about the people on Skid Row. He contrasts them with people in high successful positions and states that the demographic for both groups is the same. The difference is that the ones on Skid Row have let defeat get to them, while the successful ones have overcome all trials. In short, all of our set-backs have good lessons to be learned, if we learn from them, we will become successful.

The next section expands on the first. The author tells us that we need to fully examine our life and correct everything we can so that we can near perfection.

He concludes with two ways to better success:

1. Tell yourself, “There IS a way” – He goes on to explain that the thoughts will control the reality. If you think you are beaten, there is no way to succeed, if you think you will succeed, there is no way to fail.
2. Back off and start afresh – Take a break and move away from the work to rejuvenate yourself on a regular basis.

Christian Response

If only his reasons for the people on Skid Row were that simple, we would have solved that problem long ago. God is in control of events. Some people are going to be successful, some are going to suffer in this life, God will bring all things together for his people (Romans 8:28). Regarding his ever present desire for ‘success’, I say that if you wish to sacrifice all for your position in this life, God might just grant you that, but it will certainly be at a price. Read Matthew 19 to learn that price. With all that being said, there is indeed great value in the wisdom of mistake, but they are not the cure-all for the strife of the world.

When we examine ourselves, like the author suggests, we need to examine ourselves for the unrighteousness in our lives. We do not need to be seeking perfection, we need to be seeking righteousness (1 Corinthians 11:23-34).

I will say nothing about his first point save this: God is in control, not the foolish tongue in your mouth that you can not even control anyway (James 3:1-12). Who are you to tell God what you will do (James 4:13-16).

His second point is biblical; I have no words about it.

Building Quixtar with BWW Part 7

BWW Basics Manual (BBAS 6/02)

Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2.2
Chapter 2.3
Chapter 2.4

Chapter 3 – Creating Volume

This chapter is broken down into the sections:

• Eat 100 PV
• Use 100 PV
• Sell 100 PV

My analysis is sprinkled throughout.

There are tips before those sections officially begin. The first thing you need to learn is how to prioritize your buying. If you are familiar with Quixtar, you know that there are three levels to shop:

• Exclusives – These are the brand names that Alticor, the parent company to both Amway and Quixtar. These have the highest PV; $2.50 per PV (some argue that it is more like $2.70, or more. I agree with that after doing a brief price analysis, but I am reporting what BWW says)

• Store for more – These are other brands which Quixtar buys from the supplier and acts as the middle man to the consumer. It is about $6.00 per PV. This includes clothes, sterios, household appliances, etc.

• Partner Stores – These are actually a group of stores which provide you access through the Quixtar portal. These are all online stores and they credit a tiny portion of your sale to Quixtar which in turn gives you a small amount of PV and BV. Depending on the store, $5-15 could get you 1 PV.

You are instructed to always plan on purchases from the Exclusive line since they give the most for the dollar.

Even in this topic about products, we read (pg 37), “Our goal is to help get your business up and running as soon as possible, and that starts with making your 100 PV circle work and getting your education started.”(Italics mine) There is a little ‘How To’ box down the page, “How to Order Your Product.” Curiously, the very first thing on the line is “Call-In schedule for BWW support tools and products (These do NOT have PV)” (There is a blank for the day and time). This form only lists how to order Quixtar products on the bottom as online, by phone, or by calling your upline.

There is a section on assessments, but the product assessments have been removed from Quixtar to the best of my knowledge. I can tell you what I remember of them: You fill out this big multiple choice form and then it lists the ‘recommended’ products, which always seemed to consist of a $500 or more order a month!

Recommended Tools:

BPB194 – Owning a Profitable Business ($7.50)

JM20 – Volume, A Key to Achieving Your Dream ($7.50)

AN72 – Ditto Delivery ($7.50)

AN86 – Why Nutilite? ($7.50)

RJM23 – We Get Paid on Volume ($7.50)

LPW99 – Fundamentals of Health & Nutrition ($7.50)

NXT – The Next Trillion (By Paul Zan Pilzer, an external speaker) ($7.50)

LPW79 – Checklist for an IBO / Ladies Business Mentality ($7.50)

BQ904 (New Code: EB770) – Pro-Sumer Power ($10.95)

Eat 100 PV

We are told that this is simple: Just replace things already in your diet. Quixtar has recognized the drive to want to eat better, so you should replace your snacks and meals with protein bars and energy drinks. To do all this, they recommend the following for a single person, for the couple it is more, obviously:

1 Box of Double X ($51.65 for an IBO, $74.75 retail)

2 Cases of Protein bars ($198 IBO, $257.40 retail).

Total monthly cost: $249.65, and I HOPE you eat a dinner on top of all that at an extra cost. Here is my monthly single person’s food bill: $80. To suggest that a person eats $249.65 just for snacks, breakfast, and lunch is absolutely ridiculous.

There are other means to eat 100 PV though, if that is not to your liking. There is the basic package: at $270 a month, the Ladies package at only $269, the Active package for $285 (that is the high protein version), and the men’s package at $270. Don’t forget that this is PER PERSON and does not include real food!

Use 100 PV

You get to shop from your own store, or so the book says. We are told (in little print I might add), to “Focus on core-line products” with a suggestion to “buy one of each of these core-line items (average 5-6 products per week) for a total of 100 + PV.” Am I the only one that thinks this is a little excessive? I am still working on a box of laundry detergent I bought in 2002, and frankly, it was more expensive per unit than anything else I can get around here. If you want to die of price shock, compare the Tolsom line of men’s skin care products to comparable ones in the local store. The pricing at Quixtar is so high that you might spend 2-3 times more at Quixtar than you might at the local store.

Selling 100 PV

If you thought that $249.65 is outrageous (let alone absolutely boring due to lack of variety) for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, try asking a retail customer to pay $332.15 plus tax and shipping for the same. I think you can get the idea as to why the vast majority of Quixtar IBO’s don’t have clients.

Here are some tips (pg 43):

Personally register members and clients

Take new registrants on a tour through Quixtar.com

Give product samples

Encourage repeat sales items

They suggest at the end that you set up your clients on a plan to spend on $8.48 a day on snacks and nutrition. This consists of Double X twice per day, 2 protein bars a day, and two Orange drinks a day (I assume in the newer versions of this manual, that has been replaced by XS which is comparable in price). There is a note that if they do not think they would spend that much, to have them check their habits because they probably do. Fair enough. Let me check MY habits:

Morning: cereal ($1.79 a box), get about a week out of it, so $0.36

Mid Morning: Hot Chocolate or Tea: $0.13

Lunch: peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with crackers and Juice: $0.66

Total over same period: $1.15

Now, I know people that might spend over $8 because they like to go out for lunch. I do this about 3 times a month or so. It is not a good habit to spend $8 a day on a regular basis, so for them to be simply redirecting that money through them does a disservice to the person. If you are that concerned, suggest they balance and budget better. We are stewards over our resources, not owners. We will be accountable before God of our spending. I would like you to know that it is doable. How? I plan ahead. I buy hot chocolate and tea in a bulk quantity and then take it to work so it is there. If I have the munchies at work, there is something nearby that is cheaper than the rip-off shack down the hallway. It is called planning!

This chapter ends with a statement about the member and client rules and than encourages to get your clients on Ditto Delivery, which is an automated monthly ordering system.

Chapter 4

Kool-Aid Drinking Critics #5

Well, all, I went through a period of time where I really did not get a whole lot of seriously negative criticism (at least not any worth talking about), but for reasons that I am not going to report, there has been quite an influx lately. I received this one Saturday morning or so and I certainly felt it was worthy of examination. I will let you read it, then I will comment on selected passages. I like this comment because this person really makes my point for me. I wish him the best, and I hope he realizes how destructive BWW is for his person, mind, and spirit. Hold on tight…here we go:

This is the third comment on the first Adventures of the Extreme Fredom Team post.

optimistic relationship builder said...

I know exactly why you call yourself X. You have Xed yourself out so you want others to join. I really feel sorry for you being such a sad Individual. Because of your short comings you put out your opinions about what you think know. I am sure there have been some jerks in this business, but I bet its some jerks at all jobs and even churches. It's amazing how people like yourself would rather knock others for wanting more and willing to sacrifice than to encourage and help give hope. At least these guys are willing to get out and drive the miles to try and help people they don't even know. I'm no dummy, I know these guys benefit but so do I based on the work I do.

I have a gym membership that was sold to me by a salesman who told me I could look like Rocky but it's amazing, I've had this membership for 3 years and I still have gut and my arms are getting softer. I am really disappointed. I've paid for this thing every month, but the disappointment is in me for not doing what was required of me to get the results promised upon purchase.

I went to college for five years and paid at least 7000.00 a year. As my grades went down and I could not receive free schooling, so what, the financial aid kept giving me more loans to continue and it did not work. Here I am five years wasted, about 35,000 and I still don't have a degree. Who should I blame? The guidance counselor told me I could do it and he believed in me, but it just did not work. Who do I blame?

These guys are trying to help people who want to own their own business. But it's not a free lunch, it takes work and money. My wife and I work in the corporate world and we are 26 years old and we have always wanted to own our own business and we saw this and did not know what to think but as I checked this business out I saw it was real. I'm an African American and none of my friends are in business with me but I went out and found some guys who wanted more out of life and was willing to find out what it would take to make it happen and its happening. It's not a pie in the sky, it's not a get rich quick scam, and it’s a business. Just so you know; most of the people who get out of this are those you are looking for a get rich quick scam. It's not brainwashing, brainwashing is telling people what to think. The freedom team teaches people how to think. There is a difference. To identify the negative is nothing special, try coming up with your own thing.

I'm done, but don't try to come at me about the bible. Trust me; you don't want to go there with me. I have studied what it says about money save that conversation for someone else...

Sat Mar 25, 10:55:55 AM EST

The Origins of My Username

ORB says: “I know exactly why you call yourself X. You have Xed yourself out so you want others to join.”

It is an interesting, but expected twist attacking my character and name, especially since this person does not know who I am. But just in case anyone is interested in the origins of my name, I thought I would talk about it a bit. Unlike ORB, I did well in college. I enjoyed the manifest pleasures of academia seeking time in the sciences and arts. My username is the name of the mystical land of Xanadu from the poem Kubla Kahn by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which I had read before college, but I did some further study out of that poem. When I first got the internet, my username was simply Xanadu, but when I moved out from the small world of the local dial-up services to the vast expanse of the internet, I noted that many people had the name Xanadu already. Since I hate the usernames with numbers after them, I had to find a creative way to have a name which would change as little as I could get it to from crazy free online service to service. To best accommodate it, I used the three initials from the author Samuel Taylor Coleridge and added it Xanadu to arrive at my username Xanadustc. ‘X’ is just an abbreviation since many people do not want to write it. There you have it.

Opinions and Facts

ORB says: “I really feel sorry for you being such a sad Individual. Because of your short comings you put out your opinions about what you think know.”

It is interesting to note that I am one of the few people who does NOT post my opinions. I post detailed and verifiable facts as they are applied to solid biblical exegesis using sound hermeneutics as opposed to Word-Faith teachers who have repeated taught apostic doctrine. On the contrary, this person jumped in and attacked my character, ignored my facts, and gave a biased opinion.

What is ‘Help’?

ORB says: “It's amazing how people like yourself would rather knock others for wanting more and willing to sacrifice than to encourage and help give hope.”

Where have I ever knocked others for wanting more? If this person indeed READ the post that he commented on, he would have seen this paragraph:

With these points in mind, I want you to know that having money is not a sin. Going on a good vacation, having a nice car, a nice house, etc, are not sins. The problem arises when you use a deceptive system of mind control to fleece people out of hard earned money so that you can buy a whole lot of things, make videos about it, and post them to motivate people to do more of the same.

As you can see, my problem is not the possessions these people have, it is the system that use to get it.

ORB says: “At least these guys are willing to get out and drive the miles to try and help people they don't even know. I'm no dummy, I know these guys benefit but so do I based on the work I do.”

How much does this person really benefit? I do not know, but I am willing to bet that he losing money. There are 5 in 2000, or 1 in 400 who make it to the Q-12 level. I commented on this in a previous post, here is the relevant paragraph again:

To be fair, I will define ‘successful’ as a person who has reached the level of Q-12 Platinum. We must be careful even here, because a person can be a poorly structured Platinum and make a lot less than the typical, but we will grant that ALL Platinums are proper. Now, according to the Quixtar affiliate site, ThisBizNow, only 0.244% of people make the Q-12 Platinum level. So, out of 2000 people, 5 will become successful. Note that the average income is $115 per month.

Now, what is required for the ‘help’ that this person eludes to? Well, I detail this on the series of posts called “Getting Started with BWW and Quixtar”. The links are here:

Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2.2
Chapter 2.3
Chapter 2.4

Chapter 3 (Not Posted Yet)

Chapter 4 (Not Posted Yet)

From the introduction, I note:

Although there are some ‘better’ and ‘worse’ uplines, most of them will only help you if you are plugged into the BWW system in it’s entirety. Obviously, they will make exceptions for people that are in what would be referred to as the ‘Honeymoon Period’, namely being a person who is up to 6 months - 1 year.

From Are You Discontented?, I write:

Jack talks about book of the month and then criticizes everyone that is only reading one book, calling the Book of the Month program doing the minimum.

Tape of the week is done the same way. He says that you should be buying more tapes than that. He says to use the business to finance it.

From Secrets to going to Platinum, I quote:

Jake says, “this is the number one secret: The Britt System…You must learn how to promote and edify…if you will plug into it at all cost, it will give you life and a life of more abundance.” And Doug confirms, “I also figured out that the Britt System was the key, and if I was going to sponsor people, I had to have the books and tapes to get them started right.”

From Keep Your Dream, I write:

There is some controversy over what the functions are actually for. Many system IBO’s will say that this is about ‘teaching’ and ‘training’, but Terry even brings up in this tape the issue that they DON’T talk about such things (except that they will talk about it the next day for a bit). He emphasizes that they talk about the ‘why’ to build the business, i.e. motivation. So in effect, people are constantly buying into a system that gives them nothing new but new stories of motivation and very little else (I think I have 2 tapes on products, about 15 on basic mechanics, which all contain the same information, and about 500 tapes on basic motivation.)

How much do we benefit? The statistical answer is NOT MUCH! It takes putting thousands of dollars of money into the system (which is not even required in the academic sense) to your success in Quixtar. If you fail to put that money in, you are not going to be in good standing, and thus, you will not get the help as is recorded on their own tapes (Note again the honeymoon phase vs. someone who has observed all information and decides not to participate in the MO). Now, please define the very vague word ‘help’. It is used over and over in a very meaningless way.

Now, how much work is required for you to get money in this system? You have to talk to everyone you know, more than that, and work through the numbers of 3 out of 100 people MIGHT get in. Those that do, only a few will remain. Even to maintain a high pin such as Emerald, many former IBO’s say they have worked 60 or more hours a week to do that. I will stick to my 40 hours and make the same money, thank you, because I have better things to do with my time than chase a dollar bill.

An example of Work

ORB says: “I have a gym membership that was sold to me by a salesman who told me I could look like Rocky but it's amazing, I've had this membership for 3 years and I still have gut and my arms are getting softer. I am really disappointed. I've paid for this thing every month, but the disappointment is in me for not doing what was required of me to get the results promised upon purchase.”

This is interesting. First, what this person says is true! You have to work to make achievements. But, just because you are working, that does not guarantee an achievement. The Quixtar and BWW system combination is a broken machine. In this case, MOST (though not all) people in this situation would have actually lost weight if they had exercised. This person makes a true statement, the membership to the gym did not give him a firm body in itself, as such, a registration in Quixtar does not automatically grant an income, you have to do the work. But the problem is that this fool, and I use that term appropriately, ASSUMES that I and all others did NOT work, thus, they are simply spewing forth the blame on the PERSON for not succeeding despite the FACTS about the reality of this system. If you are reading this, ORB, read my STORY before you make a half cocked assumption about my work!

He continues on: “I went to college for five years and paid at least 7000.00 a year. As my grades went down and I could not receive free schooling, so what, the financial aid kept giving me more loans to continue and it did not work. Here I am five years wasted, about 35,000 and I still don't have a degree. Who should I blame? The guidance counselor told me I could do it and he believed in me, but it just did not work. Who do I blame?”

Well, in this case I will ask DID YOU WORK? Even if he did, it does NOT grant success. Not all people are designed for college. I was able to finish Organic Chemistry in the third position in my class without much study. My friends had to study their brains out (quite literally) to manage a C in the class. I am simply built for better academics than others. Does that mean that it is only me that is the problem? NO. Here is a partial list as to why:

1. The system TEACHES that anyone can make it – thus, they drive to get everyone totally plugged into the system at a high cost, I might add.
2. People are required for achieving levels – thus success is NEVER a matter of my own discipline, but rather, depends on other people staying in.
3. The turnover causes most of the work in the business to be focused on replacing lost legs and volume.
4. The general negative attitude on MLM is JUSTIFED by the general population, which poses a problem to recruitment and retention.

Where are your Facts?

ORB says: “Just so you know; most of the people who get out of this are those you are looking for a get rich quick scam.”

Where are the statistics? I never even MET anyone involved who was looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.

He continues: “It's not brainwashing, brainwashing is telling people what to think. The freedom team teaches people how to think.”

Actually, brain washing is coercive, from the hands of the enemy, and for the purpose of a sudden reversal of values. It is attained by torture and long-term mistreatment. That is NOT what is used in BWW. BWW, however, uses MIND CONTROL, which is also called Though Reform. It is very subtle and sophisticated and is attained by intentional manipulation of a person by ‘friends.’ (Hassen, Steve, Combating Cult Mind Control, 1988, One Street Press, Rochester, VT; pages 55-56). To see how BWW fits this, please see my own experiential analysis here, or see professional cult analyst Steve Hassan’s analysis here.

He says that there is a difference between telling people how to think and teaching people how to think…I find that very interesting since you hear on many BWW tapes that if you are not succeeding yet, you don’t have your thought process working right yet. Any more differences this person would like to tell me about?

He concludes his wonderful message with: “I'm done, but don't try to come at me about the bible. Trust me; you don't want to go there with me. I have studied what it says about money save that conversation for someone else...”

Ohhhh!!! I am shaking in my boots now. ORB, I would like to tell you that if you are getting your analysis from the authors in the following list, I would not be so willing to stand before God with them:

Charles Capps

Kenneth Copeland

Kenneth Hagin

E.W. Kenyon

Edwin Cole

Jerry Saville,

John Avanzini

Paul (or David) Yongi Cho

Paul Crouch

Pat Robertson

Steve Covey

Napoleon Hill

W. Clement Stone

Robert Schuller

Robert Tilton

Paul Crouch

Norman Vincent Peale

These authors are all word faith authors, and curiously, many are on the BWW booklist. These authors all teach that God wants you to be rich. That is simply not the case, if it were, Jesus Christ, all the apostles, and nearly every person in the early church, as well as the church today are outside the will of God. Sorry, FOOL, I will respond with the scriptures if I so well please. I will repeat EXACTLY what is already written on the post that you commented on:

Money and the Bible

I would like to point out the Biblical basis for wealth as it will be important while reading this series. The money is neutral. I am not using this post to preach a poverty Gospel, however, it is clear from the teachings of the BWW system that they are teaching a prosperity Gospel. To set it straight, here is SOME of what the bible says about money (there is a lot, I will pull out the relevant points here).

First, read Matthew 19:16-22. This passage does NOT mean that a person must give everything away to be saved (yes, there have been apostic theologies called ‘poverty Gospels’ that teach this). In this verse, Jesus is testing just how well this young man kept the commandments. In fact, he failed the first one. This man loved his money more than God, which is why he went away grieving. For him, his property was worth more than his soul. POINT NUMBER 1: Money is a problem when you put it before God.

Next, read 1 Timothy 6:3-6. In this verse, we see the problem with using the platform of Godliness to gain material goods. In the last part (vs. 6), we see that contentment, not dreams, is the way to gain. Contentment and dreams are two opposing sides of the spectrum. POINT NUMBER 2: Contentment is the path to sound living.

Next, read 1 Timothy 6:9-10. It is clear from watching these videos that a total all consuming love for money is the motivation behind the actions. POINT NUMBER 3: When your focus is earning money, you are subjecting yourself to great temptations for practicing evil.

With these points in mind, I want you to know that having money is not a sin. Going on a good vacation, having a nice car, a nice house, etc, are not sins. The problem arises when you use a deceptive system of mind control to fleece people out of hard earned money so that you can buy a whole lot of things, make videos about it, and post them to motivate people to do more of the same.

Sorry, but your wordless blanket statement about you knowing more about the biblical basis of wealth than I do is utterly foolish. If you have an issue with this analysis, comment biblical exegesis and we will work it out from there.

Building Quixtar with BWW Part 6

BWW Basics Manual (BBAS 6/02)

Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2.2
Chapter 2.3

Chapter 2 – The BWW Basics: Building Your business

Part 4 – Follow-up and Getting Started

The Follow-Up

This part of the manual teaches how to get people started, which is the last step to lead people in starting their business. At this point, the book says that “a higher percentage of prospects become Members or IBO’s.” For those that need to “think about it” they suggest (pg 32):

• Book an appointment with your prospect to get together within 48 hours.
• Ask your prospect what level they see themselves.

If they want to be an IBO, you begin the process over again by starting the list of names (the registration is not until they are ‘ready’). For the clients and members, they are signed up immediately and shown the advantages of shopping from Quixtar.

There is a key phrase I want to draw attention to (pg 33): “A key attitude you need to maintain is that you expect them to get involved at one of the three levels.” And further, you tell them that they need more information if they are undecided and try to book them to see the plan again.

At this point, they recommend to give out audiotapes that “have or had the same profession” the prospect does.

If at this point, they are not interested in being an IBO, “then set them up as a Client or Member on the Dittp Delivery Service.” (pg 33)

Getting Started

Under this list-based section, the objective of this appointment is to (pg 33):

Register – Fill out all paperwork including the Arbitration Agreement, sign up for One Domain, Communikate, MCI, Standing Order Tape, Book of the Month

Set up Ditto Delivery and place the first order – Review the Ditto program, look at products, and have the new IBO select the products they want.

Review the game plan for success – Talk about dreams, dates for success, discuss commitments to the MO program, talk about business structure, BWW support system (details below), the Eagle program (detailed below), develop list of names.

Book the next meeting – schedule meetings to show their prospects the plan, promote the next BWW meetings.

BWW support system and Eagle program

I wanted to comment specially about these because they are listed in bold in the manual. In these sections, it is told to promote the system in their detail. These are the areas that are taught as the most important, and curiously, the ones that cost money. Such costs are not needed to build the Quixtar business.

Recommended Tools:

GS1 – What to Do next ($7.50)

GS2 – How to have a Meeting ($7.50)

GS3 – How to Show the Plan ($7.50)

LPW85 – Follow Up / Doing a Home plan ($7.50)

LPW87 – Getting Started & Follow Up with the BWW Sytem ($7.50)

LPW89 – Starting a New IBO ($7.50)

RJM5 – How to Follow Up and Follow Through ($7.50)

BPB248 – How to Start a New IBO Properly ($7.50)

BPB187 – Paint by the Numbers ($7.50)

JM25 – The Solution for Your Future ($7.50)

EGB – Eagle brochure ($6.00 / quantity not specified)

BLD – Building Your List Brochure ($6.00 / quantity not specified)

Analysis

As can be seen above, it is not truly about simply ‘exposing the business’ and letting people make a choice, it is about getting people in any way you can. If they are ready, you sign them up and avoid any possible questions. If they are not, you give them totally biased information from the motivational organization to simply try to convince people that this is for everyone.

Further, it is not about Quixtar, but BWW. People are told that the only way to succeed is through the BWW system. To do everything that is required will cost a lot of money. The basic breakdown per month is this:

• Standing Order Tape – $30 + S&H
• Book of the Month – Average of $10 + S&H
• Functions:
• Opens - $6-12
• Trainings - $4-6
• Rally Seminar (once per quarter) - $10
• Weekend Function (once per quarter) - $100
• One Domain - $14.95 + $87.50 annual fee
• Communikate – About $30-40 per month
• And also many, many other tools that highly recommended.

And don’t forget travel, food, and hotel expenses.

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

The Goal is Eagle

Tape: Eagle Steps: A Pattern for Living

Speakers: Ardith Griffing

Stock Number: BWW198 (3 Message CD)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Teaching Points:

“I’m not saying [the job lifestyle] is wrong for them, for me, after seeing this awesome opportunity, I didn’t wan to go back and make that rut deeper and deeper, and deeper.”

To find out where you will be in five years, find a person that has been working where you are fir five years longer and look at them.

You break out of your J.O.B. rut by making the eagle activities habit.

You need to listen to the tapes to break the old habits J.O.B. habits, but it is a choice: Do you want to stay in the rut or get out?

A pattern for Living (She quotes this from the book ‘Courage for the Chickenhearted” by Becky Freeman):

Material: Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Faith, Goodness, Gentleness, Meekness, and temperance (For those curious, those are from Galatians 6:22-23; King James version).

Notions: Elasticity, Variety, Sense of Humor, Forbearance, A Lip Zipper, A Back Bone Stiffening. (These are NOT from the Bible)

Measurements:

How wide is your understanding?

How long is your patience?

How deep is your love?

Ardith uses some common sense points to talk about end results and how it is difficult to discipline yourself to get to those results. She uses this to tie into doing the core steps (Standing Order Tape, Book of the Month, Attending all Functions, One Domain, Communikate, etc.) to get the end results in the business. If doing those things actually lead to building a successful business, there would not be a problem, but in reality, those are just empty tools of motivation that rarely work serving no real purpose except enriching the pocketbook of the top of the group.

She ends her talk with a quote from Psalms 139:

“For You created our inmost being. You knit us together in our mother’s womb. We praise You because we are fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Kool-Aid Drinking Critics #4

Greetings all,

Sorry for not posting last week. Still very busy, but I will get back to it soon.

I have not had a comment that I felt worthy of a Kool-Aid Drinking Critics post in a while, but something struck me about a very small comment someone left me just today. The short comment is:

bigdreamer said...

maybe if you spent your time more constructively by truly following God and building a successful business by serving others, you would not have time to put together this ridiculous site!

This was on the post here.

I would like to examine this a little bit. First, let me consider this:

maybe if you spent your time more constructively by truly following God

He makes a few assumptions, the first is that I am not using my time constructively, and the second is that I am not truly following God.

Anything which exposes the truth about how people twist the word is God for their own purposes is constructive, next, it is always truly following God to expose such errors.

Now, please give me the latitude to explain:

A pastor by the name of Darren Hunter put together a very good little explanation of the MLM movement and the church. The PDF file is for download at the MOD website. In this article, the author takes a realistic approach to how MLM’s function in the context of churches. Being in MLM’s and studying them I can assure you that if your MLM has a motivational organization attached to it, this article will apply with dead accuracy. He highlights such things as the invitation, the gospel, the sacrifice, and many other aspects that are very similar to the church, but in this case, they are applied to the MLM.

The problem is that God deserves and desires our devotion, but the MLM also requires the same devotion. The motivational organizations will try to counter this by saying that the J.O.B. (Their acronym for a job that means Just Over Broke, or in some cases, Jackass Of the Boss) requires that devotion. This is not the case. First, God commands us to work, and to work six days, and rest the seventh. To contrast, the MO will teach that God desires you to have fun, to play, and not to work in ‘bound slavery’ (the J.O.B.). Next, the job does not require the devotion that the MO or God requires.

Now, the MO’s teach you that God wants you to be rich. That is so contrary to the truth that it isn’t even funny. I have copied the same comment several times now, and it is appropriate to do so again, so here is the biblical basis for wealth. Starting on page 11, the article does a good job, too.

Biblical Basis for Wealth

First, read Matthew 19:16-22. This passage does NOT mean that a person must give everything away to be saved (yes, there have been apostic theologies called ‘poverty Gospels’ which teach this). In this verse, Jesus is testing just how well this young man kept the commandments. In fact, he failed the first one. This man loved his money more than God, which is why he went away grieving. For him, his property was worth more than his soul. POINT NUMBER 1: Money is a problem when you put it before God.

Next, read 1 Timothy 6:3-6. In this verse, we see the problem with using the platform of Godliness to gain material goods. In the last part (vs. 6), we see that contentment, not dreams, is the way to gain. Contentment and dreams are two opposing sides of the spectrum. POINT NUMBER 2: Contentment is the path to sound living.

Next, read 1 Timothy 6:9-10. It is clear from observing the BWW system that a total all consuming love for money is the motivation behind their actions. POINT NUMBER 3: When your focus is earning money, you are subjecting yourself to great temptations for practicing evil.

With these points in mind, I want you to know that having money is not a sin. Going on a good vacation, having a nice car, a nice house, etc, are not sins. The problem arises when you use a deceptive system of mind control to fleece people out of hard earned money so that you can buy a whole lot of things.

Which System?

With these points in mind, following God is not by committing to the motivational organizations, it is by obeying the commandments in the Bible, to be witnesses of the faith in Jesus Christ, to love one another in truth, and to make disciples of the nations. This is not done in the context of MLM’s, which get confused as to which gospel to share. In a sermon by John MacArthur called ‘The Foolishness of God’, he makes the observation that when human philosophy contends with divine revelation, the people always take their philosophy. This means that the most likely occurrence will be sharing the gospel of MLM and when the gleaming eyes drool with how to do it, you tell them that God wants you to be rich and ask for His power to do it. This further leads to a false wealth-based gospel.

What is Success?

Next, consider further the passage:

building a successful business by serving others

Let us show just how successful this business has been. From a previous post, I wrote:

First, we must define ‘successful’. To be fair, I will define ‘successful’ as a person who has reached the level of Q-12 Platinum. We must be careful even here, because a person can be a poorly structured Platinum and make a lot less than the typical, but we will grant that ALL Platinums are proper. Now, according to the Quixtar affiliate site, ThisBizNow, only 0.244% of people make the Q-12 Platinum level. So, out of 2000 people, 5 will become successful. Note that the average income is $115 per month. So, this person statistically helps 5 out of 2000 people ‘succeed’. Not very good odds for a system that costs about $5,000 (single) to $10,000 (couple) per year to run according to a profit and loss analysis.

As far as ‘helping other people’ to succeed, are we really helping them when we give them a false gospel? Are we helping them when we give them the latest in the business motivational or psychological research even if it teaches contrary to God’s word? Are we really helping them by teaching them to be discontent and putting their hearts on worldly things, even though the Bible tells us not to love the things of the world? The appeal of these MO leaders to ‘help people’ is not to help them. That is a vague term devoid of meaning. People may seem to be ‘helped’ in some aspects in the beginning, but the reality is that far more leave the system than stay in. Those that leave rarely have good or neutral stories. Fair people around the world have reported near identical horror stories about this business and it’s diverse motivational organizations. When will YOU stop drinking your Kool-Aid and examine the facts?

Building Quixtar with BWW Part 5

BWW Basics Manual (BBAS 6/02)

Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2 – The BWW Basics: Building Your business

Part 3 – Showing the Plan

Summary of Showing the Plan

The book lists the three ways to show the plan:

• One-on-One
• Home Meetings
• Open Meetings

There are steps they list to ‘keep in mind’, I will not list them all, but a few of note are:

• Show the plan, don’t sell the plan
• The more you talk, the more you sell
• Build their dreams
• Lead them to the next step

They suggest that many tools are good for showing the plan:

• Audio and video
• Flip charts, “Legal-size yellow notepad and a red felt-tip pen”, board and easel
• Demonstration products

There is also a list of keywords to remember, some of them are:

• Savings
• Compounding effect
• Below retail
• Profit potential
• Rewarded monthly

The five steps to show the plan are detailed (Quoted from page 29):

• Setting at ease and explaining the concept
• Dream building
• Explain the “2-5 year plan” vs the “40 year plan”
• Explain the 6-4-2 business model
• The five-point wrap-up

Interestingly, at this point, there is a side block where you are explained the Quixtar process is like a large mall where you get paid for shopping there and get paid further for referring people to shop there.

The last step in this section is the Meeting After the Meeting, which is promoted as one of the most important things. Briefly, this is after the plan is completed, people can meet the speaker and ask questions. This is also where many of the products come out for demonstration. There is a side note that is in the text and is openly taught: Always book a meeting from a meeting.

Recommended tools in this section:

• GS2 – How to Have a Meeting ($7.50)
• GS3 – How to Show the Plan ($7.50)
• LPW73 – Secrets of a Successful Open Meeting ($7.50)
• FCH – Flipchart ($20)
• 642 – 6-4-2 IBO Business Plan ($5 for 25 sheets)
• LPK – Literature Pack ($10) – IBO’s are often instructed to have several of these, in fact, on GS2, you are told to have one pack for every person you have invited to your meeting.)

Analysis

I want to start by saying that if your motivation is lead to the person to the next step and book a meeting from a meeting, you are going to sell the plan, not share it. Although many people do show the plan, many also sell it. I would also like to make note that the terminology may be changing. In my last team training, it was drilled into up that we do not “Show the Plan” because that is reminiscent of the old “A” way of doing things. It is now “Share the Presentation” (Still STP), in the event you start to hear that one. It might a few years to be fully incorporated.

As for the steps in the plan, the most important is the Dream Building step. There is a list of the most popular dreams that people say. If they are not giving you responses, you are supposed to ‘prime the pump’ by suggesting these things. This step is supposed to be the longest because you are getting people excited, which drives the business as indicated on the tape Monday through Wednesday (Doug Weir, removed from catalog possibly due to a new MO recently split from BWW by Larry Winters). In that tape, Doug teaches that with you’re “A list” (friends and family), you do not get them in by facts, but on excitement.

Chapter 2.4
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Incoherent Unification

Tape: Unified Through the System

Speakers: Annamae Wright

Stock Number: BWW198 (3 Message CD)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Brief Review:

This is a talk about unity, and it appears to be given to the ladies panel at a specialty conference. Annamae is really all over the place (especially for a talk on unity, which she comments on these aspects at the beginning) with her ramblings. I’m not even sure if she said anything coherent throughout the talk. This is another short talk, but some good research went into it.

Notes:

This business is good because it has been around for so long.

You have to be strong to build this business.

You have to be submissive to build this business.

You need to be teachable to build this business.

You have to be accountable to the upline, the business, and your spouse.

Annamae says that she was even counseled by one of her uplines and were told they were too excited, so they got rid of that person, and two years later were diamonds. She said that you have to be excited.

According to Bill Britt, groups that grow fast are unified and excited.

Some people are in the business that they start to “forget all the things that they should be remembering”. This amnesia is brought on by such things as disunity.

“God never gives you anything, He never puts anything in front of you that you can not succeed at. You have everything inside of you to do whatever you need to do in this business.” [I fully disagree here. First, who said that God put you near this business. It is clear that Satan operates as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), remember also that people who seek after wealth fall into the trap of sin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9-10). It is clear that we are tested for many aspects of the faith, and here in America, there is no greater temptation than that of desiring to get wealthy. Next, you have NOTHING of any redeemable quality in you outside of the spirit of God (if you are not a Christian, you don’t even have that, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ will show you how to get it). The contrary opinion is rooted in the modern psychology which believes that within us is all power to glory and salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth (see John 15).]

“You need to learn how to appreciate the system you are in because it is absolutely awesome. It is a system that has created wealth, it has created peace of mind, it has created lifestyle beyond wildest dreams.”

“You need to be doing core, you need to be doing that so you can teach core. You need to be going eagle so that you can break eagles.”

She speaks of a bad situation in her life that she came through “only because of my own tenacity”, her self assurance, the pathways that she laid down for herself. “You all have it too.” [I warn that to put that glory to yourself is the same pride that destroyed Satan, and here is a woman on stage teaching people to work hard at gaining that very power. I will say that if the experience she mentioned on the tape is true, giving credit to yourself for that and not God is the ultimate blasphemy.]

“God is all inclusive in taking care of all of us.” [I don’t know if she is hinting at Universalism here, but in any case, this comment is not supported by scriptures. There is the common grace which all men receive, but there is a special grace which only His people receive.]

She ends with a brief quote from Ecclesiastes, and then tells people to put on the armor. The armor according to her is the BWW system. For the people that have been in awhile, she admonishes them to polish is, while the new people need to toughen it up by being core and eagle. The swords are “our attitudes, goals”, etc. [I’m sorry, but the armor we should be wearing is outlined quite nicely in the bible (Ephesians 6:10-20). When the armor of God is attached to yourself, I trust you will be able to see the BWW system for what it is: a scheme to lure people after the temptations of money.]

Building Quixtar with BWW Part 4

BWW Basics Manual (BBAS 6/02)

Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2 – The BWW Basics: Building Your business

Part 2 – Contacting and Inviting

Summary of Contacting and Inviting

Once you have a list from which to work, you can get to the process of removing names. You should learn and regularly use the ‘buzz words’:

• Online
• Internet
• Savings
• E-commerce

“The ultimate goal when contacting and inviting is to get new prospects to see the plan.” The best approach is to invite the prospects to an Open meeting or a home plan. You can also do a One on One with the flipchart. Videos are also recommended, especially for people that are asking questions.

The book gives a series of examples of invites for in person or telephone contacting. There are approaches for different age ranges (pg 14):

• 18-29 year olds – Internet and income approaches
• 30 and over or regular ‘fitness buffs’ – Health and nutrition approaches

Phone teams are also recommended on Sunday night “between 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM, to catch people at home while they are thinking about having to go back to work after their weekend off.”

The manual lists 18 different approaches to set up a meeting with yourself, 1 for calling for a downline for a One-on-One, 1 more for downline calls to book to an Open or home Plan, 2 for how to call a friend or family member, and 2 for ‘bold’ face to face contacts.

Along with all these, there are tips:

• Always give two ‘Yes’ options
• Always call them back while their interest is peaked

If the prospect asks what it is all about, they give this phrase (Page 20):

“There’s no way I can explain what we do on the phone. I would need to show you several things. I have a brief CD ROM or 10-minute video which will basically explain what we are doing. Then we’ll see where you could fit into what we’re putting together. I have _____ or _____ night available. Which is best for you?”

The final part in this section is the Overview or One-on-One (Page 25):

1. Set at ease – This is not a time to make a decision, or get money

2. Market areas – thousands of products without the middlemen that drive up costs of the products.

3. Quixtar and BWW relationship – Quixtar covers the product end and BWW provides the training end.

4. Benefits – “Strong source of secondary income (to be discussed at upcoming business seminar)”, ongoing income options, global market expansion.

5. Four concerns are discussed:

• Captial – “Get started for less than $200” (Q approx. $100, B approx. $100)
• Risk – “No capital outlay”, “100% money back on most products”
• Expertise – BWW has the experience
• Time Compounding – “You put in 5 hours, but get paid for what happens in 40 hours”

The recommended tools for this section are:

• FCH – Flipchart ($20)
• GS3 – How to Show the Plan ($7.50)
• RP891 – Private Franchising in a Dot Com World ($7.50)
• QXB – Quixtar brochure ($7.00 for pack of 10)
• One Domain website ($87.50/yr + $14.95/month)

Analysis

I analyzed a contacting tape by Charlie Durso already. Refer to it for more information.

The first major problem I have is that they teach not to sell the plan, but show it, however, you are always to give “two Yes options”. That is selling, not showing. I realize that you are not ‘showing’ it at that point, but such high pressure sales tactics are a real good reason that such things as the Do Not Call Registry was created.

I would like to add that if you are an IBO, you are REQUIRED to check the list before you call someone you do not have a business relationship with. Please check the IBO alert on this issue here (May be password protected)

I will not comment on any of the approaches used. I think that most of them are deceptive, high pressure, and/or inappropriate. Some of these are detailed in the tape analysis above.

Regarding the steps to do an overview:

Market Areas:

Quixtar IS a middleman for all products that are not exclusives. If you are not buying your Nike shoes from anyone but Nike, the place you bought it from is a middleman. Quixtar is a middleman for many companies and the IBO is simply a customer of Quixtar with the ability to resell products again, but most of the products are more costly to the IBO already, so selling them is a chore.

Benefits:

In my many years in the business, I have seen very few people (less than can be counted on the hand of a man who lost some fingers) who have actually succeeded in making $150,000 annual income like this book says. They do exist, to be sure, but only 5 out of 2000 people ever make it to Q-12 Platinum which is $41,970 per year. Is the 30+ years of BWW experience really paying off especially at the cost of the system?

Four Concerns:

If you are fully doing what is ‘recommended’, you are going to spend $125 plus tax and shipping just on Quixtar. The breakdown is:

• Quixtar Buisiness Support Services - $31
• IBOAI Support - $9 (You can request a refund for this)
• IBOBA Insurance - $5 (You can request a refund for this)
• Product Intro Pack - $60 (Optional, but highly recommended)
• IBO Publications - $20 (Optional, but highly recommended)

And for BWW, the Getting Started Pack is $95, but they also ask you to start attending all the functions and getting on Standing Order tape.

The Time Compounding is a joke. This is deceptive because they never apply it to the condition that you have 7 other people working in your business. This concern is NOT dealt with.

Chapter 2.3
Chapter 2.4
Chapter 3
Chapter 4