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May 18, 2006
I Love "Tapes"
By QBlog in A/QMOs
When my wife was an active Quixtar IBO I tried listening to the tapes and CDs she bought but wound up angry instead of motivated. She heard messages of hope and inspiration while my skeptical ears heard a thirty minute infomercial — the boring kind, not the kind with that chic from "Three's Company."
At the time, my inability to embrace the Quixtar tools perplexed me because I'm one of those talk radio kinda guys. I'd rather listen to three hours of news and talk than a Led Zeppelin marathon.
I was raised on talk radio. My dad would tune in to Paul Harvey while he drove my sister and me to school in his old green Chevy. I fell in love with that oddly staccato voice whining through the tinny speakers barking out "Good Day."
So, it seemed to me that moving from talk radio to tapes would be a natural transition. But it wasn't.
But that's not to say I don't regularly hear inspirational and motivational messages.
Epiphany
As I was mowing the lawn this evening I realized that I probably consume just as much inspirational and motivational content as any "plugged-in" IBO. While the mower was growling I had my iPod Shuffle blasting one of my favorite podcasts into my aging ears (kids, don't try that at home or you'll go deaf) and I felt really, really excited.
Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte were talking to Stuart MacDonald about the Mesh Conference and I was overwhelmed with feelings of hope and possibility (is possibility a feeling?). I felt motivated to continue with my passions and inspired to participate in similar conferences in the future.
It was then that I had an epiphany of sorts. I reflected on all the podcasts that I regularly listen to and started adding up the minutes and hours that I spend consuming this conversational content and I realized that I probably listen to more messages than most IBOs.
I regularly listen to or watch the following podcasts:
- Open Source
- TWiT
- Inside The Net
- Buzz Out Loud
- Diggnation
- Daily GizWiz
- Official Lost Podcast
- Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack
- Generally Speaking - Weekly Lost Podcast
- LOSTCasts
- Get Lost with Scott and Steve (aka MYOKOM w/ SAS)
- Infected with Martin Sargent
- Strong Bad Emails
- Ebert & Roeper
- QBlog Radio (need to get back in the studio)
- Quixtar Inside Out
- On The Media
- Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
- Rocketboom
- Security Now
- Slate Explainer Podcasts
- The Onion Radio News
There are others I'm forgetting. My point is... well I have a few points (and an opportunity for another list):
- Consuming lots of content can be fun
- I never paid anything for the podcasts I enjoy
- People find motivation and inspiration in different places
So yeah, I guess I sort of do like "tapes" in the sense that I enjoy regularly listening to lots of content. I just don't like the Quixtar tapes. Nothing wrong with that is there?
Comments
my position is, if you want a certain kind of motivation and are willing to pay a price for it, then it's your choice to do so. So if you like to listen to free podcasts, or buy Quixtar motivational tapes then I guess there's nothing wrong with that. However, if you're told "tapes are optional, but so is success" or are influenced to purchase these even though you may not think it worth it, then that's where I draw a line.
QBlog,
Did you use the other parts of the system, or just the tapes?
Why isnt there a WWDB or BWW or TEAM podcast?
How hard would it be to take the standing order CD and podcast it?
The answer is not how hard it would be...the answer is how much revenue would they lose if the information was free.
By the way, TWIT is the best.
Hi guys! I agree with all of the above. Motivation & Inspiration can come from a number of resources & can be "free" and is certainly a personal choice.
Just an FYI..."tapes" or cd's or SOT, whatever you want to call it,is no longer a requirement for Eagle or Double Eagle. It's certainly suggested simply because they contain stories from people who have started where the new IBO is starting and they have what the typical business building IBO has. SOT also has training & motivation SPECIFIC to THIS business. Some will benefit you in your job, your marriage, other relationships, parenting, your spiritual life, etc. Mostly, they're designed to help you build the QUIXTAR business.
Websites are the way to go now & Premier Membership is the new requirement. With PM, you can purchase any cd's whenever you'd like at a VERY cheap price.
It's a pretty good deal. Take care guys! :-)
Sally
Ty,
I couldn't agree with you more, except for the TWIT part, which I have never looked at.
The point is, with technology, the ability to transfer information faster, easier, and with less cost has exploded. Right in the faces of the lying cowardly "kingpins".
"What would be wrong with a system where you just bought the tapes you liked, or wished to listen to?"
The problem would be that you'd have to know whether or not you wanted to listen to it without knowing what's on it. You'd probably have the same generic titles on them, cutesy and not very descriptive.
Who would you trust to inform you of which tapes were the right ones FOR YOU?
I suppose they could have a listing with a detailed description of the content of each tape/CD, but my guess is that they (AQMO leaders) want you to buy them all because it's the easiest way of getting your money for them.
PW
Sally,
You used the word "requirement", I thought tools were optional. In any event, how much will "Premier Membership" cost? I suspect it will cost about the same as CD's and tapes on a per month basis, even though the cost to put it together is near zero, compared to the retail cost IBO's will be asked (required?) to pay.
This is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. You don't know which tapes you like until you listen to them. If they were inexpensive, it wouldn't matter nearly as much.
QBlog,
I suspect they may have made you angry because there was a lot of questionable on the tapes. Sure, there were some nice, enjoyable, and touching stories, and even some good information, like consistence and persistence, and possibility thinking, which is excellent advice for life in general. But there's a lot of insulting and weird stuff like:
-If you go to work everyday, you are a stupid sheep. Baa... baa.(paraphrase, Greg Duncan, Private franchising for a high-tech world)
-The biz is the only answer to financial salvation. Freedom! Freedom! Anyone who doesn't join has got something wrong with them.
-Don't have a creative thought in your head; just duplicate.
-People outside the biz are broke losers.
-Total submission to your upline, even if you don't understand what he's saying or agree with him.
At least on the BWW and WWDB tapes I heard. To be fair, even if I wasn't in the biz, I wouldn't mind listening to people like Kevin and Beth Bell and Alice and Tony Rodriguez. I liked those CDs. (Great speeches. They came across as humble, intelligent, admirable people.)
I could go on. These things can make the uninitiated angry or just plain weirded out. I remember that I found my first couple of functions quite repulsive.
This is just my opinion based on my experiences. (Sorry for stealing Bo Short's signature.)
Sally,
Are you saying that there is no longer 9 core steps?
PW,
Yes, I think they would need to add some sort of short description, or if made available on the web have a short MP3 clip for a sample. In the end if I am picking that title to buy it was my choice, it is better then having one shipped to me that I never chose.
Ugh.
WWDB Premier membership savings. I want to puke.
This is simple math. Add up what is costs for Premier membership (the new requirement) and what it used to cost to be on standing order tape, etc.
Premier costs you more money!!!!
Ty,
What is the actual "Premier Member" cost? Wouldn't you want to be a "Premier Member"? It has such a status sound to it.
It may cost more for the IBO, but it costs less for the "kingpins" to support, so the net profit is even greater. IBO's lose again, unless they get active against their lying cowardly "kingpins", otherwise known as "business partners" or "teammates", and protest this continued abuse.
Qblog
I think the difference between your podcasts, and Standing Order Tapes is the podcast probably doesn't spend 50% of it's media content telling you to listen to another podcast. It took me to Ruby to realize that the majority of information on the tapes consisted of 1) Listen to more tapes 2) Buy extra tapes to give out 3) Order your spouse their own tape 4) Make sure you have a box with 100 tapes to sell when you do a training session with your group. Why would you want to spend 30-45 minutes of a tape telling you to listen to a 30-45 minute tape.
I didn't know Quixtar produced a regular tape program?
They used to, I have some seminar tapes from the 70's, and even product related tapes from the late 90's.
Quixtar? What is Quixtar?
See Insider, we all can play dumb.
Sally> It's certainly suggested simply because they contain stories from people who have started where the new IBO is starting and they have what the typical business building IBO has.
DI> That's so wonderful! When I was in college, I simply needed to listen to stories of other college students making it through college every week! That was so much more useful than learning the facts and concepts I needed to major and graduate!
Likewise, when we were starting up our business, what more could we have wanted than to hear nice stories about how people with similar businesses had succeeded! Forget local market analyses, selecting the best suppliers, learning the best ways to draw in customers, finding techniques to minimize everyday expenses and increase efficiency, etc...what really got us where we are were inspirational stories!
Sally> SOT also has training & motivation SPECIFIC to THIS business. Some will benefit you in your job, your marriage, other relationships, parenting, your spiritual life, etc. Mostly, they're designed to help you build the QUIXTAR business.
DI> I'm sorry, but when I need training for a business, anything else is superfluous and unnecessary. Businesses are for making money, not for helping your personal or spiritual life.
Drew, as you are no doubt aware I am pointing out, yet again, the tendency of people to overgeneralise. Even Amway in the old days did not produce many tapes. QBlog has probably not listened to any "Quixtar tapes", he has listened to some tapes produced by some company supporting some Quixtar IBOs. Some of these not-Quixtar tapes that I have heard excerpts or read transcripts of make me angry too.
Tex,
As I clearly stated, one of the requirements for EAGLE and DOUBLE EAGLE was SOT. It is now Premier Membership at $40.90/month. I'm sure for YOU, that's OUTRAGEOUS!
Drew,
There are 9 CORE steps. Premier Membership simply replaces SOT.
Don,
You are being unneccessarily sarcastic. I don't appreciate it. The collegiate example you gave was not an intelligent one so I won't even address it.
Don>Likewise, when we were starting up our business, what more could we have wanted than to hear nice stories about how people with similar businesses had succeeded! Forget local market analyses, selecting the best suppliers, learning the best ways to draw in customers, finding techniques to minimize everyday expenses and increase efficiency, etc...what really got us where we are were inspirational stories!
Sally>See????? It's statements like this that just kill your credibitlity! You don't even know what you're talking about!
There ARE tapes & seminars & meetings & books & websites on doing local, regional, national & international market analysis'. There are recommended teaching materials on 'drawing in' customers, minimizing expenses & increasing efficiency. We've had many materials either GIVEN to us, LOANED to us or recommended to us that have helped us in these areas.
Tsk tsk tsk...I'm soooo disappointed. I thought you might actually know a little about "the biz".
Sally> You are being unneccessarily sarcastic. I don't appreciate it. The collegiate example you gave was not an intelligent one so I won't even address it.
DI> The college example that I gave was parallelled the example that you gave. If it doesn't sound "intelligent" then neither is spending money on inspirational stories under the guise of "business building."
Sally> There ARE tapes & seminars & meetings & books & websites on doing local, regional, national & international market analysis'. There are recommended teaching materials on 'drawing in' customers, minimizing expenses & increasing efficiency. We've had many materials either GIVEN to us, LOANED to us or recommended to us that have helped us in these areas.
DI> Did I ever say there weren't? No, I didn't. My point was that "inspirational stories" are a waste of time and money if you're trying to build a business. Now, the real question is: what is the proportion of tools that teach actual business skills to the ones that have "stories"? Anyone care to make an educated guess based on your experience?
Sally, DI' college example was dead on as far as I can see. It may sound absurd, but that is only because it shows that the majority of the info on the tapes basically doesn't teach you anything but is just a lot of "rah-rah" and "keep on listening to more tapes" kind of stuff. I am not trying to be sarcastic, but pro AQ people have used the college education analogy to show how the "investment" of tools is so much less expensive compared to college classes and books. It is not unfair to further the analogy to compare the CONTENT of both "educations."
Also, is Premier Membership a part of going CORE and/ or being part of the Eagle/ Double Eagle program? If so, it doesn't make any sense to say that purchasing the tools are no longer a requirement for the Eagle program. They are just called something else.
DI & Inquiring Mind,
I stand my ground. Inspirational & Movtivational "stories" as you lightly call them, ARE extremely helpful in ANY business and especially THIS business. They are helpful because one who is trying to build their own business is doing something the "massess" are not doing. Most people DO just go to work day to day and live for the weekends as well as their annual vacation (if they're lucky enough to have one).
It's extremely tough to keep your chin up, have a positive attitude and keep your "eye on the goal", if you have people around you trying to persuade you to do something else or to just do what they're doing. This business gets HARD! I've been tempted to quit MANY MANY times because it would be so much easier to just be average and to live life based upon what our paycheck dictates. I've never been that way, nor do I ever intend to be that way.
When I was new at IBM and other top-notch corporations, they would pair me up with a rep who was very successful. I would listen to their many sales "stories" and experiences and that would help me in my efforts at that corporation. They continued to have the "winners" stand up and share their "stories" at seminars & sales meetings. These were very helpful in my own sales efforts. They have mentoring programs at schools. They now have buddy programs at elementary schools. These are designed for the older, more experienced person to share their "stories" (aka:experiences) with the less experienced individual. It has proven to be highly successful.
So, YOU may not need inspiration & motivation to build your own unique business, but I do.
Inquiring Mind,
This will be the THIRD time that I'm stating that yes, for WWDB, Premier Membership is one of the CORE steps and a requirement if you want to go EAGLE or DOUBLE EAGLE. For $40.90 per month, Premier Membership gives you an extensive 120+page personal website, along with heavily discounted tools (CD's are only $2.50 apiece), $500 worth of seminar tickets and more. I think that's a pretty damn good deal.
I'm sure you guys will all tear apart my answer. You're absolutely obsessed & convicted about spreading worthless information to others. I won't stand in your way anymore. Instead, I'm going to go spend my time doing my best to be a blessing in other peoples lives & doing my best to do what Jesus would do.
And that means, to no longer "gossip" on the internet.
I wish you all the very very best.
Sally
Sally,
Sorry I missed the two other times you responded to my question. From the tow following statements you made:
"Just an FYI..."tapes" or cd's or SOT, whatever you want to call it,is no longer a requirement for Eagle or Double Eagle"
My concern for you is that the Scriptural message you are hearing through Quixtar is so skewed and twisted to meet its needs. Many people who post here have had a run in, in one way or another, with people involved in Quixtar. I've seen my in-laws become so obsessed with meetings, funtions, tapes, you name it. They continue to use the idea that once they get rich, they can support so many ministries.
and
"There are 9 CORE steps. Premier Membership simply replaces SOT."
it almost sounded like going Eagle didn't require any purchasing of tools. I guess an easier way to answer my question would be to say that yes, part of becoming Eagle requires the movement of tools and function attendance. It would have been a bit clearer rather than saying premier membership replaces SOT.
My concern for you is that the Scriptural message you are hearing through Quixtar is so skewed and twisted to meet its needs. Many people who post here have had a run in, in one way or another, with people involved in Quixtar. I've seen my in-laws become so obsessed with meetings, funtions, tapes, you name it. They continue to use the idea that once they get rich, they can support so many ministries.
God didn't call us to serve Him once we are rich, He calls us to serve Him now, out of the time He gives us and the financial gifts He gives us as well.
If Quixtar was just a business, I wouldn't care at all, but when they pull Christ into it and twist the Word around, it becomes my business. I can't just sit back and let untruths continue, and let others continue to follow such lies.
Christ gives us so much more than material blessings. My hope is that you find a church home that provides for you the love and support in life that the quixtar business seems to have done.
Blessings in Him,
Inquiring mind
I stand my ground. Inspirational & Movtivational "stories" as you lightly call them, ARE extremely helpful in ANY business and especially THIS business.
If they're so helpful, why don't so many more businesses use them? I've never had a single mention of any sort of motivation training at any job I've held. If a business wants to make its employees happy they usually do so by raising wages, bringing up the work areas, benefits, vacation time etc. Motivation seminars or tapes are hardly ever used in the real world, especially compared to how Quixtar uses them.
It's extremely tough to keep your chin up, have a positive attitude and keep your "eye on the goal", if you have people around you trying to persuade you to do something else or to just do what they're doing.
Think about that statement for a second. I'd like to know how many of the other posters here are badgered to quit their job all the time, or are worried about internet "negatives" affecting them.
So, YOU may not need inspiration & motivation to build your own unique business, but I do.
So you need to buy them from someone for $7 when they could post them for free as an mp3 for IBO's to download? For such a cutting edge e-commerce business, it certainly doesn't take advantage of th internet.
Fitz,
I don't expect that they would provide motivation or inspiration to minimum wage employees....I've experienced this same, exact type of training (even with the hoorah stuff & the SAME books & some of the SAME speakers!!!) when I had sales & management positions. You might need to get kicked around a little bit out there in the minimum wage world to appreciate a sense of inspiration & motivation.
The content of the CD's and books are not currently offered in MP3 form. I don't even have an MP3 player. What do I need it for??? I listen to CD's in the car OR I listen to Christian radio OR I listen to little kids' cd's (I have two little boys). Once in awhile, I gotta put on some rock. :-) Anyway, as a Premier Member, I pay only $2.50 per CD. Hardly gonna break the bank on those, huh?
I've been thinking about this. Quixtar says it's the upline's duty to provide training and motivation. That's really curious. When I think of someone who needs to learn a new skill, I think training but not motivation. Has Amway always talked about motivation or did that happen only when the kingpins took over? Just wondering.
I don't think there is anything wrong with the tapes in general. I think many IBOs who are in Quixtar find them motivational. What I don't like is the SOT program that is "optional" (but so is success).
What would be wrong with a system where you just bought the tapes you liked, or wished to listen to? Maybe end up with your own favorite speaker etc. I admit while in there were tapes that I liked and there are also tapes that I wished I could have gotten my SOT payment back. But when upline is giving $.50 for open tapes, why bother?
Posted by: Drew | May 18, 2006 6:33 AM