March of Perceptions Archive
April 2, 2005
MOP Conclusion
Posted by QBlog
Well, it's April and that means the March of Perceptions has come to an end. I believe the project was a tremendous success and apparently many of you agree. I would like to thank all those who participated and it's your efforts that made this project so special.
Since MOP is done, I'll share a few of my observations about the project. When I conceived the project, my idea was to give a few trustworthy IBOs the ability to post on my blog, with virtually no restrictions. I really didn't know what to expect, though I was prepared for anything. I wouldn't have minded if the bulk of the posts were critical of my blog or zealously endorsed Quixtar and all its related businesses. I was cool with pretty much anything and wanted each IBO to feel free to speak his or her mind.
But what happened was something quite different. What happened was a very rational, respectful and insightful dialogue about Quixtar and much, much more. What happened is the type of thing that should be happening on Quixtar controlled Web sites — sharing ideas — pointing out serious flaws — promoting successful sales methods — and more. Discussion that is conspicuously absent from Quixtar.com, the blogs it controls (with a few delightful exceptions) or any of its scores of Web sites.
And why is that? Why is it that IBOs find things here that isn't offered by the business that claims to support them? Why is it that information, diverse opinions, open and uncensored discussion is offered here, for free, on a blog controlled by a non-IBO? What does that say about the Quixtar business? What does that say about its leaders?
I really don't know the answer to those questions. I have some guesses, and maybe they're correct but I don't really know. What I do know is that IBOs want information. They want to engage in conversations. They want to share their perceptions and to do so without the threat of retaliation by their upline, their Line of Affiliation or the Corporation itself. And if the Quixtar culture refuses to give them what they want, they'll go get it somewhere else. Somewhere like the Quixtar BLOG.
March 31, 2005
From The Mountain
Posted by David Robison
"And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land"
Those are eloquent words. I would not attempt, nor imply, nor infer, that I am in any way as eloquent as the Reverend King. Nor do I want to minimize his message of justice and civil rights for all Americans, but rather I would like to use his words as inspiration for my final entry as a March of Perceptions guest blogger.
If I had the chance, to go back in the history of Quixtar as a corporation, I would not have to travel too far back in time; a mere 6 years; so I would rather decide to travel back into the history of Amway Corporation. Back even before Amway, I would travel into the history of the Ja-Ri Corporation. I'd be there as Rich DeVos struck a deal with Jay Van Andel. The historical one where Rich offered Jay gas money, in exchange for a ride. I would watch as their friendship grew, but I wouldn't stop there. I'd be there when they opened their aviation school, their drive-in restaraunt; I'd be there when their boat sank off the coast of Cuba.
I'd be there when they began their Nutrilite partnership, and I'd be there when they decided Amway would be the answer for their group of distributors.
But I wouldn't stop there — I'd be there as Amway grew. Right up into the 1970s, when Amway offered training for their distributors. Complete programs to sponsor, to sell products, to grow as businessmen.
But I would not stop there; no I would endure the 60 Minutes interview of the 1980s. I would endure the "Fake it Till You Make It" book expose'.
And I would endure my experience in Amway, as a distributor in the 80s as Amway, the training company and products company, gave way to the Amway, that was just a products company and effectively gave all training control to it's distributors. I would witness the birth of these Amway Motivational Organizations.
And I'd be there when Rich and Jay stepped down and their kids took over. I'd be there when Quixtar started.
I would witness the existing IBOs take an idea that was born to provide more independence to the newest IBO, and transfer it back to the motivational systems of Amway.
And after scanning over all the history of corporation, I would ask to remain in this time today.
That's a strange statement I know. Why would I struggle against the mounting information on the Internet about this company? The confusion of motivational organizations clouding information. The deceptions, and even more, the revelations of dishonest practices.
But I am happy to be involved at this time, because I am now forced, as every ethical IBO should be forced, to grapple with these problems. To solve the problems of a company trapped by the bottom line. But it is becoming a problem not of just a "negative presence" on the Internet. The problem has the potential of making the company fade into non-existence on the Internet and in the world.
What does this mean to new IBOs? It means they must research, study and face the realities of the business they have chosen. They must embrace "cross-lining" of information and work together in unity. They must revert back to those days of Rich and Jay. They must provide an opportunity to anyone with the desire to have a business of their own, by duplicating, not a motivational system, but a marketing plan available to anyone that has the ability to comprehend the materials in a small sales and marketing kit.
If it takes the act of blogging. Then we must blog. If it takes the action of setting up like-minded communities on the web, then we shall inform. We must stress the advantages of product sales, of sound business, and open honest discussion and training, not motivation and hero worship.
Somewhere, I read the words, Independent; somewhere I read the words, Business; and somewhere I read the words, Ownership. It's time that we as IBOs become true to those words.
It's alright to talk about the negative comments on the "bathroom walls", but we can not ask the Corporation to clean these walls, we must in fact decide to change, to not be the inspiration for these negative comments. We must not point to the "losers" who quit, but rather we must look at our practices and ourselves lest we become even a worst "loser'. Not a loser who "steals dreams" but a loser who corrupts the original dream of those founders that wanted to provide an opportunity to those desiring to better their lives through simple business ownership.
We don't have to argue with anyone, we don't have to curse anyone. We don't have to answer charges by "critics" of our business, if we are actually running OUR business of being a Quixtar Independent Business Owner. We should not be a pawn of some motivational system that defies corporate policy, or minimizes the infrastructure and principles that the founders originally wanted all IBOs to be a part of.
And if we build organizations of IBOs on these principles, then matters of arbitration, scandal, terminations, Google Bombing and "quitters" will fade into the past. Because the future will be bright for each IBO and the corporation will thrive on the Internet.
The question is not; What will happen to me as an IBO, if I decide to act independently? The question is what will happen to Quixtar Corporation, our business; if we continue to provide the impetus for lawsuits, complaints, and negative websites?
And how will we survive as business owners? That's the question.
Well, I don't know what will happen. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter to me now. Because I have been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like any IBO, I want to be a Diamond; I want to be a Crown Ambassador. But I am not concerned about that now. I just want to run a business within the Rules. And the way it was run by the Founders has allowed me to look back in history, as if I was on a mountain. I have seen how it was once accomplished. I have seen the promised land. I may not get there, with you. But I want you to know that any IBO CAN get there. I'm not worried. I can not fear the future, only change the present. My eyes have seen the "name changes", but my spirit sees real changes.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
Awake But Still in Oz
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
"This business is the only thing out there that's working," we're told at Quixtar open meetings. However, it's NOT working for us. Who is it working for? Very few people. At what cost to the people downline from them? There were so many red flags during the first couple of years of participating in the WWDB system that I should've gotten the clue, but I wanted to believe.
If we're not even doing the CORE steps right now, why are we still in? Hanging on out of false pride? Too embarrassed to quit now? Hoping beyond hope that this year we will make ourselves do this? Meanwhile we keep giving our hard-earned money to the Diamonds. This is wrong. If this were a conventional business, we would have stopped after five years of losses and moved on to something else.
I do understand why it's hard for my husband to wake up. After investing over a decade of our lives, it would be very painful to quit now. We'd be acknowledging that we've wasted 25% of our working life on this. We'd be acknowledging that we were wrong, that we'd been duped, that all those prospects that turned us down were right. Since waking up, I've had to study and learn and rethink EVERYTHING that I once believed — not an easy process. I've had to reexamine all that I thought was true. I now don't trust my judgment or my instincts like I used to. This waking up process has shaken my world in countless ways. The business was my life. It would've been easier to stay deceived.
So what now? I've woken up from my nightmare of Oz, but I'm still choosing to live in it. Can I function within a system that promotes exaggerations and fallacies? Can I make this work and go Ruby by focusing on retail profitability like Jennifer7Lee? By getting excited about talking about our best, most price-competitive products, truly teaching others how to sell them, helping lower pins to be profitable? Sure I could. So then, it IS direct selling. Direct selling is not what was promoted to me and not what I signed up for. I was all for buying from ourselves and teaching others to do the same (before I learned that it was illegal). Direct selling is NOT what I want to do with my life; so I'm not going to try to redeem my previous years by making this into a real retail business for myself. I'm ready to move on from this to a new life.
Besides, what about the completely unacceptable BSMAA contract which Quixtar puts out for the protection of the AQMOs and itself? What about Quixtar's support of the kingpins over individual IBOs as evidenced by stories like Jeff's, Eric's, and Bo's? I can't promote a company that acts that way — can you?
So, for now, I smile, I listen, I love people and I do what I can to help those downline from me treat this like a real business, even if we don't. I love on my husband, I go with him to the functions, and I do call-in/product pickup. Why don't I set my foot down and refuse to participate with him? Because I want to keep his heart and our oneness, not put a wall between us. I want him to see it for himself and then resent the business, not me. He knows what I think; now I can be patient. I wouldn't expect others to do the same, but this is what I'm choosing to do. The fact that we're not charging forward right now makes it easier because I'm not in the position of contradicting him; if it came to that, we'd be having more discussions, that's for sure! Quixtarblog has become my "Q-Anon" meeting that helps me to cope while I'm still in the middle of Oz.
Thank you, QBlog, for inviting me to share my story on your blog; it was an honor to be asked. Thank you for your time and efforts with the blog and forum, which have helped me to keep my sanity and have added so much to the Internet Quixtar conversation. Thank you to all the participants of quixtarblog for sharing, discussing, and debating; you certainly have caused me to think!
Quixtarblog rules!
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 29, 2005
Wakeup Factor #7 - Fallacies and Credibility
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
At the functions that I attend, I now pay closer attention to the fallacies that WWDB teaches. I believe the biggest and most pervasive deception is the contention that no one is making it in the traditional business world, that we are all on a treadmill and can't get ahead, that business as usual doesn't work. Through their clever stories, the Diamonds create a need that wasn't there before by asking things like, "Do you make all the money you want to make? Is your debt putting you under financial stress? Do you have time to do all the things you want to do? Don't you want your life back?" Then, they dangle the carrot of freedom with ongoing income, and you're hooked.
They fail to mention that most likely the Quixtar business and their motivational system are going to COST you A LOT of money, that you will be under even MORE financial stress paying for their tools and functions, that you will have even LESS time to do things that you've always found time for before Quixtar was in your life, and that the likelihood of you gaining the freedom with ongoing income that you were picturing the first day you heard of it doesn't even exist.
My husband still believes that there is true freedom in this business, and he wants it desperately. He is now permanently discontent with working 8-10 hours per day, 5 days a week, says that he "can't do this much longer" and that Quixtar is the only hope we have for our future.
Ironically, we've been doing very well with our job income in recent years, but he still has the "I don't want to do this job anymore" attitude to which I ask him "well then, what do you want to do?" — hoping that his answer will have something to do with one of the passions we had before we got into Amway. But no, his reply is "I just want to be free." As if we will be free in Quixtar, ha! What he doesn't want to see is that we would work this business for 50+ hours per week too. We'd become vampires — up all night long and sleeping our sunshine away. Diamonds may have freedom during the day, but they work every night. If they don't, then they will lose their business — almost half of WWDB Diamonds are out-of-qualification at this time. It seems that freedom at Diamond is much more a myth than reality.
The Diamonds sound so credible, caring, and wise when they are speaking. They know just what to say and how to say it to pull those heartstrings. I have no credibility with my husband compared to them. They are — or at least seem to be — godly men of character, honesty, and integrity. He thinks I'm arrogant for thinking I know something that they don't know, and for thinking that any of them might be anything less than the pillars of America. Even I have a hard time believing that Ron Puryear is either a deceiver or deceived. He seems too kind to deceive; he seems too wise to be deceived.
My husband blames my "negative" attitude on himself because we haven't gone Diamond yet. He knows I'm wrong, and that it's his fault for not already providing me with riches. Since I used to believe everything the system teaches, he's sure that I'm negative only from our lack of success. He has a system answer to every argument I bring up about the fallacies and deceptions I see, and he doesn't waver from them.
People need to be taught to recognize fallacies. They are everywhere in advertising/marketing. Fallacies are put forward as facts and truths throughout Quixtar plan presentations. I appreciate this forum because the fallacies are exposed as such, and people are shown how to identify the fallacies and how to analyze the facts.
I think most of the Diamonds believe the fallacies they promote. That's why they are so good at promoting them. Some may see through the deception, but those Diamonds don't have the guts, like Bo Short, to publicly say they were wrong and then start over. Would I in their place? I hope so, but I don't know. After all, I kept the Platinum "tool money", didn't I?
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
Guest Blogging 101: Lessons Learned
Posted by Windy Hill
It's the end of March and the end of MOP and I have to tell you I'm glad this is over. You all are an interesting — if brutal — lot that I can't say I've thoroughly enjoyed interacting with. Since this is our last time together, I'd like to post a list of lessons learned. In no particular order of importance:
- I'm not cut out for "real" links-and-comments blogging. I think I'll stick to the journaling end of the spectrum (and no, I'm not going to give my url here).
- People who comment on blogs can be very rude. In fact I dare say they'll type things that they'd never say to you in person.
- People who comment on blogs can be very fair, sometimes taking the rude ones to task for impolite comments. In a polite way, of course.
- Most people who comment on blogs have their minds made up about a topic and nothing you say can change it.
- Some people who comment on blogs remain open minded and are willing to consider another viewpoint.
- If you cannot adequately support your viewpoint, stay off the blog.
- Even if you supply facts and data in a decidedly dispassionate manner, people itching for a fight will see bias and comment accordingly.
If you are guest blogging, do not expect the webmaster to:
- Defend you
- Fact check your stuff
- Add in all your links for you
- Send you a T-shirt
- Or otherwise acknowledge your presence
He is busy — why do you think he has guest bloggers in the first place?
If you are guest blogging, you can expect the webmaster to:
- Suggest topics if you experience writer's block
- Require promptness in posting
- Add in links if you didn't have any
- Wheedle and cajole posts out of you when nobody else comes through for that day
- Get a little exasperated if you post then delete (twice) before he has a chance to publish
You can meet good people if you take up blogging, which is how I came to guest blog in the first place. In fact, I've cultivated a couple of friendships online now and plan to continue getting to know new and different people as I blog.
Just because the people are good does not mean you should guest blog on their sites. It just might ruin that new friendship.
Whew! I am so over March of Perceptions. But thanks, QBlog, for hosting what has been an interesting forum. I hope to see more of this kind of thing on Quixtar Blog. (just don't ask me to guest!) LOL
- Windy
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 26, 2005
Wakeup Factor #6 - Pain
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
Waking up from the nightmare that is the World Wide Dreambuilders system came gradually. I learned about the tool money the Diamonds earn from the system. I figured out that there is no ongoing income at Diamond without continuing to work the business. I didn't see enough people around me moving on. I was tired of feeling guilty all the time about not yet going Ruby and Diamond. However, I could live with those factors and still let myself be blinded, but there was one factor that I could ignore no longer — PAIN.
We became great friends with many of our downline. How could we avoid it? We spent all our time with people in our downline; we'd drifted from our old friends because we were unavailable, could not relate to normal people anymore, and were afraid of negative association! So for years the small amount of socializing we've done has been with our favorite downline who have become our new group of friends.
Most of the people who have been with us from the beginning of our Amway experience had reached 1000pv, 2500pv, or 4000pv at some point during the last decade. Just like the Diamonds, most everyone has sunk back to a lower PV level, usually back to 1/3rd of their highest level. They do not make a net profit because they continue to plug into the system out of loyalty to our group and the hope that someday they will achieve their own dreams.
Plugging into the system (premier membership, standing order tape, functions, voicemail, etc) without the bonus from Quixtar to pay for it becomes a serious drain on one's finances over a long period of time. If you are CORE, this can be $5000 — $10,000 per year, no problem.
I've watched my friends tank financially (repo'd cars, foreclosed homes, ruined credit), but continue to stay plugged into the system paying the same $5000+ per year. It's crazy. They're hanging on to hope because they're told this is the best thing they can do with their lives. Some stay in because now they REALLY need it to dig themselves out of the hole they've gotten themselves into. They do not pursue promotions at their jobs because they're told at functions that if they change jobs they will lose their focus on the business. Some stay in because they have no idea what else they would do — every other career has been maligned by the Diamonds as a dead-end in the rut world.
It's been easier for us to stay in, not as financially painful; we've had significant bonus checks for years, but what about my friends? Most have gotten out, but the most loyal ones don't walk away because of the relationships formed. And year after year, behind their now plastic smiles, I see PAIN.
- The pain of financial disaster
- The pain of unreached dreams that they've cultivated for years
- The pain of missing out on the most cherished events in life – weddings, birthdays, family reunions (the real ones)
- The pain of failure at non-achievement
- The pain of attendance at ANOTHER function without crossing stage
- The pain of being asked, yet again, "Is this Amway?"
- The pain of being handed a two-inch pile of papers printed off the Internet by another prospect
- The pain of wondering, "Will I ever get to Ruby, much less Diamond?"
Why aren't these people told to let go of the business and move on? When a downline asks if they "should go to the next function," we ARE trained to tell them "no" because a person who's asking isn't ready and doesn't really want to go. However, these are not the people who would ask. Ron Puryear has taught to upgrade AND downgrade people to their true level on a CD, but I've NEVER seen a downgrade in action. No one sets a meeting to tell the old timers to quit, and as we all know, "Winners never quit!"
Diamonds, please stop their pain. Let them move on to something else and keep their self-respect at the same time. Why won't you let them go?
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 24, 2005
The business about the business
Posted by Windy Hill
I was thinking that QBlog's readers might enjoy knowing a little more of the businesses behind the business that is the subject of so much debate here.
What follows is information anyone can find by perusing the several official websites of Alticor and its subsidiaries, Amway, Quixtar, and Access. But just so you don't have to do too much digging, I've distilled it here for you.
As you no doubt know, Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel were best friends in high school and lifelong business partners whose one-product business begun in Jay's basement in the late 1950s became the multibillion dollar global enterprise most people in the world know as Amway.
Today the company called Alticor Inc. is a global corporation with products, business opportunities and manufacturing and logistics services in more than 80 countries. It is a HUGE operation and is the parent company of:
- Amway Corp., the direct selling company founded in 1959
- Quixtar Inc., the North American online affiliate
- Access Business Group, the manufacturer and distributor of products worldwide for Alticor and non-Alticor companies.
Alticor's world headquarters covers an area of over 1 million sq. ft. The "Miracle Mile" as it is called stretches along Fulton St. in the sleepy town of Ada, Michigan, where the company is definitely the biggest thing going.
Product development, manufacturing, logistics
Alticor's product focus is on nutrition, wellness, beauty, and home products. The company owns or manages manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the world, including manufacturing facilities in China and the United States and distribution facilities in North America, Europe, and the Far East.
Access Business Group's R & D team consists of more than 400 employees in 65 labs worldwide. Their website says they can take a product from concept to production — including all the formulation, testing and etc. in between. The company holds 450 patents with another 250 patents pending.
Manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. include production of more than 500 different products in a 265 acre manufacturing complex here in Michigan and a half-million square feet of manufacturing space in California. Access also operates about 7,000 acres of organic-certified farmland in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil.
As a logistics and fulfillment service, Access covers 1.725 million sq. ft. of distribution space, processing over 14 million packages yearly in the U.S. alone.
Like I said, this is no small enterprise.
Living better lives
More than 13,000 people work for Alticor around the world, including close to 4,000 in West Michigan. It is one of the region's top employers and has always been known as a fair and family friendly company to work for. The company is visible and active in community on many fronts, from partnering with the local school district to provide tutoring to inner city kids to sending busloads of volunteers to help with cleanup and rebuilding in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
In addition, the business opportunities you know as Quixtar (North America) and Amway (everywhere else) help more than 3.6 million people all over the world own and operate their own independent businesses. These are the IBOs you are all so familiar with.
In my view, the company's mission, helping people live better lives, is a statement that applies not only to those helped by the business opportunity, but also to those thousands of others whose livelihoods are inextricably tied to the fortunes of IBOs: people all over the world who are employed by Alticor.
Family legacy
The DeVos and Van Andel families are well known here as successful business leaders whose legacy I'd be hard pressed to imagine is matched in many other communities.
The families' philanthropy has been legendary. Their generosity is visible everywhere around Grand Rapids — from the Van Andel Research Institute, dedicated to improving human health, to the new state-of-the-art DeVos Place Convention Center.
The families were pioneers in the revitalization of downtown Grand Rapids in the early 1980s when they renovated the turn-of-the-century Pantlind Hotel to create the award-winning Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. They continue giving back to the community by funding or supporting initiatives in the arts, health, education, and social services.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 22, 2005
How Do You Like MOP?
Posted by QBlog
So what do you think about the "March of Perceptions" so far? There are less than two weeks left for this special project and I'd just like to know your opinion. Love it? Hate it? Get itchy thinking about it?
I'll just say that I'm really enjoying it. It's fascinating to see how IBOs have different perspectives of the same business. If you missed out on the beginning of the project, visit the blog archives and look under the "March of Perceptions" category.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 19, 2005
Wakeup Factor #5 - Guilt
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
Guilt appears in so many forms in my QMO that a book could be written just on this one subject.
The kind of guilt I see at the functions is heartbreaking. As people are chatting before and after opens, rallies, etc., (remember, we are encouraged to come early and stay late!) inevitably they talk about what's going on in their life. If they've moved to a new house, they tell me about it excitedly, but then add the self-deprecating comment, "of course, it isn't my dream house, but then I just haven't shown enough plans yet." And they have true guilt when they say it.
In fact, I would say about 75% of conversations I have with people at functions include some kind of "I'm a loser because I haven't done this thing yet" comment. They don't think anything good should happen in their life unless it stems from this business. They're embarrassed to share about a vacation they took if it wasn't a business trip. They are embarrassed to report any "blessings" in their life if they haven't gone Platinum or Ruby.
I've seen in more than one person in my own downline how instead of building them up, the system actually has torn them down until they don't think they can do anything great in life because after all, they haven't even done this one "simple, but not easy" thing of going Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond. This is over a long period of time, of course. 5-plus years in before one truly loses any self-esteem, I think, because they've now passed the 2-5 year plan mark without having even gone direct. They're told every day on a tape that anyone can do this in 6-12 months. Most veterans in my downline have had to completely break away from the system first, and THEN they begin to build their belief back in themselves that they can achieve in something else. So much GUILT.
I lived for over 10 years with daily guilt that we hadn't been CORE consistently yet, so we weren't fulfilling our calling in life. Oh my gosh, it's overwhelming to see how twisted my thinking was.
It's my mission at functions now to stop people when they begin the guilt comments and to build them up in some way. I'm making progress with my own downline; I see them feeling more freedom to be themselves around me, now that I don't expect them to be AmQuixbots like I was. So good is coming from this transformation in me even now!
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 17, 2005
Wakeup Factor #4 - Platinum Slaves
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
TOO MUCH WORK, TOO LITTLE PROFIT — After years of volunteering our efforts, I've finally figured it out. Platinums are the slaves of the system. We do all the grunt work of the business. We service the IBOs, make the retail sales, do the Artistry Clinics, show the board plans, teach the "nuts & bolts", answer a hundred questions a week over voicemail/phone, "counsel" those who ask, and encourage the brokenhearted ones who are trying their best, but just not making it.
We work the functions, come early, stay late, borrow cars to host Diamonds, make fruitbaskets and signs for their hotel rooms, grovel with a smile, and stay up all night, for days on end while telling the Diamonds how grateful we are that they are helping us. Helping us? You mean by coming to our city to speak for a few hours and receiving thousands of our dollars for it? And then they tease us in front of others that we must really love our jobs or we would be Diamonds by now! Gotta love it.
Shouldn't there be decent pay for your efforts at every level? At Platinum, there are so many more costs because the buck stops here as far as Quixtar is concerned. We swallow all the discontinued inventory (I realize this is WWDB only now, but it's still a large expense for me). We refund returned tools (unless we're unethical, which I am not). We go to extra Platinum-only functions at resorts that we can't yet afford. We stay at nicer hotels at the major functions. We drive more miles, are gone more weekends, hand out free CDs and books right and left at the meetings we do. Most of the bonus money we receive goes back into travel, tools, functions and inventory, which means that most of the money we earn from Quixtar is funneled directly or indirectly back into our uplines' pockets (So in a sense, the Diamonds earn ALL the bonus money from Quixtar).
This is A LOT OF WORK on both of our parts for LITTLE profit. To make a respectable RETAIL profit would mean a lot MORE work. 8-10 Hours per Week? Right!
I used to think, "How cool that we will only have to do this for five or so years for riches and freedom!" I didn't like the work. I didn't like the plans, the callin and pickup, sitting for days at functions, doing the Artistry clinics, but I thought it would be worth it. Now I think, "Where could we be right now if we had put this effort into a traditional business for the last 10 years instead?
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 15, 2005
Wakeup Factor #3 - No Success
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
I think I really started to see that the system does not work when I realized that NOBODY IS MOVING ON. Ok, well, WWDB has had anywhere from one to twelve new Diamonds per year since I've been; so obviously somebody is moving on, but even many of those have gone backwards since first qualifying as Diamonds.
I was in for about two to three years before I started to notice this lack of success. It takes two years to get your bearings on who people are and who's growing. In the beginning, it seems like everybody is "moving on" because there are people crossing stage at every function.
I've watched most Platinums stay at Platinum, while a few go on to Emerald, and only a handful to Diamond. For ten years I blamed this on the work habit. "Obviously, most are not willing to do the work." We've blamed our own lack of growth on our weak work habit. In WWDB, work habit is defined as "show 10 or sponsor 2."
Then, as we approached Platinum and became "leaders," I looked at my own downline in a different way than ever before. I saw their frustration at giving this their all, but never moving ahead. I watched some prospect and prospect, but never show the plan. I watched some STP and STP, but never sponsor. I watched some sponsor and sponsor, but never go Eagle. And yes, I even watched some retail and retail, but never pass 300pv.
Why? Why weren't they moving on? After all AmQuix products are awesome and the system works, so they must need to listen to another tape or go to another function to get what they need — the magic ingredient that will cause them to do it, right? The Diamonds have such great wisdom and knowledge; if only we could be more like them?
These thoughts nagged at me for a long time, but after ten years, that way of thinking wasn't acceptable anymore. I KNEW these people. I don't really know the Diamonds and the Emeralds, but I DO know my downline; they are my friends. So I know that they are giving it their all. As PW mentioned in the comments of my story, "Can the amount of work you did be defined by the results you got?" and "How much work do you have to do with no results before it counts as work?" It took me over a decade to accept that many of us ARE giving everything we've got, and the truth is that THE SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK. Yes, a very small few will make it, but the majority won't. (We will NOT get into "The Pyramid Is Negative" here. This is how I saw it before I had a clue about TPIN, saturation, etc.)
The final straw for me was at an FED during my "wakeup" year, when I looked out at thousands of hopeful faces realizing that many were the same faces I'd been looking at for years. I include Platinums most of all in this, because Platinum is a painful place to sit for a long period of time. Platinums do ALL the work for no pay. Once you go Platinum, it's nearly impossible to disappear quietly because everyone is looking to you for hope. The other Platinums become your friends — peer pressure increases dramatically.
In one moment, I saw the scam.
So few Diamonds — so many people who want to be. Surely, more than fifty couples here have put in the "Fast Track" effort? Surely more than fifty in the 10+ years we've been in? And if not, then why not? And why don't they do something else?
Because the Diamonds tell them not to. In a hundred different ways with a hundred different stories, the Diamonds tell them they will be losers if they don't keep trying. That they will live in a "rut" forever, because nothing else will give them "freedom" except this. That they are winners just for being at FED. That they need to hold on and stay in until they make it.
ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS LISTEN TO ANOTHER TAPE AND ATTEND ANOTHER FUNCTION, and then go out and do it.
In one moment, the veil was lifted from my eyes, and I saw it.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
What you can't get from QBlog
Posted by Windy Hill
This blog has become an authoritative resource for many who are looking for information about Quixtar. Most of what is here is well-reasoned, well-researched, and well-written. QBlog claims to be objective and for the most part the content bears that out.
There's a vibrant, vital community established here of faithful readers and commenters. The many participants debate, offer advice, ask for information, and bicker, just like in any group of people who partake in communal dialogue on a subject.
If you want information you've come to the right place. If you like controversy, it's here. If you want dialogue, humor, informed opinions, a good read, yeah, yeah you know what I'm saying. QBlog gives good blog.
BUT if you come here for help, if you come here searching something you can't quite articulate, if you're looking for unwavering affirmation for your waffling soul, I say be careful about coming to any conclusions based on what you learn here. Consider:
- QBlog is a third party observer, which puts the blog at a disadvantage when it comes to reporting/opining on Quixtar business matters. Although his wife once was an IBO and he has a basic knowledge of the business and how it works, he lacks access to much information available to IBOs.
- While QBlog claims to be objective, many of his readers decidedly are not. Those who comment on this blog are overwhelmingly critical of Quixtar and its business. This means that any of the fallout from the discussions here tends to be negative, sometimes to the extent of canceling out - or at least overshadowing - positive aspects of the content.
- Objectivity, while a good thing in, say, journalism, does effectively prevent one view or another from being put forward. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Only potentially confusing for one trying to make sense of the varying pieces of information found here.
There is a discussion going on this week in the March of Perceptions section of this site that illustrates my point.
A new IBO is reading here, and he is having a crisis of confidence. He's having doubts about the business, his upline, and his own involvement. He's found some positive attitudes and intriguing information here -- a different way of looking of things that he admires -- and says so.
But he also gets applauded in his doubts by the disgruntled who frequent this site, lurking like vultures for just such a weakness to be revealed. The guy is earnestly looking for help. But he can't get it here.
Think about it. Neither QBlog nor his reader commenters can help this guy out. Nor are they particularly interested in doing so. This blog may be a place to come and learn some things about Quixtar, but it is not a place that will tell you "Join," "Stay," or "Run for your life." The catcalls of negative commentary aren't much help, either.
This new IBO will not get the advice he needs from this community, but someone needs to tell him. Tell him to approach his upline again with his questions. If he still isn't satisfied, tell him to call the company and describe what he heard from his upline. The things he relates here are not right. Tell him the admirable practices that he read on this blog cannot be sustained by working through a different line of affiliation where there is no (tools) system in place to support him. Tell him that that if he goes against his upline's teaching, they will drop him like they never knew him.
Tell him that for those reasons, he probably needs to find himself another business. And that these are things he's not going to get from reading QBlog.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 12, 2005
Wakeup Factor #2 - Ongoing Income
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
Where have all the Diamonds gone? I count 25 out-of-qualification Diamonds from WWDB alone (out of the 56 total that I know of). I was devastated when I first learned of a Diamond falling "out." Now, I see that it happens all the time. So is there freedom in this business or not?
Do you have to be "Brad Wolgamott-driven" to keep your current legs growing without personally sponsoring? We haven't made ourselves do this thing yet — how will we stay that driven for the long haul? It's not who we are, and it's not why we started this.
We started this to fund our true passions, but those dreams are long gone. Now it's only acceptable if this biz is our #1 passion. As I see it, it will only work long term if we work it fulltime forever. Who is there at the top that doesn't work it but has a true legacy? Ron Puryear, Greg Duncan, Brad Duncan?
Brad Duncan shared at Go Diamond Weekend (Platinums & above only) that he worked this 5 nights a week for 10 years straight to have the freedom and money he has now. And he didn't include driving time, function time, voicemail time, counseling time, call-in/pickup time, or nuts & bolts time. In January, all current Diamonds made a public commitment to sponsor 24 new "legs" this year. Why? Just to be an example? Diamond freedom isn't good enough? Or, is it that if a Diamond doesn't keep up CORE habits, then his downline won't either?
That's not what I was shown and not what I signed up for. What happened to 8-10 hrs per week for 2-5 years? When will I get time for my dreams? No, not the fancy house and cars, not the trips with Quixtar IBOs, but the dreams I had when I started this thing — the real passions I had before I attended a hundred functions and listened to a thousand tapes?
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 10, 2005
No Doubt
Posted by David Robison
I decided to order business cards today.
I ordered them from one of Quixtar's Partner Stores, The Complete Printshop (BTW, in regards to Monday's Post at QuixtarBlog; The Complete Printshop has a customized page for IBO visits with Quixtar-specific products. I was unable to find their public site outside of Quixtar. I'm not sure what the arrangement is).
Where was I? Oh yeah, business cards.
Now, I'm sure you have seen countless IBO business cards. The one indistinguishable trait is that you usually can't tell what the heck the business card is about.
They usually have a business name, the contact person is always President (even if it isn't a corporation) and they say clever things like Private Franchising Consultant, E-Commerce Marketing Strategist or some other vague thing.
This all goes to the whole problem of the Mysterious Meeting or Curiosity Approach.
I use a different approach. The Straight-Forward Approach.
This doesn't involve word games, or stalking someone at a bookstore.
It's pretty simple, really.
When I meet someone, and they ask me what I do for a living; I tell them.
"Dave, what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a partner in a home renovation business, but I really want to be a comic. I also have a Direct Sales/Multilevel Marketing Business.
Now, if that satisfies them. Cool. They ain't interested in what I do.
If they say, "Oh really? MLM? Hmmmmm, what company are you with?"
I do something really different. I TELL THEM!
"I operate a Quixtar-affiliated Independent Business. I use virtual communities to build an organization of other Quixtar Independent Business Owners and we market products via websites and personal contact." Or something to that effect, depends on how formal I am feeling that day.
If they say, "hmmm, that ain't for me." or "really? that's interesting...I have a hangnail that's giving me some problems."
Then, guess what?
I console with them about hangnails, and don't try to sell them!
It doesn't mean they hate me. It doesn't mean they are losers. It doesn't mean they aren't interested in me, personally.
It just means they got the answer. And they aren't curious anymore.
If they say, "Really? Tell me, does that work for you?" or "I have heard some good things and bad things about that."
Then, they might want to know more, and they might be willing to hear more and I proceed from there.
Okay, back to those business cards.
The cards will have my company name, Robison and Associates (I've used that name for years), my name, address, phone number and something I am pretty proud of — The Quixtar logo and name. The Quixtar website address, my IBO number and of course my personal favorite, the web address to On the Road with Dave.
And right under Robison and Associates will be the line,
"QUIXTAR-affiliated Independent Business Owner (IBO)"
There shouldn't be any doubt as to what business I am in; and I don't want any.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 8, 2005
Wakeup Factor #1 - Tool Money
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
I was nauseated for days the first time I heard that Platinums and above make money on tools and the system. How much? No one would say. My first thought was, "I can't promote these tapes if I'm getting a cut!" I told myself then that I wouldn't keep any system money personally — just Amway income only. I would pass the "tool break" on to my downline when the time came. And then later, much later, we went Platinum. And I kept the money. I considered it a fair servicing fee for my "hard work" and an inventory bonus that I desperately needed. Besides, it wasn't much at that level. We weren't buying fancy cars with it. It's unbelievable what a WWDB Platinum needs to invest to run Quixtar and Motivation inventory businesses!
They said in the plan, "We don't make money until you make money." A strong hook for me, actually. Then later, after I became a loyalist, they revealed that Platinums and above do make money selling "tools." Diamonds & Emeralds do make money getting people to functions and speaking at them. It's profit upfront with or without helping people make any money. They didn't explain it in "the Plan." It was hidden; it was secret. Then they relied on my loyalty and devotion to accept this new revelation and keep it hush-hush. Have they all deluded themselves into thinking this is ok?
More recently, new IBOs are informed about tool profits if they read the fine print of the BSMAA and the Premier Membership Agreement. No details, mind you, but it is mentioned on paper. However, they still use the "we don't make money until you do" line in the plan, and they certainly don't point out the fine print on the official forms.
It was once explained to me by an upline Diamond that Ron Puryear began giving tool profit to Platinums because there wasn't enough money in the plan at that level. Well what does that say about the Quixtar opportunity? Hmmm.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
A Dare for husbands
Posted by Jennifer7Lee
"Quixtar products are not marketable. Too expensive. Only brainwashed, non-thinking IBO will pay for overpriced products," say the critics.
I got a dare for all you critics who are also husbands.
For your wife birthday, mother day, valentine, christmas, or just-because-you-love-her, give her a 6-months supply of Quixtar's skin care system. At the end of 6 months, try and take it away from her.
I dare you.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 5, 2005
My "Waking Up" Story
Posted by Dorothy Still In Oz
I was an AmQuix fanatic. I was 7/8 CORE for YEARS. We didn't show the plan 10x per month or sponsor 2 per month every month; so I can't say we "did the work", but we gave it our best shot. We ate, drank, and slept AmQuix and WWDB. We've attended EVERY function for more than a decade. We thought it was the best thing that any person could do with their life, and we worked it as hard as we could. We loved the IBOs, the upline, and the system. Along the way we reached Q12 Achievers Platinum.
So what changed? Why don't I want to stay in Oz anymore?
There was nothing specific. Nothing changed with WWDB, my upline, Quixtar. I changed. I woke up. The wrongs of the system had been right there in front of me for the 10+ years we'd been in, but now I was "seeing it" with a new mind.
When we first saw the business, we were idealistic dreamers who desperately wanted this to be real. Who wouldn't?! So I ignored the parts that didn't quite add up, or make sense, and accepted the system's explanations. The bonus claims I was calculating from the SA4400 (Amway used to publish actual $$ for each level) weren't matching up to the lifestyles I was hearing about, but these wonderful people wouldn't lie to me — would they? There was no Internet to research on, no www.amquix.info, no www.quixtarblog.com. And my critical thinking skills were lacking.
When I look back on 2003, I see that my mind transformation began when I committed myself to reading through the Bible in one year. I've been a Christian for years, but been lazy about Bible study. I truly believe that reading 4-5 chapters per day over six months time literally changed my mind. Hebrews 4:12 says "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Over time, the Word broke through the deception in my mind and helped me see truth.
Eventually, after a few months of brain-"washing" (cleaning out the system's propaganda from my mind), when I would listen to tapes and function speakers, I began to "hear" the exaggerations, the fallacies — the shallowness. By FED 2003, I was abhorred that thousands of people in one coliseum were all believing that they would be Diamonds too even though they'd tried for years with no results while giving most of their extra income to the Emeralds and Diamonds.
My husband is the typical, loyal Diamond follower — as was I, so I don't blame him. I was keeping this all to myself, hoping that he might "wake up" on his own, but I couldn't help talking differently about things related to the business. So eventually, he asked, I shared — and he laughed. He was relieved to finally understand what the tension in the house was all about. He isn't mad, and he accepts that I might have different opinions, but he feels that he has a rational, logical answer for every one of my points. I refuse to let this business come between my husband and I; I'm patient. I know eventually he will "wake up". So, for now, we're still in.
I still do everything I ever did: call-in, pickup, retail, functions. However, I'm very different with our downline because I see things so differently now. I encourage people to get OFF Premier Membership and Standing Order Tape if it's obvious they're not attempting to build the business. I encourage people to do whatever it takes OUTSIDE the business to make their finances work TODAY, not wait until they make extra $ from the biz. I encourage people to NOT attend functions if they don't think they can afford it. I encourage people to take vacations. I tell everyone how amazingly wonderful they are, and that not having built the business yet is not an indicator of their worth, their value, their business acumen, or their potential for a great future.
He'll quit if I ask; he loves me that much. But then he'll resent me instead of the biz. How long can I live in Oz? As long as it takes. He's worth it!
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
March 3, 2005
eXtreme Profitability
Posted by Jennifer7Lee
Disclaimer: Individual results may vary. Past performance are not indicator of future performance. Just because somebody achieved a result doesn't means anybody can achieve that result. And all other disclaimer from whatever sources in the past, present, and future are also applicable.
So, you want to be a Quixtar Independent Business Owner. You see dollar sign dancing in your eyes. A quarter of a million a year. Part-time. At your convenience. At the pace of your choosing. And only in 2 to 5 years.
Heed Confucius words my young grasshopper. "Journey of a million miles begins with one step." Before thinking about making a quarter of a million a year, think about making a quarter a year.
Listen closely and I'll impart my wisdom so you can make a quarter of a thousand. Part-time. At your convenience. At the pace of your choosing. And only in 2 to 5 weeks.
Equip yourself with the tool of the trade: the BOX. In that BOX, put products that will immediately tickle their senses. Products like XS Energy Drink, XS Sport Drink, XS Power Nutrition Bar, Trim Advantage Meal Replacement Bar, Trim Advantage Protein Bar, and whatever else delight your taste buds.
Da RULE:
He who asks first about the BOX, will buy the BOX.
Remember this RULE, young padawan. Remember it well. Your fate will be determined by your ability to heed it.
Da Prospecting:
Treat the BOX as your lunchbox. Bring it with you to work. Set it on your workstation. Bring it to lunch. Put it on the lunchtable. Bring it to the gym. Prop it up next to you while you work out. Whatever you do, remember da RULE. If you start the conversation on the BOX, you get to eat your profit. Let other start the conversation on the BOX.
Da Plan:
When you're showing the plan in a public place, just place the BOX on the table, in sight, but out of the way. Then proceed with your regular plan showing. When you're doing a house plan, place the BOX on a stand next to your board. Proceed as normal. But remember da RULE. He who asks first about the box, buy it. Don't you be the first.
Da Result:
I told this to two dozens students, but only one listened. In three weeks, his volume increased by 6,000 PV.
He showed this box to an IBO who didn't renew. After showing the box, the IBO still didn't renew. BUT the IBO was the first to ask about the BOX, so the IBO bought it and became a Client.
Next, he showed it to an IBO who wasn't showing the plan. The IBO still didn't show the plan. But she was the first to ask about the BOX, so she bought it and became a "pro-sumer."
A few days later he showed the plan to new prospects. The prospects were the first to ask about the BOX, and they all bought the box. Then each took a box home and showed it to family, friends, and neighbors. When the prospects came back and signed up, one signed up with an order of 300 PV -- a half-dozen of his family, friends, and neighbors liked the BOX and became his clients.
Another woman he knew put in an order of 700 PV -- a dozen of her family, friends, and neighbors liked the BOX and became his clients.
Yet another signed up with a big initial order, following the plan. By the end of 3 weeks, his volume was 2500 PV. BUT he'd only signed up 5 IBOs under him. Most of the orders were from clients.
You want eXtreme Profitability. It's easy.
Demo the products.
Get clients.
Listen to Homer: "duh!!!"
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
Nothing down, no payments. Ever
Posted by Windy Hill
Among IBOs, I believe I'm known as a "zero." In my entire two years plus in the business, I have received just one bonus check. Not too long after I signed up I bought cell phone service thru the Quixtar site. I got a 3% bonus -- $6 and change.
I have had as many as three people in my downline; right now just one remains. Whose biggest (only?) purchase was a big screen TV last year right before Thanksgiving.
After that I got an e-mail from Quixtar stating that I was in the 6% bonus bracket and I was really close to tipping into the next at 9%. The e-mail linked me to an area on the Web site called "Bracket Busters," a page with several high-PV items for purchase. I looked through the stuff with some interest, but didn't need anything. In the end, I bought nothing and I remained at 6% based on the efforts of my dear downline. Which earned me a bonus of exactly 6% -- of nothing. Which of course is only right.
So why do I stay in the business, you ask? Truthfully? I live in West Michigan. There's a huge concentration of IBOs here, as you can imagine. I have been shown the plan more times than I can count. And so I find it very convenient to be an IBO — it's a way to save myself and countless others the agony of the recruiting dance. I also like getting the WYW flyer, the Achieve magazine yearbook and the occasional catalog. And of course, I like to get IBO price on my SA8 and XS.
Probably the biggest reason I stay is that I signed up in a way that allows the corporation to automatically charge the annual fee to my credit card to keep my status active. Who knows -- maybe some day I'll put more than nothing into my business and get something back out of it. I'm not quite ready to do that these days, but I'm keeping my options open.
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
Why do I do this?
Posted by David Robison
Why do I do this?
Why does an obviously pro-Quixtar, active IBO visit QuixtarBlog? This site that has gained a reputation for being critical of the business I have chosen to operate?
Why would I subject myself to the Open Forum on this site, when the discussions attract so many others opposed to my business?
Why would I let this site owner persuade me to engage in a blog of my very own, with a view that opposes his? (Not to mention that the very act of blogging can be frustrating, annoying, and time consuming)
Why do I include a link to his blog at my own, knowing that his supporters may visit my site and comment there as well?
On top of all this, I publish my personal pro-Quixtar views, and those views often even clash with other pro-IBOs.
And now, I'm called upon to write my perceptions here at QuixtarBlog in a somewhat official position; leaving myself open for each sentence I write to be dissected, analyzed, critiqued, and argued.
So, I must be crazy, right?
The goals of "March of Perceptions" were stated to me in this manner, "I believe that there is a lot of misunderstanding about the Quixtar business and its related issues. And quite often, that misunderstanding leads to prejudice, stereotypes and worse. My hope... is to find a way to move towards understanding and maybe help others see things from a different perspective. I think this project is a step in the right direction."
Maybe these are futile goals on QuixtarBlog's part; already comments have been made from the opposing side of Quixtar. Mouths are salivating in anticipation, hoping to hear perspectives that are ripe for critique.
Those in favor of Quixtar are girding their loins for battle, second-guessing each sentence they prepare. I know I am. Go Figure.
And thus the stereotypes and prejudice may prevail.
The key to overcoming misunderstanding, is a desire to understand.
I originally visited QuixtarBlog to understand the writer's perspective. In turn, I grew to understand many of the other visitors. Each with a different perspective and experience that led them to believe as they did.
No, I did not agree with all of their points, and in fact still find many of their views, pompous and combative; but not all.
I also see the "brainwashed" IBOs defend themselves, miserably at times, stating their "case" by repeating their "misunderstandings"
So, where do I fit into this "project?"
Maybe, I'm just as pompous, and maybe my brain has gone once around the normal wash cycle.
But, I'll try to state my IBO case simply.
I have chosen to pursue a course in a controversial business model called Multi-Level Marketing, (a model that has as many opposing views as Quixtar itself.)
I have chosen Quixtar; the company, the products and the compensation plan, in spite of any controversy.
The sale of motivational tools is not my modus operandi. My business expenses involve my ISP service, product brochures, printer ink, gasoline for my vehicle to make sales calls, but not attend out-of-town rallies. The types of expenses any normal salesperson might incur.
I operate within the Rules set down by my agreement with Quixtar, not some ideology expounded from an upline pulpit.
And I believe, that one day, all IBOs will take what is "good" about Quixtar and make it better, and will take what is good about business and apply it to their own.
Stereotypes be damned.
I understand the problems involved with this, and I have no notion that I'll ever be truly accepted. But that is someone else's stereotyping that they must contend with.
Okay, I'm done with my "march"; forget the XS, just give me the tequila bottle!
The "March of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring the perceptions of four guest bloggers during the month of March.
MOP Introductions
Posted by QBlog
The
"March
of Perceptions" is a special Quixtar BLOG project featuring four guest
bloggers who post their opinions, thoughts and feelings directly to this site. But
who are these guests? Well, each has a different story and a different perception
of the business. What are those perceptions? That's what we'll find out through
this project. Hence the corny title, "March of Perceptions."
Below are brief introductions of each participant. Some have chosen to use pseudonyms for this project for various reasons.
Dorothy Still In Oz
In
the World Wide Dreambuilders QMO for over a decade and reaching the level of
Q12 Achievers Platinum, I was once a 100% believer in the system. A of couple
years ago, I began to awake from the dream when I stopped listening to "a
tape a day" and started reading my Bible everyday instead. At the next
major function, I completely woke up from my nightmare and knew that we had
made a mistake. Two years later, my husband is still a 100% believer.
Dave Robison
David
Robison from Mobile, Alabama has been blogging since June of 2004 at On
The Road with Dave. His MLM experience dates back to 1980s Amway. Currently,
he is as he describes, "a lowly, plodding IBO." Officially, he is
a member of the Louie Carrillo Diamondship, but works with a branch group that
utilizes the Internet as their own training medium. He does not participate
in promoting "tapes, books and rallies."
His current marketing strategy is targeting the shipping industry on the Gulf Coast.
Windy Hill
Two
years in the business; one front line; 0 PV. Living in West Michigan with Quixtar,
a husband, and two teenagers. Apprentice (but enthusiastic) blogger who's been
sucked into the great Q debate for reasons I can't quite explain, even to myself.
Jennifer7Lee
35
year old in the software industry. Joined Quixtar in Mar 2004 because I don't
want to continue working 70+ hours a week over the next 15-20 years and because
the options tanked and went under water.
March 1, 2005
March of Perceptions
Posted by QBlog
Welcome to the "March of Perceptions," a new Quixtar BLOG project designed to showcase a variety of perceptions instead of just mine. During the month of March (hence "March of Perceptions"), four guest bloggers will post their opinions, thoughts and feelings directly to the Quixtar BLOG.
Why?
I've been sharing my perceptions about Quixtar, and its related issues, for over two years and now I think it's time you heard from someone else, even if it's just for a month. It's not a new idea. Newspapers have a tradition of featuring guest columnists in the editorial pages. Think of this as the blogging version of a guest column.
When?
The "March of Perceptions" project will publish every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday beginning this Thursday.
Who?
The guest bloggers are all active Quixtar IBOs in good standing. You'll find out more about them soon enough.
What Do You Hope To Accomplish?
That's a good question and my only answer is a cliche: Diversity. Like quality newspapers, I believe that presenting a variety of opinions works to frame the issues with a clarity that isn't otherwise possible. It's not necessarily about agreeing and disagreeing, but simply understanding.
So, welcome to the "March of Perceptions." This is exciting. Let's see what happens.