Wake Up When You’re Done Sleeping

How many times have you heard one of the Amway speakers say something to the effect of “wouldn’t it be great to wake up in the morning when you’re done sleeping”. I know I heard our sack of shit Platinum say it at every meeting that his wife gets up once she’s done sleeping. Sounds a little irresponsible when you have school age children. Their kids were teenagers - a boy and a girl - I think about 13 and 14 at the time. Does mom not want to make sure the kids are getting themselves out of bed on time, eating a decent breakfast, packing a lunch, and making sure they get out the door? Would Platinum dad be doing all this? Unlikely. He’s a male chauvinist pig and childcare he would put under the category of “woman’s work”. In which case his wife is very likely getting out of bed when she has to and not when she’s done sleeping.

The main reason the Platinum says his wife gets out of bed when she’s done sleeping is to sneer at the downline who have jobs and set their alarm clock daily and get out of bed in time to get to work.

“Wake up when you’re done sleeping” is something I have a hard time getting my head wrapped around. First off most parents who have school age children don’t laze around in bed and get up when they’re done sleeping. Maybe - and that’s a big maybe depending on how mature and responsible the kid is - once the kid is a junior or senior and is capable of getting themselves out of bed on time, dressed, eat breakfast and off to school. Parents who have younger children need to get them out of bed, dressed, prepare breakfast, fix a lunch bag, and walk them to school unless there are older siblings who can walk with the younger child. Its my guess that most stay at home parents wake up by 7am or so. They probably don’t go back to bed once everyone is out the door either.

Unless of course you’re a lazy ass IBO who is damned well following the upline’s advice about not getting out of bed until you’re done sleeping.

I had a friend who after she moved out of Los Angeles decided to home school her son. I wasn’t too sure why she would do that but it became very clear when I remembered she was not a morning person. Ambot and I visited her a few years ago. We got up whenever, 7am or so, but it was at least 10am usually later, before she got out of bed. Likewise her son was still sleeping until she got around to waking him up. She couldn’t get her act together first thing in the morning to get her kid off to public school. Home schooling worked better for her desire to get out of  bed once she was done sleeping. They are not in Amway. So that blows the old upline’s theory that the only people who are allowed to get out of bed once they are done sleeping are those who have reached a certain level in Amway.

I very rarely set my alarm clock. If I set my alarm its probably because I need to drive someone to the airport at 5am or I have somewhere else to be early. Alarm clock or not I’d say that I very rarely wake up when I’m done sleeping. Often I wake up because someone else in he household is moving around. Once I’m awake I am awake and I can’t get back to sleep again. That’s a real piss off if something or someone wakes me up at 2 in the morning or 4:30. I ain’t done sleeping but I’m woken up. The only thing I can do at that time of day is get up and bake muffins for breakfast.

Just because Platinums and Diamonds praise the value of staying in bed until you’re done sleeping doesn’t mean its something everyone aspires to do. I guess none of them ever heard of Benjamin Franklin and “early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”.

I wouldn’t say that I necessarily go to bed early though since we’re no longer in Amway I’m able to get to bed before midnight. Calling a 7am wake up “early” is debatable! There are lots of people who wake up earlier than that! Does it make me healthy waking up early? When I get up I walk the dog, have something light to eat, and then I go to the Y where I either swim or do yoga. Healthy enough I suppose.

How many IBO’s lead a healthy lifestyle? It looks like many of them tried the Trim weight loss system and lets just say they’re not walking advertisements that the diet plan actually works! They also promote guzzling vitamins instead of eating a healthy diet that includes fresh fruit and vegetables. In the board plan we see over and over the way to Amway success is to suck back energy drinks and chow down on food bars. They’re too busy following their own advice about lazing around in bed until they’re ready to get up that they’re likely not getting regular exercise.

I’m a busy person. I’ve got places to go, people to see and things to do. I’m not accomplishing anything until I’m out of bed. The quicker I can get everything done is more free time for me. Not being an IBO means I’ve freed up lots of extra time. Getting out of bed somewhat early means I can get just about everything I need to do done before noon. Now I’ve got a good portion of the day ahead of me to enjoy however I want to.

Let’s compare that to an IBO. Say the lazy bastard hauls ass out of bed around noon. The bed needs to be made, go to the kitchen to prepare a meal of an energy drink, food bar, and vitamins - probably not a lot of kitchen clean up required for that! Next will probably be checking email, text messages, and making lots of phone calls. Next thing you know its late in the afternoon and the laundry and housecleaning aren’t done. What about yard work? When was the last time the lawn was mowed or the garden weeded? Who’s got time for that? Now its time for counselling with downline because they’re starting to get off work now and then the 8pm board plan meeting and the night owl. Arrive back home around 2am and do it all over again the next day.

Lying around in bed is a waste of time to many people. I’ve always gone with the philosophy that the quicker I can get things done the quicker I can relax. Even though I can lay around in bed until noon if I wanted I don’t do it because the day is getting away from me. Sometimes there’s a movie I want to see comes on at 8 in the morning and I watch it. The next thing I know I’ve missed the classes I go to at the Y and I’m behind on everything else I want to do.

Waking up when I’m done sleeping does not work for me.