Thanks to Ben for sharing
his Amway Free Enterprise Days experience. Nothing has changed in Amway!
THE FED (Freedom Enterprise Days)!!! Can we first start with the name? How
ridiculous is it for them to use the term freedom with their enterprise...?
Anyways...back to the story...The first day was grueling. I had just completed
a full work day, and then I had to battle with traffic to get to the show. The “CONference”
started at 5 p.m., but I wasn’t able to get there until 6. The stadium was
enormous, and I heard there were about 8,000 people in attendance. HOLY COW!!!
The scene was electric as people ranging from 18-80 were all dressed in their
business suits and ready to engage in the learning.
The first speaker I saw was ELECTRIC! He brought history alive, and told us
about how far we have strayed from the Constitution. I love history, and this
guy was TERRIFIC... at making Amway sound like the answer for our journey away
from the traditions started by the founding fathers.
Then I heard the first diamond speaker...
I can’t remember who they were, and quite frankly it doesn’t matter, because
the diamonds are just different shapes and sizes of the same brainwashed human
being. The diamond came out to a thunderous applause, and a video played of the
most extravagant lifestyle. There were vacations, planes, cars, mansions, love,
and GOD! The speech was bland a filled with fluff about the prototypical rising
from the dumpster to the penthouse, and how they couldn’t have been where they
were without the business...basically another ego massage similar to the Mike
Carrol event.
Then the show continued similarly to the first diamond with about 10 more
diamonds coming out and dragging on until MIDNIGHT! Ugh I was pooped...but I
had a long drive home, and I had to stay pumped because I was about to do it
ALL DAY SATURDAY!
Saturday begins at 9 a.m. and I’m on less than 5 hours of sleep after a close
to 18 hour day...I’m not feeling the buzz (Dateline does a great documentary
and they talk about sleep deprivation). Sure enough, the day starts just like
the last one ended, MORE DIAMONDS! At this point, I’m going in and out of the
building, and I’m hoping to learn any secrets to success from anyone...and that’s
when I learned about cross-lining. YOU ARE NEVER TO DISCUSS BUSINESS WITH
MEMBERS OF A DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION...excuse my french, but what a crock of
shit. We were all listening to diamonds and other ranks from other
organizations, so why not listen to the ground floor troops. This business is
supposed to be “easy and duplicatable” yet talking to others could screw
everything up? Anyways...I went back inside and took more notes on the inside
of eyelids until lunch time.
Lunch time was...3 HOURS LONG!!! How unnecessary...I’ve never been given 3
hours for lunch before, and I certainly didn’t need that much time in BFE (Bum
F*** Egypt) or wherever I was, but I was stuck with it. I hung out and met some
interesting people from Oklahoma (which is real dedication since we were in
California), and then I realized I still had 2 HOURS LEFT...UGH!!!
The show continued, and the excitement level got turned up! They had a
Christian rock group play a little concert, and then I got to see a Diamond
crowning...talk about over the top. The couple (Trevor and Lexi Baker) walked
down a gigantic red carpet as peons from their organization rushed to the
surrounding gates to blow kisses and touch them...it was like watching the
frickin royal family in England. They had their two lovely twin girls with them
as they continued to the stage where their parents (Glen and Joya
Baker...executive diamonds) were waiting. They had a lovely speech for their
children, and then their children completed their transformation with another
exaggerated fluffy, emotional, motivational speech...wonderful. After they were
done, it was about 9 o’clock which gave plenty of time for more diamonds to do
their diamond things on stage until MIDNIGHT AGAIN!!!
I told my sponsor after that day that I would probably not be attending the
Sunday show, and he was not having it! He said Sunday was the most important or
something, and I replied, I was going to be late because I didn’t feel
comfortable attending the religious opening ceremony. He again suggested that I
would be missing something critical and guilted me into coming...which I’m glad
he did.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY (Football reference)...Started at the lovely hour of 9 AM
again, and that was when I got to see the most magical person of them all...THE
PREACHER! This guy was in his 70’s, but he was prancing around like he was in
his 20’s and he was lively! The guy was amazing as he talked about this being
the greatest business ever while mixing in some notes about god, and then he
did something incredible. He got people to DONATE to him! HOLY COW! We were at
a supposed “business” conference to learn about making money, and he got people
to GIVE their money away...OH THE IRONY! He finished off by having everyone
come close to the stage and stretch out their arm to send magical energy to a
person dying of terminal cancer...he was a real life TELEVANGELIST!!! Check
that off the ol’ bucket list. (For the record I have nothing against religion,
and don’t care what you want to practice, but this was really weird and not
like any church service I had attended before...)
Then the rest of the day...It was pure bleh as people from lower ranks got to
cross the stage which was a “goal” apparently and got to rehearse their diamond
speeches for the future. This went on until the very end, and then I got to
unlock my new achievement... (video game reference) FED COMPLETED!!!
Never would I ever wish that upon an unwilling participant, and I hope that
this magic show finds a fiery end.
The business about forcing IBOs at a convention to go to religious services on Sunday is pure Amway.
ReplyDeleteYour up-line asshole is utterly fixated on getting you to this service, even if you are an atheist, an agnostic, a Jew, a Moslem, a Hindu, or just somebody with no religious opinions at all. YOU HAVE TO BE THERE! is what he screams at you.
In fact an Amway function is basically an exercise in obedience. Everything that happens at a function is totally controlled, and your every movement is supervised. Your up-line will scream bloody murder if you dare to depart from the schedule of meetings, or even if you decide to go and eat at a restaurant.
This is a litmus test of what Amway is really all about. It certainly isn't freedom. It is mindless and lockstep obedience.
You're right Anonymous. There was HUGE pressure on the Ambots to attend Amway's Sunday church service no matter your denomination or whether you had any religious opinion. For the sole purpose of giving more money to the Amway cult leader preaching the gospel of the Great Amway God.
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