tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55760189609731151972024-03-19T00:30:45.709-07:00The MLM SyndromeA Blog Exploring MLM ConditioningJohn Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-62868311463913052282018-08-09T15:45:00.001-07:002018-08-09T15:48:25.360-07:00MLM and The Ace Initiative Pt. 2 / Brandon Odom pt. 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
***Here are links to <a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2017/05/mlm-and-team-phoenixa-new-con.html">part 1</a>, <a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2017/10/mlm-and-team-phoenix-halloween-special.html">part 2</a>, <a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2018/04/mlm-and-ace-initiativebrandon-odom-part.html">part 3</a>, and <a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2018/06/mlm-and-mobe-brandon-odom-pt-4.html">part 4</a>***<br /><br />Today's blog post was inspired by a recent e-mail sent to me from a blog reader. "The Ace Initiative" has taken the next giant leap in their charade and decided to host a big meeting in Kelowna, BC. They are calling it, "The First Annual Ace Summit", and it is going to start on August 9th, and it will end August 12th. The "Summit" will be hosted by the three leaders, and according to "Dr." Travis Fox, "It is all about improving your business and your ad specifics. We are bringing top speakers to really show you the next level". Brandon Odom has some prerequisites before attending, "Definitely need to get your ticket as soon as possible. Jump in that group, start going through the content, get that homework done. That way you are ready when you show up to the event to really just implement".<br />
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Here is the video: <iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMemieB.sala%2Fvideos%2F1847918408635165%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The event costs $297 - $497, depending on when you paid, and the schedule of events is listed here:<br />
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday August 9th "Summer Hill Vineyard ACE Summit Mixer" -Summer Hill Vineyard 6:00pm- 10:00pm</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Friday August 10th "Coast Capri"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Registration 8:00am-9:00am</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Summit Introduction 9:15-am-9:30am Brandon, Travis & Bryan</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-9:30am- 11:00am - " Architecting " "TravisFox"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-15 Min Break</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-11:15am- 12:30 "Content Creation" "Bryan @Bryan Hodgson</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-1:30pm-2:45pm "Facebook Training" "Dennis Yu"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-15 Min Break</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-3:00pm- 4:30pm "Facebook Training" "Dennis Yu"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-4:30pm-5:00pm "ManyChats Training" "David Wilkinson"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-15 Min Break</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-5:15pm- 6:15pm Instagram & Photo Editing "Shauna Clark"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Closing Day One- "Brandon Odom, Travis Fox & Bryan Hodgson"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday August 11th "Wild Play Park"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Wild Play Park Kelowna "Bring white shirt and running shoes -9am-10am Registration</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-10:00am Team building event starts</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Noon-1:00pm Lunch</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-1:00pm-4:00pm Team building</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-4:30pm-Close- Colour Festival . "white Shirt"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday August 12th "Coast Capri- Kelowna"</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-10:00am-Noon "Facebook Training" Dennis Yu</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Noon-1:30pm Lunch</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-1:30pm-2:30pm Brandon Odom</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-2:30pm-3:00pm "Stepping into your truth" Ashley Makenzie</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-15 Min Break</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-3:15pm-4:15pm Balazs Kardos</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-4:15pm-5:00pm Awards Q&A</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-15 Break</span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-5:30pm Closing Ceremonies "Special Guest"<br /><br />The event pricing, as far as I can tell, does not include food outside of the schedule, lodging, or airfare. The event also does not offer discounts for days you do not wish to attend.<br /><br />The location for this event is strange. "The Ace Initiative" is incorporated in Nevada and all three of the leaders are from the States. It appears they are travelling to Canada because their scam has been more successful across the border. I noticed when Brandon was running "Team Phoenix Marketing" that many of those members were also from Canada, and he probably kept many of them when changing the identity to "The Ace Initiative". Canada appears to have been an untapped market, and these three have been able to take advantage.<br /><br />The event itself is completely comprised of useless days and activities. There is not one redeeming thing these three leaders are going to offer to their recruits at this "summit", which makes sense since they have nothing to offer anyways. Let's go through each day and expand upon why it is a terrible use of time and money.<br /><br />The Thursday "Summer Hill Vineyard Ace Summit Mixer" is awful because you will not be able to network with these people, since they are already involved with the group, but you will be paying to not be "marketing" to your potential recruits. You could save a day of food and lodging and skip this stupid event.<br /><br />Friday's introduction is unnecessary since everyone already knows who they are. That's fifteen extra minutes people can spend in bed. "Dr." Travis Fox's "architecting" is possibly the most honest portion of the entire event. He is going to spend an hour and a half molding recruit's minds by using psychological techniques designed to disarm skepticism. He will use "love-bombing", "story telling", "social influence", "the liking principle", "sensory words", and of course, "authority bias". After all of the manipulation the recruits get to recover with a fifteen minute break. Bryan's "Content Creation" is just a disguised title for him going on stage and using his version of the psychological persuasion techniques. According to the three leaders, "90%" of the content has already been created by them, so why would you need this lesson? After Bryan's boring speech, a lunch break will definitely be needed. The rest of the day is filled with useless "Facebook Training", which the recruits have already completed, and some other nonsense about setting up a robot to chat with people and photo editing. Not only is all of this information regularly available online, but it is free of charge! These recruits will have paid hundreds of dollars to be bored to death.<br /><br />Saturday is completely useless. Much like Thursday, there will be absolutely nothing related to the business. In fact, Saturday is so useless it's a waste of words to talk about.<br /><br />Sunday starts late because of the hangovers everyone will have from the night before. The recruits will get to start their day with the ultimate hangover cure, "Facebook Training". It appears their event team ran out of ideas on how to waste time. After the "Facebook Training" nap, the recruits will get to enjoy a well-deserved lunch break. After lunch the recruits will get to hang out with Brandon for an hour doing -- apparently nothing since they didn't bother to label his section. Brandon is going to be the wild card, nobody will know what to expect. After Brandon's turn, there is story time with Ashley. Time to take another nap. This is followed by a 15 minute nap, and then another story time nap with Balazs. Once you are done napping through the stories you will rewarded with an "award ceremony". I'm not sure what could be awarded, but it can't be any worse than the 30+ award shows the States hold every year on major cable networks. You get another break after that excitement followed by a "special guest". I'm going to guess this is Tony Robbins, because who else would fly out and waste their time doing something like this? After the recruits are done with that, they will get to check out of their hotel and take a red eye back to their home so they can make it to work in the morning.<br /><br />Luckily, I've already experienced one of these events, so I'll be skipping this one. However, if anyone wants to attend and send me some feedback about it, I'll be more than happy to read and publish it for the wonderful viewers of this blog. Please note, I recommend doing anything else with your money before this, including playing the lottery, but it's your money and you can do what you want.</span></span></div>
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-26417038490883987592018-06-11T13:32:00.000-07:002018-06-11T13:32:40.628-07:00MLM and MOBE / Brandon Odom Pt. 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post was inspired by a recent article written by Ethan Vanderbuilt called, "MOBE Scam Shutdown For Bilking $125 Million From Victims". In Ethan's article, he details the way in which the FTC has determined My Online Business Empire (MOBE), to be a scam and has had its assets frozen in a unanimous five to zero vote. This scam is referred to as a "business coaching scheme" The scam involves an endless recruitment scheme in which members get introduced to the program through online advertisements on social media. The advertisements are designed to lure new prospects into an "education system" that offers the opportunity to teach new members how to make thousands of dollars. The way in which they make thousands of dollars is by finding new people to enter the "education system" by purchasing advertisements for "MOBE". The "MOBE" costs can be exorbitant, ranging from nearly two thousand dollars to twenty-five thousand dollars, and this does not include the monthly fees. The more money you pay for the training, the larger commissions you will receive when new members pay for their "education system".<br />
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If you have been following this blog for a while, then you will see this "education system" looks similar to the other "education systems" Brandon Odom has designed for selling "Enagic". That's mainly due to the fact that Brandon Odom was a member of "MOBE" and there are videos of him promoting the platform. Here is the video:<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L-QjRVY_yAI" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The funniest part is the comment section in which Brandon has tried to get this video removed. He doesn't want people to make money from his content, unless he is also making money from it.<br /><br />This is not the first FTC victory against "<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2018/02/ftc-obtains-court-order-halting-business-coaching-scheme">business coaching schemes"</a>, and it looks like they are going to take a more aggressive approach against these people. This type of fraud has been around for centuries, and even though this version involves "webinars" and social media, the hallmark characteristics remain the same as any other <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection/our-divisions/division-marketing-practices">consumer fraud</a>. There is a confidence person providing a worthless product or service that is designed to deceptively take money from unwitting participants. In this particular instance, "MOBE" as well as Brandon Odom have provided an "education system" that does not provide any real education or teaching that will help a person earn "thousands of dollars". Instead, the "education system" is a pay-to-play fee used as an entry to an endless recruiting scheme. The "education system" is an unnecessary addition to the fraud and it is designed to obfuscate the real "business opportunity".<br /><br />This new FTC victory against "MOBE" may be the first step toward Brandon Odom and his "The Ace Initiative" buddies being caught for scamming others. I had previously given Brandon credit for creating "Team Phoenix Marketing", but he had only copied "MOBE" and "GAZ" (Global Affiliate Zone). He hasn't created a "business opportunity" or a unique "education system" that will make his members wealthy, and he has continued to profit from rather than enrich the people that have trusted his programs. Hopefully this video connecting Brandon to the "MOBE" scam will help direct attention to his other "businesses".<br /><br />_______________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />Source:<br /><br />https://ethanvanderbuilt.com/2018/06/11/mobe-scam-shutdown-for-bilking-125-million-from-victims/<br /><br />https://brandonodom.theaceinitiative.com/brandon/lander<br /><br />https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2018/02/ftc-obtains-court-order-halting-business-coaching-scheme</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-11198664511899263252018-05-30T12:53:00.000-07:002018-05-30T13:32:31.461-07:00MLM and Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Today’s blog post is going to explore the words MLMers
use to deceive potential recruits as they pitch their MLM “business
opportunity”. Words, at face value, are codes designed to transfer a thought
from one person’s brain to another. They are an agreed upon set of characters
in a specific order which translates into a concept. Words do not have
emotions, they do not have thoughts, they do not have tone, but rather they are
a vessel in which people can convey the aforementioned from their head to
another’s. By putting words in a specific order, and using a voice inflection,
you can make a particular word(s) have a variety of different meanings, which
is the reason language is considered an art. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br />Even the simplest of phrases
can be interpreted in a variety of different ways, and a sentence can only make
sense if both people agree upon the meaning. A basic example could be the
phrase, “How are you doing today?”. Depending on the person that comes from,
the voice inflection they use, and what part of the world they are from, this
phrase can be interpreted many ways. If you have an intimate relationship with
the other person, then you may respond in kind and tell them how you are doing
that day. If you do not have an intimate relationship with the person, then you
may respond with a short answer, such as, “Good”, and then move into the next
subject. If the person says the phrase sarcastically, then they may not
actually care to know how you are and would rather have you ask them what is
wrong. Again, it is all about context with words, not the actual words themselves.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This brings me to the words
MLMers use to manipulate their downlines and potential recruits. Because MLMers
use words to obfuscate reality when they are pitching the “business
opportunity”, the obfuscation must continue throughout the duration of a person’s
involvement within the MLM. This leads to an alternate reality in which a core
MLM believer cannot relate to the reality of others and causes them to break
away from the rest of their community. A professional MLM wordsmith will be
able to spin anything to suit their narrative and will work diligently to
dispel any potential outside interference that could result in an MLMer having
doubt. MLMers use their words as a form of unrelenting control over their
members; this type of control is necessary to keep MLMers involved in the
“business”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">So, let’s review some of the ways in which MLMers use
their words to deceive people into believing their “business opportunity” is
good:<br />
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1. You can make money working MLM part-time, and it can be a great source to subsidize
your monthly income.<br />
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Answer: MLM has historically been a terrible investment of time and money.
Whether you work part-time or full-time at MLM, there is an over 99% chance you
will not make a return on investment. For every one person that was able to
accomplish this, close to a thousand were not. Therefore, it is not accurate to
suggest a person can make money at MLM part-time, when, according to the
statistics, it is a mathematical certainty a person will fail.<br />
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2. “Corporate America” is a pyramid. There is a CEO, then there are general
managers, then there are supervisors, and finally employees.<br />
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Answer: The pyramid shape of a business does not equate to it being a pyramid
scheme. The structure of the business model is not the same as the structure of
a compensation plan. It is an unfortunate coincidence that the two share the
same shape, but fundamentally, there is nothing else they have in common. If
the money is earned through the sales of goods or services to people outside of
the business, then that is a legitimate business model. If the money is earned
through a series of recruiting and purchases from members within the business,
then that is a pyramid scheme.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">3. Running an MLM
business is easy. You will have a mentor that will teach you the process of
duplication.<br />
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Answer: This is coded language for saying you will have a member that came
before you, commonly referred to as an upline, teach you the “business
opportunity” pitch, then release you to the world and have you “duplicate” by finding
new people to be pitched the “business opportunity”. This process will repeat
ad infinitum until there are no people left, the business collapses, or the
business is shut down by the law. If someone ever approaches you about a
“duplication” opportunity, then they are trying to recruit you into an endless
chain program (commonly referred to as a pyramid scheme).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">These examples are just
a small portion of the many ways in which MLMers use their words to create
mental gymnastics for their recruits. MLMers will also use “buzz words”
designed to create imagery within a person’s head. Some examples include,
dreams, freedom, wealth, religion, marriage, and friendship. These words are
used as a specific tool to transport someone from the “business opportunity”
to a ideological utopian world . The relationship between these "buzz words"and MLM are antithetical,
and yet, MLMers will use language to manipulate the "buzz words" into suiting their narrative.<br /><br />Here are some examples in which MLMers use "buzz words" incorrectly to create imagery of MLM that doesn't exist:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">1. MLM will bring you closer to the dreams, freedom, and lifestyle you deserve. MLMs will give you opportunities a "traditional job" cannot.<br /><br />Answer: MLMs have the highest failure rates of any business. MLMs have almost never given people their dreams, this excludes the creators and "master distributors", and the freedom MLMs give comes at a heavy cost. MLMers may be able to wake up whenever they want, but they better have a great income, or they will find that their MLM freedom will lead them to destitution. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">2. MLMs hold Christian values and are able to bring more than money to members. They will have a "business" by helping others, which is both profitable and good for the community.<br /><br />Answer: MLMs violate multiple commandments, and they do not help people become closer with God. MLMers will worship their uplines and MLM creators, they will not remember the Sabbath, but rather force you to attend a seminar, they will make you choose uplines over your mother and father, they will lie to you about the "business opportunity", they are covetous of others. MLM leaders are not only bad religious actors, but bad people as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br />3. MLMs help keep marriages together, unlike "traditional jobs" that force spouses to be separated for many hours a day.<br /><br />Answer: MLMs force marriages to go through a large number of problems. First, if only one spouse is interested in the MLM, the MLMer may suggest it is important to put the MLM before the spouse. Second, MLM is a money sink, since between 95-99% of all MLMers do not make money, and therefore can put a financial strain on a marriage. Third, MLMs require participation at odd hours and in strange places. Sure, you may both be in attendance, but you aren't focusing on your marriage, but rather recruitment of new members to the MLM. Most MLMers don't want to be spending their free time away from children to go show people the "plan", and they are not recruited based on the "opportunity" to present the "business" together.<br /><br />4. MLM will introduce you to a group of people that will be your friends, family, neighbors, lovers, and anything else they need you to be.<br /><br />Answer: This is the strangest part of MLM. It is supposed to be a "business opportunity" about making money, but they are heavily involved with the personal lives of their members. This is where the obfuscation between business and pleasure becomes an issue, and it is part of the reason people refer to MLMs as cults.<br /><br />To reiterate, MLMers are expert wordsmiths that use language as a weapon to convert unsuspecting and uninformed people to their programs. They will approach people inappropriately, such as at a shopping mart with their family, at a restaurant or coffee shop, or at a "traditional job", and they will prey on people in vulnerable positions. They will use their words to distort the "business opportunity" and use reality-inverting jargon to create a narrative that doesn't exist. They are psychological black-belts that have been trained in the dark arts of the confidence game.<br /><br />The best way to defend oneself against the linguistic weaponry of MLMers is to question them at every point. Hold them accountable for the words they use, and make sure you are understanding everything they are saying. Don't let them make claims without a form of evidence, and don't let them use rhetoric as a means of efficacy. Most MLMers will fall apart once they realize their prospect isn't going to be an unquestioning pawn for recruitment.<br /><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-37984143973536668182018-04-11T11:28:00.002-07:002018-04-13T07:46:27.708-07:00MLM and The Ace Initiative/Brandon Odom part 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
***UPDATE 2*** The comments part of the post has been updated. New comments from "Michael Coble" and "<strike>Dr.</strike> Travis Fox" have been added.<br /><br />***UPDATE 1*** Travis Fox is not a doctor. This post has been heavily updated to reflect this new information. I have posted three links in the source section that talk about his fake doctorate.<br />
<br />
If you want to see what I previously wrote about Brandon and "Team Phoenix Marketing", you can click on part one <a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2017/05/mlm-and-team-phoenixa-new-con.html">here</a> and part two <a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2017/10/mlm-and-team-phoenix-halloween-special.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Today's blog post is, yet again, about Brandon Odom and his "new" scam, "The Ace Initiative". "The Ace Initiative" much like "Team Phoenix Marketing", "Digital Genius Lab", and "Global Affiliate Zone", is a training scam designed to teach people how to make Facebook advertisements for the sole purpose of getting new potential recruits to watch a "<a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2018/03/mlm-and-webinars.html">webinar</a>" about joining "The Ace Initiative". After a recruit watches the vague "webinar", which explains nothing about the product or service, they are instructed to pay $99.00 a month for the opportunity to get a "90% complete system" in which "The Ace Initiative" will provide all of the necessary resources to help earn "big ticket" commissions. The "big ticket" item is a water ionizing machine from "Enagic", an MLM, that costs thousands of dollars. In order to join "The Ace Initiative", a new recruit must buy one of these water ionizing machines, even if they don't need it, to then qualify for the opportunity to sell the water ionizing machine. "The Ace Initiative", exactly like the other three listed above, is a misleading training scam designed to lure unsuspecting consumers into an MLM.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is what "The Ace Initiative" has to say about their service:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Our program empowers students and clients to go from "survival mode" to "thrive mode" in every area of their lives. Our members learn the fastest, simplest way to generating life-enhancing incomes through a profitable online affiliate business of their own. "</span></span></span></blockquote>
1. They cannot guarantee this is a "profitable online affiliate business" without expressly giving a proper income disclosure document. This is something they will never be able to provide, because the business is designed to profit from, rather than enrich the newest recruits. Here is what the FTC has to say about <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/selling-work-home-or-other-business-opportunity-revised-rule">false income claims</a>.<br />
<br />
2. This is not an "affiliate business". Here is the definition of a real "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing">affiliate marketing</a>" business. MLM commonly uses this terminology to deceptively appear as something they are not. Affiliate marketing does not require the affiliate marketer to purchase of any goods or services in order to receive commissions and bonuses, and they do not get paid for recruitment. These are unique MLM characteristics.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"As they progress, they receive training to help them overcome obstacles and limiting beliefs and discover their true passions in life."</span></span></blockquote>
"They" are not being recruited to "overcome obstacles and limiting beliefs". "They" are being recruited to spend large amounts of money on "Enagic" water ioninzing machines and useless "training". "They" are going to "discover their true passions in life" probably aren't promoting fake "training" for the "business opportunity" to sell useless water ionizing machines.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"You see, we know that success is a science. It's a proven, duplicatable process. Travis Fox, one of our founding partners, has perfected the use of "Subconscious Autocoding™" to help people improve their lives in a variety of areas such as competitive athletics, weight-loss, addictions, phobias, sales, business and more."</span></span></blockquote>
"Success is a science" is a partially stolen quote from Oscar Wilde. "The Ace Initiative" is a plagiarized idea from "Global Affiliate Zone". "Duplicatable process" is a plagiarized line from Amway. This Amway line is the fundamental flaw in the MLM scheme. The "duplication" refers to endless recruiting rather than the focus on selling a good or service, which ensures a large number of participants will not make money.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure what "subconscious autocoding" is, but it sounds like brainwashing. <strike>According to this <a href="https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/celebritytalentbios/Dr.+Travis+Fox/6051">biography</a> about Dr. Travis Fox, he could be qualified to help people with the conditions and mindsets listed above , but they do not qualify him to help with business</strike>. Travis Fox is not a doctor, has never been a doctor, has no accredited degrees in psychology or clinical hypnotherapy. Regardless of Travis Fox's background, these techniques do not help with MLM. This is where the line, between appropriate and inappropriate uses of psychology, gets blurred. There are very useful situations for hypnotherapy and subconscious programming, but it can also be extremely dangerous if it is used for inappropriate self-gain, such as with MLM. I'm not sure how <strike>Dr.</strike> Fox got involved with Brandon, but this seems to be a poor business decisions.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"He teaches clients to redefine and refine, to maximum optimization, their automatic processes, interrupt conscious negative thoughts and arrive at a higher degree of "output performance" on command."</span></span></blockquote>
This, again, sounds like brainwashing. This is not the way in which people should be using these treatments, and it is extremely dangerous as it can manipulate unsuspecting consumers into financial peril. People should not need to be programmed for this type of endeavor, and a doctor, which Travis Fox isn't, should not use their expertise for financial gain.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Cambay, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;">"For the past 25 years, his methodologies were reserved for the elites: professional athletes in golf, football, competitive fighting, high-net worth individuals and top corporations.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Cambay, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;">But now you can benefit from them as well." </span></div>
</blockquote>
This "business opportunity" has nothing in common with the professions listed above. "The Ace Initiative" is trying to use false equivocation to say the training from <strike>Dr.</strike> Fox will somehow be relevant for selling water ionizing machines.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "cambay" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;">"Our ultimate vision is to empower our program alumni to build the businesses and lives of their dreams by leveraging our expertise, resources and vast business network."</span></blockquote>
This statement is both vague and convoluted. Since "The Ace Initiative" is a "business" designed to advertise "The Ace Initiative", and subsequently sell an "Enagic" water ioninzing machine, the only way to "build the business" is to use "The Ace Initiative" so you can get more people to "build the business". In other words, in order to "leverage" their "expertise, resources and vast business network" to "build your business", you must promote "The Ace Initiative". This circular logic is used to confuse and obfuscate the reality of the scam.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "cambay" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;">"We invite you to explore how we can serve you in effecting a radical, positive change in your life today and look forward to meeting you online in our mastermind community and in person at one of our 2 or 7 day live events throughout the world."</span></blockquote>
Translation: "The Ace Initiative" can't wait for you to sign-up and start promoting them on Facebook. They can't wait for you to start recruiting and getting people to watch their "webinar". They can't wait for you and the people you recruit to buy a useless "Enagic" water ionizing machine. They can't wait for you to spend your money so they can profit.<br />
<br />
These quotes were taken from the front page of their website, which I'm not going to link since I don't promote scams, and none of it has anything to do with what "The Ace Initiative" is or what they promote. If I did not translate a lot of the vague and misleading jargon, people would not have a clue as to what this "program" is, how much it will cost, or how a person makes money. These details are consistently avoided by Brandon, and the rest of MLMers, because they want the opportunity to brainwash their recruits before explaining the terrible "opportunity". MLMers, like Brandon, want to focus on hype and misleading testimonials rather than the actual "opportunity", because the "opportunity" is not something to be excited about.<br />
<br />
"The Ace Initiative", exactly like "Global Affiliate Zone" (The scam that taught Brandon), and "Team Phoenix Marketing (Brandon's first attempt at running the scam), is designed as a second layer to the MLM scam. This concept was started in Amway with organizations known as "Line of Sponsorhip" (LOS). Instead of signing up for Amway directly, a recruit has to sign up for this secondary organization and purchase their "tools", for the "opportunity" to purchase Amway products. "The Ace Initiative" has the exact same relationship with "Enagic". Instead of signing up as an "Enagic" distributor, a recruit is signing up for the "The Ace Initiative" and paying for their "tools" to help market "Enagic". They have made it even more convoluted by placing "Enagic" on the back burner and treating it as an auxiliary purchase for the "opportunity", but the concept remains the same. "The Ace Initiative" is a separate cost that offers nothing of material value for the "opportunity" to earn commissions by recruiting people into "Enagic".<br />
<br />
*UPDATE*<br />
<br />
This section is going to be regularly updated with comments from "The Ace Initiative" members.<br />
<br />
"Kate Mueller" says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I am glad I joined The ACE Initiative because it’s nothing like you describe it in your review.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I made my decision based on facts and personal experience with the system, the people who have created it and others who are part of our amazing community."</span></span></blockquote>
It's good to see Kate decided to read the review, address none of my points, and then blindly continue on her merry way. It seems the programming is quite strong.<br />
<br />
Here is a comment from "Bryan Hodgson", one of the three founders and alleged "7-Figure Earner"<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"2 things before moving forward with the allegations you have made against The Ace Initiative LLC: </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">1.) False statements of facts that harm the reputation of an individual or business, aren’t protected under constitutional free speech provisions..</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You in which have done the following:</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A.) Published or otherwise broadcast an unprivileged, false statement of fact about The Ace Initiative LLC.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">B.) Caused material harm to The Ace Initiative LLC by publishing or broadcasting said false statements of fact.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">C.) Acted Negligently or with Actual Malice.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">2.) We the founders of The Ace Initiative LLC. Will allow 24 hours to have the following blog post </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthemlmsyndrome.blogspot.mx%2F2018%2F04%2Fmlm-and-ace-initiativebrandon-odom-part.html%3Fm%3D1&h=ATPnDnzvjnqDs-QMNsckMQHfa1nVBOSSItZ9vwbdCUV1DSqRgKjrwxfxkFKq1rlORNKuF5T_1SFDwOk6mQ0oEmnTnVQCTQqgpJf-7Vw" rel="nofollow noopener" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.mx/2018/04/mlm-and-ace-initiativebrandon-odom-part.html?m=1</a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">To be take down otherwise further legal action will be taken against both Geoff Rey as well as Themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com and all entities subject to this matter.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="white-space: pre-wrap;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If said request isn’t met the following conversation will be communicated from and only from the attorney’s who represent The Ace Initiative LLC."</span></span></span></blockquote>
There are lots of issues with this threat, but I would first like to thank Mr. Hodgson for taking the time to be very creative in his attempt to scare me. If I were an amateur, I may actually consider this a very credible threat.<br />
<br />
Here are some glaring issues with his comment.<br />
<br />
1. Starting a sentence with the number "2", instead of spelling it out, makes the comment look far less professional. It is clear this was hastily put together.<br />
<br />
<br />
2. The first sentence doesn't make sense. Why would you move forward with my allegations? Shouldn't you be moving forward with your own allegations?<br />
<br />
3. Which alleged statements were false? I'll be more than happy to correct the record.<br />
<br />
4. Letter "A.)" is the exact same as "1.)"<br />
<br />
5. What is "Material Harm"?<br />
<br />
6. Good luck proving "C.)".<br />
<br />
7. It's probably not smart to take legal action against an alias. Good luck finding "Geoff Rey".<br />
<br />
8. Why wouldn't you have your attorneys contact me first? It doesn't make sense to make this kind of threat, unless you don't actually have attorneys.<br />
<br />
Again, I have to give Mr. Hodgson credit for his creativity, but he is going to have to do a lot better than this. I'm sorry to burst your bubble Mr. Hodgson, but the blog post will remain where it is.<br />
<br />
A comment from "Michael Coble":<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Hey Geoff, The things you are sharing are inappropriate and should not be on Facebook. Please take them down. I’m a humble school teacher with a wife with fibromyalgia who the product line does wonders for. I don’t know why on earth you would go out of your way to slander our online endeavors. I get being upset if someone wasn’t up front with you but We personally are 100% upfront about all costs and investment with everyone we speak to. I’ve never had a conversation with you and you leave a 1* review full of spite on my fan page? Please remove it."</span></span></blockquote>
Ah, the old feel pity for me line. I don't care if you are a "humble school teacher" or a murderous gang member, you are perpetrating a fraud and you should be ashamed. I feel terrible that you have a position of influence over others, and hopefully those people do not fall prey to any of your schemes.<br />
<br />
I'm also fairly certain you can't make the claim that these machines help with fibromyalgia. That is a violation of the FTC's rules and regulations about distributors making health claims.<br />
<br />
Hopefully you aren't an English teacher, because nothing I have written would be considered slanderous. The correct term you are looking for is libel, which I also have not done.<br />
<br />
I don't need to have a conversation with a fraudster like you. You MLMers are all the same.<br />
<br />
I had a conversation with "Dr." Travis Fox, which overall was very pleasant. However, he is a seasoned snake-oil salesman, and he has learned it is better to keep things as pleasant as possible. Here is one comment that proved he isn't as pure as he may seem.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">"The product itself help with autistic son who refused the drunk water regardless of “Filter” prior use."</span></blockquote>
This is also a violation of the FTC's rules and regulations about distributors making health claims about their MLM product. This is one of the most dubious lines MLMers regularly make. Not only is there no science to support these claims, but they have a financial incentive to sell the product and they have no shame when it comes to weaponizing their children. Even if we take the premise that this machine worked for helping with autism, the fact remains that MLM is the worst possible method for selling the product, and they are trying to profit by appealing to the emotions of those that are sympathetic to the MLMers plight.<br />
<br />
Any time an MLMer decides to weaponize the sick for their own self-gain, there should be an immediate red flag raised. The ulterior motives of these MLMers outweigh their concern for the sickly.<br />
_________________________________________________________________________<br />
<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
<br />
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/selling-work-home-or-other-business-opportunity-revised-rule<br />
<br />
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing<br />
<br />
https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/celebritytalentbios/Dr.+Travis+Fox/6051<br />
<br />
http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2017/11/reader-feedback-on-travis-fox.html<br />
<br />
http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2013/04/attorney-for-travis-fox-speaks-out.html<br />
<br />
http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/travis-fox-fake-doctorate.html<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-family: "cambay" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center;">Our ultimate vision is to empower our program alumni to build the businesses and lives of their dreams by leveraging our expertise, resources and vast business network</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br /></div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-66067606696150251402018-04-05T09:05:00.002-07:002018-04-05T18:21:31.470-07:00MLM and Digital Genius Lab<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about a "new" scam called "Digital Genius Lab". This post may look eerily familiar to a previous post about "Team Phoenix Marketing", and their leader Brandon Odom, especially since some of the members are the same. The new leaders of this group are the "Original Power Couple", Sean Malone and his wife Melissa, as well as Chris Baden. Together, these three have created a platform called "Digital Genius Lab", which is designed to do "90% of the work" when starting your "Affiliate Marketing" business. Let me be clear, this isn't real affiliate marketing, which you can learn about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing">here</a>, but rather a clever ruse to get people to purchase monthly training to advertise their MLM product. These hucksters, similar to Brandon, all seemed to have started from a group called "Global Affiliate Zone" (GAZ), and have splintered into separate factions to try and create their own method for selling training and water ionizing machines. They have learned, due to their vast time in "GAZ" and other MLMs, that the money is not made by selling the MLM product, but rather coming up with a clever way to get people to want to join.<br />
<br />
"Digital Genius Lab" seems to have risen from the ashes of "Team Phoenix Marketing", which apparently has dissipated, and has transferred some of the members to the new scam. One of the members, Ashley Krooks, is the person that originally tried to get me into "Team Phoenix Marketing", and has now become a high-ranking member of the new scam. Not only is Ashley featured in their introductory "<a href="http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2018/03/mlm-and-webinars.html">webinar</a>", but she has now become a "mentor". I was originally introduced to "Digital Genius Lab" through Ashley's website, which conveniently didn't change at all from her "Team Phoenix Marketing" website, and was immediately signed up for the free "webinar" and an e-mail list. <br />
<br />
The e-mails are nearly identical to Brandon's, which spam messages as often as three times a day, and are addressed from a pseudonym "Genie", who is the wife of "Digit". These two people of mystery, that are allegedly not the "original power couple", have one sole purpose, get people to click on the "webinar" link. They use anecdotal stories, emoji's, and buzz words, such as "dreams", "9-5", "Rat race", "become your own boss", yet fail to disclose what the actual "business opportunity" is or how people will become successful. The e-mails are very similar to a robot voice calling your phone. They are written into an automated e-mailing system and eventually will repeat themselves if you stay on the e-mail list long enough.<br />
<br />
The introductory "webinar" is also nearly identical to the "Team Phoenix Marketing" "webinar". It is an hour long video that talks about dreams, Sean Malone's struggles, how this allegedly is not another MLM, some nonsense about being involved with a non-profit in Africa, how their program is "90%" complete (same number as "Team Phoenix Marketing"), the $99.00 per month cost for their "training" (Also the same number as "Team Phoenix Marketing"), and some anecdotal rags to riches stories from some of their highest ranking members. Once again, much like the "Team Phoenix Marketing" "webinar", this "webinar" did not detail how the program was going to make you money, what the "big ticket item" is (Same terminology as "Team Phoenix Marketing"), or the role a new prospect was recruited to do. That hidden knowledge was only available after you pay the $99.00 fee.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, reviews for "Digital Genius Lab" are already popping up online, and they are much more accurate than anything I had read from other "Team Phoenix Marketing" reviews. I'm not sure why "Team Phoenix Marketing" was able to fly under the radar, but I'm glad to see people are already investigating this fraud, which can be deemed a third generation attempt to hawk "Enagic" water ionizing machines. In fact one reviewer, <a href="https://barenakedscam.com/digital-genius-lab-review">Jack Cao</a>, actually signed up for the service and went through the process of becoming a "Digital Genius Lab" member. His detailed review expressly shows the two levels of the fraud ("Digital Genius Lab" and "Enagic"), and how they use deceit to lure unsuspecting consumers into an unwanted and very expensive purchase.<br />
<br />
"Digital Genius Lab", much like "Team Phoenix Marketing", much like "Global Affiliate Zone", are all copycat scams involving fake training and the purchase of an overpriced and unscientific water ionizing machine from "Enagic". Not only are these programs unoriginal versions of the tools scams from MLMs like "Amway", but "Enagic" is also an unoriginal version of an MLM like "Amway". These amateur charlatans are using the lessons they learned from original frauds to create new frauds with different methods of chicanery. Instead of using lecture halls, they are using YouTube. Instead of recruiting in person at Starbucks, they are using Facebook advertisements. One of the most prolific fraudster's, Robert Kiyosaki, wrote a book titled, "Businesses of the 21st Century", which couldn't be a more apt way to describe these versions of the MLM fraud.<br />
<br />
_________________________________________________________________________________<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
<br />
https://barenakedscam.com/digital-genius-lab-review<br />
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-90373395805814902632018-03-28T13:18:00.001-07:002018-03-28T13:19:24.018-07:00MLM and Identity Politics (Argumentum Ad Hominem)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about the use of group identity to determine the efficacy of a claim. All too often people are being discredited because they have not experienced being in a particular group, and therefore can not speak about the group's trials and tribulations. In America, identity politics is at a fevered pitch and is being used as a weapon to defend ludicrous assertions. An example would be the current movement to abolish the Second Amendment because of a school shooting that happened in Florida. The group's premise is to solely blame guns for the shooting and ignore the other facts, such as the failure of the cops to stop this person at the scene, the failure of the cops to stop this person after more than forty visits to the person's house, and the failure of the FBI after they were informed about this person over a month in advance. Then the group will use their identity, as school shooting survivors, to defend their position against the Second Amendment and assert that their identity is what gives their position credibility. This logic is not only wrong, but dangerous as the group can attempt to discredit experts and statistics by simply stating they aren't part of the group.<br />
<br />Now, this isn't meant to suggest groups cannot have a correct assertion based on their identity, but rather they need to substantiate that assertion with something other than identity. If a small group of people from a particular ethnic background suggest that someone is racist, then they must provide evidence to support this claim. If the group's only argument for the claim is, they are all of a particular ethnic background, then that is not sufficient for determining whether or not the person is racist. However, if the group is able to provide evidence, such as all of them were denied service because of their background, then they can make the claim that the person is racist.<br /><br />MLMs use a form of this tactic regularly to undermine the critical arguments of others about their "business". This type of red herring is referred to as an ad hominem attack, because they are choosing to attack the source rather than the claim. An example of an MLMer using their identity as a way to defend their position would be, "That person has never been in an MLM". This suggests that no amount of research or logic can validate a particular position against MLM because the critic hasn't been a part of the group. This type of reasoning is flawed because the person may hold that position based on research and information they have gathered from former MLMers, and experience with MLM does not solely determine the ability to understand MLM.<br /><br />MLMers use these types of tactics because the research reflects very poorly on their "business opportunity". Any opportunity to distract from the statistics and analyses of MLM will be taken, because there is no honest way to defend the outrageous losses of MLM victims. Simply stating a person's position or claim is invalid because they aren't part of a group is not sufficient. Yet, MLMers successfully use this tactic because there is a lack of skepticism.<br /><br />Here are some of the other ways in which MLMs use their identity to defend their position:<br /><br />"That person has never owned their own business before." Funny, because an MLMer also doesn't own their business.<br /><br />"That person has never invested in anything before." Also funny, because "investing" in MLM means buying products at retail.<br /><br />"That person doesn't have the same mindset as a business owner". Interesting, an MLMer still has to listen to a boss, they just call them "upline".</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-75110496537256498082018-03-26T13:15:00.002-07:002018-03-26T13:16:37.200-07:00MLM and Style Over Substance Fallacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about confidence people utilizing their superficial appearance to portray themselves as a credible source. The way in which people dress is the most effective method for creating a version of themselves they want others to see. This technique is specifically designed to disarm potential skepticism by appearing to be a point of authority. MLMers regularly transform themselves by wearing a specific garb people associate with success, which helps them pitch their "business opportunity" more successfully. They will also insist that other MLMers dress in formal attire at meetings and seminars, because the illusion of success must be flawless in order to attract new members.<br /><br />MLMers regularly use gimmicks, such as videos of mansions and super cars, to substantiate their appearance of success. These videos are not valuable for investing in the "business opportunity", since they do not have anything to do with the actual idea or how a person will make money. The focus on hype and results is designed to obfuscate the reality of the MLM, which is a near 100% failure rate, and to give people the illusion that this is something they can attain.<br /><br />Another trick MLMers use is "love-bombing", which is designed to deceive potential investors into thinking the MLMers care about their well-being. Instead of explaining the "business opportunity", the MLMer will focus on specific emotional needs or wants of the potential recruit. They may listen to personal stories, use physical contact (such as hugs), or do a host of other activities that make the potential recruit feel special."Love-bombing", is a particularly effective red herring on younger individuals, especially since they will be the least skeptical of ulterior motives.<br />
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The most important part of investing is the idea, not the way in which the idea is presented. Sure, it helps to look a certain way, have a certain amount of energy and passion, and be well-spoken, but if your idea is bad, then no savvy investor will care. Television shows, such as "Shark Tank" and "Dragons' Den", are fantastic references for showing how to handle opportunities that are presented from convincing actors.<br />
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Here is a video from "Dragons' Den" in which a person tries to pitch "Lyoness":<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XCuLN9yWMUo" width="560"></iframe></div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-16132107723720179922018-03-13T08:15:00.002-07:002018-03-13T08:16:28.995-07:00MLM and the Argumentum Ad Populum Fallacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post pertains to a common fallacy which uses popularity to determine efficacy. This tactic is commonly used as an emotional appeal instead of a logical deduction, and the idea is to obfuscate reality by suggesting a large group of people can't all be wrong. However, throughout history we have seen large groups of people are routinely wrong, and some examples involve, slave owners in the United States, Nazi's in Germany, Fascists in Italy, Islamic State in Syria and Libya, and many many others. I had previously written about the mob mentality, and how it can make people inherit certain behaviors they would deem unsavory, therefore it doesn't make sense that a large group would determine something to be authentic. If anything, a large group of people can spiral and become less good as it grows, take the government as an example. The idea that a large group of people can prove something to be legitimate is flawed, and yet this fallacy continues to be used by MLM apologists. <br /><br />One of the biggest issues with this logic is the subjectivity of determining when a group is big enough to be considered authentic. There aren't any parameters for this logic, therefore a large group to one person may be a small group to another person. The news is a great example of the inconsistency in labeling big groups and small groups. One example would be the Las Vegas shooting versus the Florida massacre. If someone were to judge these two by their identifying titles, then they would think the Florida massacre was considerably larger than the Las Vegas shooting. The actual numbers are quite different, and by a wide margin. The Florida massacre left seventeen dead and fourteen injured versus Vegas which left fifty-eight dead and eight-hundred fifty-one injured, according to Google. Yet, Vegas was labeled as a shooting and Florida was a massacre. Now, there was some clear bias as Florida involved children at a school, which is a much more emotional topic than a concert being attacked, but objectively the labels should have been reversed.<br /><br />The context in which the group is being labeled is also extremely important for determining whether or not the group would be considered small or large. Going back to the Florida massacre example, a group of 17 people killed is a large number, considering a mass shooting is labeled as four or more people being killed. According to this fallacy, it would be fair to say every group of 17 people or more would be considered large, yet we know this to be untrue. If 17 senators voted against a bill, then we would consider that group to be very small and an overwhelming majority, 83 senators would make the bill pass. Therefore, simply focusing on a number cannot hold any weight, since context must be defined.<br /><br />A final issue with this logic is, what happens when a big group runs into a bigger group? What I mean by this is, let's say there are approximately eighteen million MLMers in the world, according to qurora, in 2015. That would be considered a big group, except the population of the world was seven billion, meaning less than .3% of the world's population was involved in MLM. Does that now mean that MLM is not a big group? To take this a step farther, let's say people say MLM is legitimate because eighteen million people were participating. Can we then say MLM is not legitimate because seven billion people didn't?<br /><br />The idea or qualifying a group as large, and therefore assuming they have an absolute truth, should be a red flag. There should be better qualifying characteristics than a number, and the person pitching the MLM should be giving those qualifications instead of this fallacy. The idea that a certain number of people couldn't be wrong is asinine, and it perpetuates a mentality of blind obedience.<br /><br />Dr. Martin Luther King said, "<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I have a dream that </span><span style="background-color: white;">my</span><span style="background-color: white;"> four little children will one day live in a nation where they will </span><span style="background-color: white;">not</span><span style="background-color: white;"> be </span><span style="background-color: white;">judged</span><span style="background-color: white;"> by the </span><span style="background-color: white;">color</span><span style="background-color: white;"> of their </span><span style="background-color: white;">skin</span><span style="background-color: white;">, but by the </span><span style="background-color: white;">content</span><span style="background-color: white;"> of their </span><span style="background-color: white;">character</span><span style="background-color: white;">."</span></span><br />Here is my version of this quote as it relates to this article. I have a dream that people will judge a business opportunity based on its merits and not on fallacies and misinformation.<br /><br />_________________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />Sources:<br /><br />https://www.quora.com/How-many-MLM-network-marketing-distributors-are-there-in-the-U-S<br /><br />https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/florida-high-school-shooting/index.html<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-37765926248538843482018-03-07T08:03:00.006-08:002018-03-07T08:04:44.434-08:00MLM and Webinars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post was inspired by a recent comment about "webinars" and their peddlers. A "webinar" is a lecture held on an internet platform, and unlike seminars, which are usually held in forums or halls, "webinars" require very little to host. This means the barrier to entry for hosting a "webinar" is very low, and people do not need to prove the veracity of their claims. To clarify, the "webinars" I'm referring to aren't real webinars, but rather sales scams and "MLMs" disguised as educational videos. There are plenty of actual webinars hosted by accredited professors and other experts, and they have designed their teachings to spread authentic information. Also, there are seminars that are held by fiction peddlers, such as Kiyosaki's real-estate seminars, but the cost of these seminars is substantially higher than that of a webinar. The cost of hosting a seminar prohibits amateur charlatans from entry into the seminar scams, but the internet allows people to enter the "webinar" scam field. This means people need to be more critical than ever about the information they are receiving online.<br /><br />The internet and its proliferation of information comes with great opportunities for people to learn and to be swindled. Facebook is particularly dangerous since they decide what content is good for each individual and what is not. Their algorithms are designed to show a person what they think that person wants to see, and this includes which news sources they deem relevant, as well as which advertisements are most likely to be appealing to the person and their needs. Unfortunately, Facebook doesn't care about the authenticity of these advertisements and the bad actors, which can result in charlatans being given access to an unprecedented number of people for a few dollars. This also lends credibility to the bad actor's claims since, according to Facebook, they are allegedly trying to crack down on "Fake news" and other phony advertising.<br /><br />YouTube has also given people an unprecedented amount of access to information and scams. The ability to load content on YouTube, with virtually no expense, has allowed lots of bad actors to come out and create "webinars". This gets compounded by the fact that YouTube also has algorithms that tries to find similar content to other videos and works handily with other platforms, such as Facebook, to further target people with specific videos. The bad actors are keen to these algorithms and regularly manipulate their videos and titles to fool the algorithms into thinking their content is something it isn't.<br /><br />An example of this may be, a mother looks for part-time work-from-home on Google. Google then tells YouTube (their subsidiary) this person specifically searched for this type of opportunity and YouTube populates their recommended videos with free MLM "webinars". The "webinar" addresses specific concerns the mother has and how they can fix those problems by paying for another "webinar". Then that "webinar" says the key to the hidden knowledge is in a different "webinar" and focuses on selling their most expensive "webinar". This ultimately leads to a lot of wasted time and money, since these "webinars" hosted by "gurus" don't actually have the answers the mother is seeking.<br /><br />Some examples of these bad actors are, Tyson Zahner, Eric Worre, John C. Maxwell, Robert Kiyosaki, Tai Lopez, and Tony Robbins. Please make note the last two are not specifically connected to MLM, but they still pull the same nonsense. These "webinars" are not exclusive to MLM chicanery.<br /><br />I want to really emphasize these "webinars" are scams, and the people that host these "webinars" are looking to enrich themselves by taking money from their consumers. If they had the answers they claim, then they wouldn't be wasting their time making "webinars", but rather would be spending their time doing the very things they claim makes them rich. As Mark Cuban says, <span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="background-color: white;">If a deal is a great deal, they aren't going to share it with you."</span></span><br /><br />The most important way to avoid these schemes involves the same way in which we critically investigate large purchases. The more research people can do about a "webinar" with a "guru" before paying for their services, the better that person will be equipped to deal with the deception. These bad actors don't want people to look for information about them on the web, just like Jimmy Kimmel wants you to forget he made his career from exploiting women.</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-67849370280429713552018-01-10T08:00:00.001-08:002018-01-10T08:01:11.591-08:00MLM and Marriage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about MLM and its consistent abuse of boundaries, especially when it comes to marriage. MLM, unlike most other businesses, does not stray away from people's personal lives, but rather attempts to merge with it. MLM is often pitched as a "side income opportunity" with the potential to become "a retirement opportunity". It is supposed to be flexible and allow people to "grow" at their own pace. However, the more a prospect becomes involved with the "training", the more time and energy the "business" requires. Also, because of the unorthodox hours in which MLM holds its "meetings" and "seminars", it directly conflicts with the personal lives of the prospects and members. Ideally, in the MLM "business", a member would look for prospects during the day, then spend their evenings and weekends trying to convert potential recruits into members, and even if a member doesn't have new recruits, they are still supposed to attend every meeting.<br />
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Marriages become the target of MLM scrutiny, because marriages can directly interfere with the MLM "business". Assuming both partners are not engaged in the MLM, the MLM leaders will create scenarios in which both the marriage and the MLM "business" cannot survive in harmony. MLM leaders will force spouses to choose meetings over important events, such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or anything else that may conflict with their agendas. MLM leaders show no remorse as they become more demanding of a prospect or member's time, and they will use a combination of "love-bombing" and passive-aggressive threats to make a spouse choose MLM over the other option. Eventually, the MLM will create a scenario, commonly referred to as an ultimatum, in which a spouse will have to choose between their marriage and the MLM "business". This is usually one of the final steps before complete indoctrination and the slow destruction of everything an MLM prospect or member had.<br /><br />MLMs are also financially draining as they require a consistent monthly fee to continue to participate. Note, the FTC specifically says pay-to-play schemes are illegal, which is why MLMs have carefully disguised this fee as products, tools, services, meetings, seminars, and occasionally a membership. The MLMs require a minimum monthly purchase of some or all of these categories, or a MLM member may not continue to qualify for bonuses and their "businesses" could be dismantled assuming they have "downline" members. These categories can be expensive, and as many as 99% of MLM members may not generate enough revenue from their "businesses" to cover these monthly fees. This causes a tremendous strain on marriages as one of the two spouses could sink thousands of dollars into this "business" while forcing the other spouse to cover the losses, or worse, could force both spouses into debt and ruin their finances and credit. This process will continue until there is no money left or the MLM participant voluntarily leaves.<br /><br />MLM and marriage is a particularly special topic because it effects one of our most sacred pillars of society. There are very few relatable subjects across all borders, but marriage is something everyone can relate to and understand. This is why MLMs, being responsible for the destruction of relationships and marriage, continues to be written about regularly. <br /><br />The first blog I ever read, "Married to an Ambot", is designed around the misery of being committed to a person that chooses "Amway" over their marriage. Luckily, they have a happy ending. "Joe Cool", the author of "Amway - The Dream or the Scheme?", was engaged when he was in "Amway", and he too walked away from the "business" after they challenged him to choose between the two. I also was presented with the ultimatum from an "Amway" Emerald, and he told me, "The business works better when you are with someone that is also in the business, you may want to reconsider your relationship", I chose my relationship. Even though these three examples all reflect good decision making, they should not be treated as a regular outcome, and even though these three examples are about "Amway" (because apparently the "American Way" is to promote separation and divorce), there can be examples found across all MLMs.<br /><br />Here are some tips to help prevent MLM from destroying your relationship or marriage:<br /><br />1. Listen to your spouse. This person agreed, usually in front of a large group, to be there for you no matter what. Ask why they think MLM is the answer, and then suggest an alternative in a positive or uplifting fashion. Do not ridicule them, they aren't your puppy.<br /><br />2. Treat your spouse kindly. Usually, MLM is appealing because the spouse is receiving "love-bombing". You can provide this as well, in a constructive way, and then encourage your spouse to do more research about the "business".<br /><br />3. Have your spouse talk to someone with business acumen about the "opportunity". This won't be effective unless the spouse is actually willing to listen, and could backfire if they are already indoctrinated. They have to be ready to listen to what a business person has to say, and not be defensive with their programmed rebuttals.<br /><br />4. Do not send an ultimatum. Ultimatums almost never have the anticipated result, and usually cause the person to vehemently reject your option. Nobody wants to be forced into a corner, especially someone that thinks they are doing what is best for the family.<br /><br />5. Remove your spouse from the routine. Often, people find themselves in a rut, and life just seems strangely more difficult and frustrating. Take some time away from everything, then come back and approach the situation with a clear head and fresh eyes. You will be amazed at how much less dreary things seem you step away for a short period.</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-68561359125559235852018-01-04T06:35:00.000-08:002018-01-04T06:36:38.136-08:00MLM and Appeal to Consequences Fallacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about a frequently used piece of rhetoric by MLMers, "If MLM is illegal, then why hasn't it been shut down?". This line falls under the category of the appeal to consequences fallacy, which suggests something must be legitimate if it hasn't been abolished. This type of logic assumes an undefined conclusion is causation for the current state in which something operates, which can be true, but usually needs to be supported by other conditions. In other words, this type of logic can only be used as support for a position and not as definitive proof.<br /><br />An example of the failure in this logic would be the case of Bernie Madoff. He operated an illegal Ponzi scheme for decades, but by this logic, it was deemed legitimate until he was shut down. This is problematic, because the fallacy suggests his "business" was not a problem until law enforcement got involved, which is inherently untrue as things don't transform from legitimate to illegitimate because of a lawsuit. A lawsuit is designed as a means to determine if the "business" has been legitimate or not, and then passes a judgment based on the findings.<br /><br />MLMs have regularly been in the crosshairs of the FTC, and many have been successfully shut down. This presents a second issue with the logic, because MLMs that have had legal action brought against them, have had some sort of consequence from each judgment. A recent example is "Herbalife", which was investigated by the FTC and had to settle the case by paying a $200 million dollar fine. The idea that a company would be legitimate, and have to pay a substantial fine to victims, creates a problematic situation for this logic. If "Herbalife" had been operating legitimately, then the case would not have produced this type of result, and "Herbalife" would have continued to operate the same way. However, "Herbalife" was found to have significant issues within the compensation plan and was forced to restructure in the United States.<br /><br />Here is what former FTC chair, Edith Ramirez, had to say about Herbalife:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">“This settlement will require Herbalife to fundamentally restructure its business so that participants are rewarded for what they sell, not how many people they recruit,” FTC Chairwoman Ramirez said. “Herbalife is going to have to start operating legitimately, making only truthful claims about how much money its members are likely to make, and it will have to compensate consumers for the losses they have suffered as a result of what we charge are unfair and deceptive practices.”<br /><br />Some of the other MLMs that have been shut down are, "Burnlounge", "WakeUpNow", "Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing", "Monavie", "Five Star Auto Club", "ZeekRewards", and many many more.<br /><br />The idea that a particular MLM is operating legitimately, specifically because it hasn't been shut down, is more about luck, and less about operating within the guidelines of the law. Unfortunately, the FTC has yet to make a case against all "businesses" operating as MLMs, but that isn't to say it won't happen in the future. As of now, any MLM that has had litigation brought against them, has either settled or been shut down.<br /><br />_________________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />Sources: </span><span style="text-align: left;"><br />https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/07/herbalife-will-restructure-its-multi-level-marketing-operations<br /><br />https://onlinemlmcommunity.com/list-of-defunct-shut-down-and-out-of-business-mlm-companies/</span></div>
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-87553775155396136262017-12-19T06:51:00.000-08:002017-12-19T06:52:29.383-08:00MLM and Product Psychology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about the excitement MLMers exhibit when it comes to their products. It is important to note, most MLM products are not unique, do not have any quantifiable research to support their claims, and can be found in retail outlets for a fraction of the price. Yet, MLMers treat their products as revolutionary and their enthusiasm can be comparable to the first iPhone launch. Some of the most common MLM products include, vitamins and supplements, makeup, water filtration units, dietary shakes, vacation packages, car assistance packages, cryptocurrencies, and life insurance. The two most important parts about MLM products, and why they choose these particular areas of the marketplace are, they are unregulated markets and they are highly subjective. MLMs choose to focus on these two markets because their rules are the most vague, and they can say unusually non-credible statements without getting into the same amount of trouble as others.<br />
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This leads to MLM's number one problem, getting people to care about their product or service. MLMers use psychological techniques to enhance excitement about their product or service, and the techniques fall into two main categories: individual and group. It is important that they use both styles of techniques, because we are biologically wired to be recognized as an individual and be part of a bigger group. Also by using the following techniques, it significantly disarms consumers from making rational decisions. Some individual techniques MLMers use are, smiles, light contact (hand shakes, hugs, shoulder touching), story sharing, and attentiveness. This helps feed into a consumer's ego and makes them feel important. Some of the group techniques MLMers use are, forming "team" meetings at houses, and holding conferences at churches and stadiums. By showing people that they aren't alone, and by introducing high-levels of enthusiasm at meetings (large levels of applause for speakers, music, lights), it creates confidence that the "business opportunity" is real. Note, these techniques have nothing to do with learning about a "business opportunity" and are predominately used to sell something. These techniques do not make a person authentic and are often used as a means to an end.<br />
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MLMers create a false euphoria around their products and services, because they know very few people want the "opportunity" to go to family, friends, and strangers about soap, water filtration systems, dietary shakes, and makeup. By transforming the "J-O-B" into a dream making, unlimited potential, independent, "opportunity", it makes an extremely undesirable MLM into the choice of a lifetime. </div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-16988145556576475682017-12-06T15:39:00.001-08:002017-12-06T15:40:19.610-08:00MLM and Echo Chambers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about the echo chambers in MLMs and how they fuel the core principles and beliefs held by fanatical MLMers. These echo chambers are designed to reinforce thought-stopping jargon created by MLM leaders for the sole purpose of retaining membership. Echo chambers strive to silence dissenting opinions while creating a euphoria for their "businesses". Echo chambers are one of the strongest foundations of MLM, and they continue to perpetuate cognitive dissonance for the MLM members. This cognitive dissonance refers to the inability to reconcile the damage people are doing to themselves and others under the guise of helping others to achieve wealth and happiness.<br /><br />Echo chambers can be regularly found in a multitude of categories. In recent news, James Damore, a former Google senior software engineer, wrote about the ideological echo chamber created in the Google work environment involving the sexes. We have echo chambers at American universities, in which opposing viewpoints to the left's agenda have been met with protests and violence. We have echo chambers in the American main stream media, in which certain media outlets choose to report on the issues they feel are important. And most importantly, with the proliferation of the internet, we have created our own echo chambers and surrounded ourselves with the information we want supported by the people we like. We have created a world which has become polarized, and we have strayed very far from the original principles of healthy dialogue.<br /><br />These echo chambers impede progress and the ability to think freely. It is important to listen to people with opposing viewpoints, understand why they have those viewpoints, and then proceed to engage in dialogue. If a person cannot remove themselves from their echo chamber, then they can become victims of control. The development of this control over our thoughts and feelings is seamless and can happen very quickly. The echo chamber allows a person or group to dictate all information their followers receive, and can create a potentially damaging situation without the followers realizing they are being controlled. This also creates an inherent laziness to try and understand why a person is giving certain information, which gives more power to the leaders because the followers will not question anything.<br /><br />Echo chambers are MLM leader's most powerful weapons. By creating an environment in which unquestioning obedience is mandatory, they can say and do anything without consequence. I previously attended a MLM seminar, called "Freedom Enterprise Days", in which only MLM members and recruits were allowed, and each MLM leader came out on stage with the same message. This seminar did not have a question and answer portion and the MLM leaders did not engage with the potential recruits. Instead, they showed a video that was carefully choreographed, followed by a story or monologue, and ended with thunderous applause. Each leader that approached the stage had nearly identical formulas, and they repeated this process for two and a half days. There was no ability to fact check their statistics, there was no proof their stories were truthful or relevant, and yet people listened to them with undying faith. This lack of skepticism is extremely dangerous, and it costs people billions of dollars annually.<br /><br />Arguably the greatest gifts people have are free will and free thought, yet people instinctively give up these gifts regularly in the pursuit of satisfying their needs. Confidence people understand how to control others by taking the former assets away. They offer love, security, answers, and anything else a person may need due to vulnerability. It is up to each individual to be accountable for their actions. The ability to ask why, as Socrates did, is our greatest weapon to protect ourselves from intellectual predators.<br /></div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-5810543248732911942017-11-14T06:58:00.001-08:002017-11-14T06:59:09.660-08:00MLM and The Emotional Thermometer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about the separation of emotions from business. Too often, people utilize emotions to make important decisions, and business is one of the worst areas in which this occurs. Business should involve a calm and collected mind, but MLM is different as they tend to focus on the high-energy and fast-paced illogical hard-sell. MLMs specifically focus on the emotions and irrational side of the brain, because the numbers are particularly horrific. In a cursory Google search, one can find income disclosure sheets for a number of MLMs, and they show MLMs have extremely high failure rates and below minimum wage earnings across the vast majority of their population. Therefore, it is important for MLMs to go out of their way to distract from, or ignore these numbers, if they intend to continue to grow.<br />
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Emotions can be synonymous with temperature, hence the term emotional thermometer. It is important to regularly check our emotions, and analyze why certain situations evoke a larger or more intense emotional response than others. For example, if there is a particular situation in which I get angry, then I often reflect on that experience and try to understand why I got so "hot headed". This is important because the higher the emotional level, the less likely rational thought will be implemented. It is important to have emotions but they must be balanced. Any emotional extreme can lead to poor decision making, and ultimately can cause a lot of harm.<br /><br />MLMs utilize psychological techniques to make people as emotional and non-rational as possible. They hold seminars, sometimes as long as an entire weekend, designed to eliminate critical thought by means of high-intensity content. Instead of pitching the "opportunity" as accurately as possible, they utilize "love-bombing", music, lights, anecdotal commentary, and dreams. These mechanisms are designed to obfuscate reality and invert the damning statistics. They do nothing to prepare a potential prospect with training, and they do not reveal the costs of the "business" until a person has been primed by hours of meaningless content. Their ultimate goal is to get a person as "pumped" as possible, because the higher the "pump" the less likely people are to question the motives and information.<br /><br />Again, if MLMs were as accurate and direct as possible then they would fail, which is why they spend tons of money holding "seminars", "meetings", "trainings", and other unnecessary "functions" to subvert a person's critical faculties. They want someone's emotional thermometer to be as high as possible, because that will lead to a person's inability to dissociate fantasy from reality. Salespersons often focus on building relationships over the quality or content of their goods and services, because that can be more effective when closing the sale. It is important to remember this, because the "opportunity" is actually a big hard-sell to get a prospect to spend their hard earned dollars (or other currency) on the MLM.<br /><br />One of my favorite expressions is: "<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">If you're playing a poker game and you look around the table and and can't tell who the sucker is, it's you." (Paul Newman) The same can be said for MLM. If you can't tell why the MLMers care about you so much, especially compared to the way an average person treats you, then you are the perfect sucker they target.</span></span><br /><br /><br /></div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-54147938829993943472017-10-31T07:58:00.002-07:002017-11-01T05:42:36.902-07:00MLM and "Team Phoenix" the Halloween Special, with a Scary Character Known as Brandon Odom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about Brandon Odom, the creator of "Team Phoenix", and how he decided to join a MLM called "Enagic" and create a "new" way to recruit. His technique isn't actually new, but it is cleverly modified, and it does seem to be working. He is using the technique of providing a "system" in which "90%" of the work is already "completed", and all you have to do is post advertisements. Once you have posted an advertisement, simply lead the prospect to his videos and let him take care of the rest. The problem is, the way in which you make money is directly correlated to the dollars a new member spends on an Enagic machine, and you will not make any money if the prospects do not purchase this machine. There are no retail sales to outside consumers, there is no formal training about the product, aside from some goofy home made YouTube videos by current members with no formal experience in this field, and there is no control over how you want to run the "business". This, much like organizations such as "WWDB" for Amway, is another cheesy rendition of a "fool-proof system" that is designed to profit off of, rather than enrich the adherents.<br />
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Here is a link to his, "The Dream Life Blueprint": <br />
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https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fteamphoenixmarketing.com%2Fthe-dream-life-blueprint&h=ATN90PejeyMxqJ010PxWQO_UcEmBNVDXaCixt8i5frfZ3UeDA1Zw-PEq5JeDUyyZJFm7hHI_q0Ftn-vY9693T-uMO30n1j-Q_QgIbodx4a8kCnFwuKWzyKCW-TISvDhX6woZjWAHhg&s=1&enc=AZNhYIdEzgA-gN2QtKbWkgb7iEIYr_2NWZM-wGciLzk-UHb1zbZR-IXQxRTLpLE4NzeKIxqWdzM3vEU98tOxkHfR.<br />
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Some key visual techniques he uses are, <span style="font-size: large;">bigger than usual font</span>,<br />
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lots of spacing to make the text easier to read,<br />
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<b>bold</b> text in random places, <b>bold </b>and <span style="background-color: yellow; font-weight: bold;">yellow</span><b style="background-color: white;"> </b><span style="background-color: white;">text for really "important" stuff or </span><i style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;">bold </i><i style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;">italicized </i><span style="background-color: white;">words, emoji's, and pictures. All of these devices are used to create a personal connection to the reader. Because he can't personally use his voice and character, he uses these techniques to create the person he thinks you want him to be, and this is his way of manipulating the targets into trusting him.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">He also chooses to use language that targets a younger age group, particularly those that have just gotten out of the military or college and are looking for their next step in life. He uses testimonials, with pictures of young folks, to help make the targeting more effective, as well as emojis and a very informal writing style. He knows, probably from many years of practice, that his target market, is going to be between the ages of 25-40, and predominantly people that are in a transition period in life.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Here is a synopsis of this 24-page "blueprint":</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white;"><u>Pages 1-4</u></b><span style="background-color: white;">: This is the "introduction" (I use quotes because he doesn't actually tell you anything about the "business"), which is designed to create a persona in which a prospect can relate. He tells you a story about his life, which could be true or could be embellished. He talks about the "struggle" that every MLMer loves to mention and he doesn't hold back on trigger phrases such as, "Imagine waking up without an alarm clock", "in your brand new life", "a few thousand bucks", "you only started this venture 5 months ago but are already earning enough money to replace you're [sic] full-time income", "you're spending more time with family", "you're getting out of debt", "you've got piece [sic] of mind for retirement security", and many more. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">He also uses hyperbole to emphasize his success and dedication to creating his "system". He mentions his income is "over 6-figures", he claims he "lost over $100,000" originally, and he says he has helped people earn "millions of dollars" in commissions. This should be taken very lightly since the average MLMer makes around $2,400.00 a year, which includes the top .1% that make hudreds of thousands or millions, and most wouldn't have, or be willing to risk, "$100,000" on any investment. Also, "millions of dollars" in commissions is incredibly vague, especially since he doesn't say how many people it took to get to that number, and means virtually nothing. If it took a million people to get to two million in commissions, that would be a very bad opportunity. It is important to consider the potential spin created by statements like these.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white;"><u>Pages 5-9</u></b><span style="background-color: white;">: This section is a bunch of testimonials from average looking young couples (oddly they are all white) and their success. The success they describe in these testimonials is </span><b><u style="background-color: yellow;"><i>NOT</i></u></b><span style="background-color: white;"> normal, and this section violates the FTC's rules about using misleading testimonials. Again, the average MLMer doesn't make anything close to the claims these people are making. On a side note, the person that originally tried to get me to join is one of the people giving a testimonial, Ashley Krooks (fitting name), and you can read about that experience in my previous "Team Phoenix" post (</span>http://themlmsyndrome.blogspot.com/2017/05/mlm-and-team-phoenixa-new-con.html). Again, he bolds all of the monies that were claimed to be made by these people, as well as a few trigger phrases, yet he still hasn't told us what the "business" is, how we make money, or anything else that would be relevant to this subject.<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Pages 10-15: </u>This section finally begins his "blueprint" meaning the first 9 pages were completely irrelevant drivel. This particular section focuses on his first step, "Find the perfect 'high ticket' [sic] offer to promote". He emphasizes "high-ticket" (I don't understand why he puts that in quotes), because Enagic water machines are extremely expensive, and he is trying to create a logical reason for why people should spend thousands of dollars. He suggests that high-ticket items are better to sell because you don't need to sell to as many customers. His example about why high-ticket items are better is hilariously faulty, he suggests it is better to make $1,000 dollar commission on machines that cost over $4,000 (25%), than it is to sell something for $27.00 and make a $12.00 commission (44%). Percentages are what matter, and it is much more practical to sell something for $27.00 than over $4,000.00 to the public.<br />
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He then uses an Alinsky tactic by suggesting this isn't MLM. He says, "...<b>you've probably looked into various ways of earning extra money from home before.</b> Maybe you even got involved with a multi-level marketing (MLM) program." It isn't a coincidence that he only mentions MLM as a way of making money from home, because Enagic is a MLM, and his "Team Phoenix Marketing" is just a propaganda machine to help recruit people into the MLM. This lie, aside from being bizarre, is the ultimate betrayal of trust. He suggests this is something different from any other MLM, and yet it is exactly the same. He even brings up the "<b>60% to 75% attrition rate for distributors in the first year</b>", which he cleverly uses as a lie to act as though his "business" is something different. He actually takes a damning statistic and spins it to meet his need.<br />
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Finally, he goes into another bizarre example involving price and value. Here is his logic, "the <b>price doesn't matter</b> as long as the customer <b>believes deep down they are getting more value </b>than the money they're paying. In other words, as long as you can deceive the person into believing they are getting something of tremendous value, then you can charge them whatever you want. This is one of his most honest lines, and it shows his delusional thought process. Value determines price, period. If something has more value, then the price will get higher. Because the Enagic machine has no value, because it doesn't work, you have to make the person "believe" they are getting a great value. This the logic every snake-oil salesperson uses.<br />
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He still hasn't told us the product is Enagic, but he has tried to get us to enroll in his "webinar", which will hopefully be more informational.<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Pages 15-17:</u> This section focuses on "<b>Step #2: Create an 'Automatic' Sales Process</b>" (again I'm not sure why he puts automatic in quotes)<br />
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First he says, "Your customers need to <b>know, like and trust</b> you in order for them to buy from you." This is the heart of the deceit. The product isn't relevant, and instead it is all about creating the relationship. This is important, because the product he is trying to sell doesn't actually have any value. Therefore, the only way to sell this product is to get "customers" to "<span style="background-color: yellow; font-weight: bold;">know, like and trust</span><span style="background-color: white;">" the snake-oil salesman. </span><br />
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Next he talks about his "<b>sales funnel</b>". Once a person signs up for his webinar, or enters an e-mail address, it is game on. You will be subjected to repeat e-mails, daily, and invitations to continuously join his "webinar". This can be automated, meaning you can have an e-mail saved to a program, and then it will shoot it out to anyone that gives their information, and it won't stop until they unsubscribe. I previously signed up for his e-mail, and received at least 3 e-mails a day, every day, and didn't get any repeat e-mails for a week. He has put a lot of time into these automated e-mails, and the e-mails, much like this "blueprint", contain nothing about the product and focus solely on trigger phrases and emotional garbage.<br />
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At the end of this section he says, "<i style="font-weight: bold;">**Special Bonus: When you work with me and my team we close sales on your behalf! Watch until the end to learn more**</i>". Again, all he wants you to do is create advertisements for him, and he never wants you to mention his product "Enagic".<br />
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He also inserts another link to watch his "Webinar".<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Pages 17-21:</u> This section focuses on, "<b>Step #3: Find People That Will Become Customers AKA 'Targeted Traffic'".</b><br />
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This section will focus on creating Facebook advertisements. This is niche version of creating a "system" that will help generate "sales" to "customers". The problem is, the "system" is already saturated with the people from the testimonials section, the sales are simply disguised pay-to-play fees, and the customers are only members of the organization.<br />
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His opening paragraph has this line, "Products and services <b>don't sell themselves</b>. People are the ones that give value to other people in exchange for money." This is some seriously spun nonsense. Products sell themselves all the time with catchy labels, nice looking bottles, preferred shelf space, and most importantly, the ability to work. People are necessary to promote a product, and create attention toward the product, but all of that is irrelevant if the product is garbage. I don't care how good a sales person is, if they are selling bovine excrement, then they will not get sales (supposing they aren't using deceit).<br />
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He then says, "I can show you not only how to <i>profitably</i> get offers in front of a lot of people on social media but how to get them in front of <b><i>right</i> people that will buy!</b>"<br />
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This, much like the rest of this, is incredibly spun to sound significant. He is only offering to help create targeted ads on Facebook, and this is something Facebook and its development team has painstakingly worked on to make as easy as possible. He doesn't have some special hidden knowledge, much like a cult leader, and this doesn't guarantee any of the successes listed in the above testimonials. In fact, since those others have already saturated the market with their advertisements, chances are strong your advertisements will not be nearly as successful.<br />
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He then uses his other "business", "Batchata Addiction", as an advertisement sample, but it is really just an extra promotion for himself. He doesn't actually talk about the process of creating a Facebook advertisement. The advertisement he posted was also a resounding failure, from a business perspective, as he spent over double on advertising compared to the typical marketing budget.<br />
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Finally, he uses more trigger phrases such as, "I've spent <b>tens of thousands of dollars</b> just on Facebook ads alone (<b>and made hundreds of thousands of dollars</b> from them)." I'll call BS on that one, and you have now created a way to get people to pay you to spend money on Facebook advertisements instead of yourself AND they are paying you to do it. Another trigger phrase, "<b style="background-color: yellow;">earn over $4,000 a month in commissions from my own high-ticket sales</b>, how I'm earning <b>residual (passive) income</b> <b>at the same time</b>." Again, I'll call BS, and it isn't "passive" or "residual" if you have to keep promoting it constantly, spend lots of money, and constantly host "webinars". That is the opposite of passive.<br />
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He wraps this section by adding another link to his webinar, and still hasn't talked about "Enagic".<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Pages 21-24:</u> This section, commonly referred to in sales as "the offer".<br />
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This section also never refers to the actual "business opportunity" (Enagic), and is only designed as a sales pitch for his own "teaching".<br />
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He starts with a meaningless recapitulation of the three steps, and then talks about the cost of his program. He says, "We planned on pricing our community membership at $499 initially. That's a killer deal for everything you get with it (<i>more on that in a sec</i>) but <b>we wanted to help as many people as possible </b>get started with their own online business so we tossed that out the window."<br />
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Lots of stuff going on in this section. First, that "$499" is a ridiculous number and should be laughed at. Second, anyone that follows up a ridiculous number with "that's a killer deal", should really be laughed at. Third, why bold "help as many people as possible"? That's not the most important part of this statement, and this language is code for extract as much money from people as possible (obviously people aren't willing to pay $499 for some random guy's "training).<br />
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Brandon then says, "It's <i>only</i> <b>$99 dollars</b> <b>to get started and its </b><span style="background-color: yellow; font-weight: bold;">100% Risk-Free</span><span style="background-color: white;">." </span><br />
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Again, lots to unpack here. First, how many different attention grabbing devices does he need for this sentence? There might as well have been a loud siren coming out of the speakers at the same time. This looks like someone just hit the lottery. Second, how did he just chop the price down 75%? This sales tactic is known as "price anchoring", and it has become a rampant problem in most retail settings. Anything can be marked down 75% as long as the starting price is high enough, and the idea of that large savings is enticing enough to fool lots of people into paying the real retail cost. Third, and most importantly, any time someone says, "guarantee", "risk-free", "fool-proof", or any of these other disarming phrases, you must be MORE armed. These phrases are not needed if something is legitimate, and are only used to manipulate people when things aren't legitimate. Again, if someone uses a term like "100% Risk-Free" (which is redundant), you should be running in the other direction.<br />
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As if this doesn't get worse, he then says, <br />
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"<b>Pretty sweet deal huh?</b>"<br />
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"<i>So...what's the catch?</i>"<br />
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"<u style="font-weight: bold;">There is NO catch.</u>"<br />
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This is as bad as it gets. The visual attention grabbing devices are over utilized. The self-contained conversation is bizarre. The the reiteration of a non-risk "opportunity" screams the opposite. This is the cheesiest and most awful sales tactics a person could use.<br />
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He gets into his return policy, which he very generously cuts in half from the usual 30 days. He says, "We're going to give you complete access to our entire training suite, marketing system and community for a FULL 14 days to decide if our program is for you. That is your 'due diligence' period." The fact that he is calling this a "due diligence" period is ridiculous. 14 days (not sure why he chose that number) is not enough time to verify whether this program is effective, unless you already know its junk.<br />
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Finally, he talks again about the price only this time it has become a monthly subscription. He says, "<b>we only charge $99 (USD) per month</b> for you to maintain an active subscription and <b>get full access </b>to everything we provide." Wait, a second. Didn't he just say this was a $499.00 program that became a $99.00 program, yet now it could be as high as $1,188.00 a year and continue to charge? This is beyond ridiculous. The idea that you would have to maintain a subscription for a one-time teaching about Facebook ads is criminal, and he is preying on people that are extremely vulnerable.<br />
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Brandon Odom, if you are reading this, I have reported you and your garbage to the FTC, and I want you to know that your days are numbered. This type of exploitative and manipulative garbage is not acceptable and should not be ignored. You are a burden and a parasite on society.<br />
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***UPDATE***<br />
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I will be adding comments from Brandon Odom's apologists to this post. These people are important to acknowledge because they reflect cult-like manipulation Brandon has used on them. <br />
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Here is the a comment from "Michael Caldwell" on 10/31/17:<br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />Wow, that was quite the read. And absolutely missed the mark entirely. So much time and effort spent to try and tear down something that has helped so many. You can report Brandon Odom and Team Phoenix all you want. You can scream from the highest mountain that we are all scammers and this is all bullshit. And you will still be wrong.</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The system literally is only $99/month to start up. Should you like the business opportunity Enagic presents then you make a purchase of YOUR CHOICE and get started. There is ZERO catch. Dont like it? Cancel for a refund. It couldnt be any simpler than that. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">This community is full of some of the most incredible people ive ever had the pleasure of meeting. Enagics products are INCREDIBLE, and Enagic itself is beyond reproach. Go ahead, report them to. Im sure that will affect their A+ standing with the BBB. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If you focused this energy into self improvement and working towards a future of your design you would be absolutely blown away with the results. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Thanks for the flame on my post, ill use push myself even harder to prove every single piece of hatred and doubt in that post wrong. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Thank you Brandon for all youve done.</span><br />
<br />Important points to focus on in this comment,<br />
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The $99.00 a month has nothing to do with Enagic. That fee is for the "Team Phoenix Marketing" program. There is no requirement to be in "Team Phoenix Marketing" if you want to be an Enagic distributor. This is the same type of scam program World Wide Dream Builders is to Amway. Michael Caldwell has attempted to conflate the two.<br />
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Enagic's products are not "INCREDIBLE", in fact they don't work at all. Lazy Man does an excellent job investigating Enagic here, http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/kangen-water-scam/<br />
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The BBB is not a credible reference for MLM legitimacy. You should look to the FTC for this.<br /><br />Here is a comment from "Derk Hagglund" on 10/31/17<br /><br /><img height="299" src="https://scontent-dft4-3.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/23146059_1789028754728630_1320513690_n.jpg?oh=1bef3e72091bbd0bd490a9bc39f7fa97&oe=59FBD778" width="400" /><br /><span style="background-color: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; text-align: initial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f0f0; text-align: initial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Shit works bro, have fun at your 9-5
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why post a picture of someone else, and since when did some goofy giant check mean anything? As many of us have learned, it isn't impossible to be successful in MLM, but the success comes from the losses of many.
Another person that presumes I am in a "9-5" because I don't do MLM. Interesting trend.</span></span></div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-60633383741536005572017-10-11T09:49:00.003-07:002017-10-11T09:52:21.418-07:00MLM and Affirming a Disjunct Fallacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about a fallacy, which is very similar to the "Us vs. Them" mentality, called affirming a disjunct. The fallacy is predicated on the idea that there are two options to determine an outcome and as long as one of the options is true, then the other option must be false. The idea that an outcome can be determined by only two options, and that those options can't both be true or false, makes this logic inherently flawed for any complex situation. It would be similar to approaching every decision in life as a true or false examination.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="background-color: white;">Description:</strong><span style="background-color: white;"> Making the false assumption that when presented with an either/or possibility, that if one of the options is true that the other one must be false. This is when the “or” is not explicitly defined as being </span><i style="background-color: white;">exclusive</i><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Here is a basic example of this fallacy:<br /><br />Is it going to be sunny or rainy today? It rained between 7-9 am. Therefore it must not be sunny today.<br /><br />This example illustrates the inability to determine the answer based on the two options given. The day could be rainy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon, or if you are in Hawaii, it could be sunny while it rains. These two options cannot clearly and concisely determine the outcome. While the example listed above is very basic, there are many complex situations in which we use this fallacy regularly to determine an outcome, and often it goes unnoticed, or worse, creates anger and violence. <br /><br />A more prominent example would be, is abortion right or wrong?<br /><br />The idea that abortion could be labeled as "right" or "wrong" is inherently flawed because the question involves subjectivity, where as "right" and "wrong" would involve objectivity. People commonly make this mistake when trying to define a moral argument, and often have difficulty accepting the outside influences which determine the answer. Abortion can be both "right" and "wrong", and usually is determined by a long list of variables such as, a person's religious beliefs, a particular society's beliefs, or a person's moral beliefs. This is why topics, such as abortion, are continuously discussed, and often mishandled, because people want to arbitrarily label them as "right" or "wrong" and pretend they aren't complex.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">MLMs utilize this fallacy for their self-gain as well. They create false dichotomies to evoke an emotional, non-critical response, in their targets. These false dichotomies are designed to lead a prospective MLMer in a desired direction, and are also designed to shut down their cognitive faculties.<br /><br />An example of MLMs using this fallacy is: There are only two ways to get through life, "Work a 9-5 J-O-B", or be an "entrepreneur" (this isn't really entrepreneurial) and join "MLM".<br /><br />They will take it a step further and load the desired answer by suggesting working the "9-5 J-O-B" is going to take many years before retiring, will make someone else fabulously rich while you work for less, will require you to take minimum amounts of vacation, and many other fear mongering lines. After hearing all of this, they will basically make a prospect choose between MLM or doom.<br /><br />The logic in this example is inherently flawed as there are many ways to make money aside from "MLM" and a "9-5 J-O-B", such as investing, or actually owning a business, or buying and renting real-estate. The idea that you have only these two options in life, and that MLM is going to be better than a "9-5 J-O-B" is false, and according to the MLM income disclosure statements 99% of people working "9-5 J-O-B's" actually make more money.<br /><br />Another example of MLM using this fallacy is: If you want to be happy and make your dreams come true, then you must either join MLM or become a "traditional" entrepreneur.<br /><br />They will then load the desired answer again by talking about all of the risks involved in the "traditional" method, as well as the barriers to entry. A MLMer will suggest "traditional" entrepreneurs must invest large sums of money, potentially be unprofitable for years, and have a huge risk of failure, and all of this is accurate. However, they leave out the part where MLM can also require large amounts of money, will be potentially unprofitable for years (and for over 95% never profitable), and has a huge risk of failure. They also leave out the fact that most of the people living the "happy" lives and have the "dreams" that came true are business owners, not MLMers.<br /><br />The example leaves out the many options in which someone can be happy and make their dreams come true outside of MLM and entrepreneurship. Many skilled laborers such as, physicians, lawyers, engineers, software developers, and many others, make large sums of money and live very successful lives. Far more of these people with advanced degrees make large sums of money than MLMers and many of them make more money than entrepreneurs. Again, the idea that you have to be a MLMer or a "traditional" entrepreneur to live a happy life is far too general.<br /><br />Always be wary of people suggesting there are only two options for any given choice, especially if one of the options is clearly flawed. Human beings are complex individuals and it is extremely rare that any decisions can only have two options. This is one of the best parts of being a person, we don't have to limit ourselves to a particular set of standards, and often what works for one person will not work for the next.<br /></span></div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-13631572238818973302017-10-04T20:12:00.000-07:002017-10-04T20:13:06.181-07:00MLM and Affirming The Consequent Fallacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about a trickier fallacy to identify known as affirming the consequent. This fallacy is effective because it starts with a valid or true statement and then spins that into an erroneous one. Therefore, we have to identify the error in the bridge from the original statement to the conclusion, which is difficult because most people will focus on this part the least. It is also difficult because the abuser of the fallacy may skip the bridge entirely and simply start with a correct statement and then leap to the erred conclusion. If you are unprepared to identify why the conclusion is wrong, then you may be more easily convinced by other faulty logic.<br /><br />Here is the definition of affirming the consequent fallacy: "<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is categorical in nature and, essentially, means reversing an argument, or putting the cart before the horse, meaning reversing or confusing the general category with the specific/sub-category. Note that in this fallacy <i>the premises/reasons are actually correct</i> <i>or valid</i>; the error is found <i>between</i> the premises and conclusion. Usually, the error occurs because we incorrectly assume that the Premise was a sufficient condition, when in fact it was only a necessary condition (one of <i>many</i> conditions) necessary to prove the conclusion."<br /><br />In case that was confusing, let's first understand the difference between a "sufficient condition" and a "necessary condition". A sufficient condition or conditions is made up of necessary conditions which are used to predict the outcome of an event. The necessary conditions, alone, cannot be utilized to predict the outcome of an event because there are other necessary conditions that can affect the outcome. In other words, a necessary condition is a piece of a pie, whereas a sufficient condition is the entire pie.<br /><br />An example of a sufficient condition: If I score an average of 95% on all of my assessments, then I will receive an A in my class.<br /><br />An example of a necessary condition: If I don't get a 95% on my final exam, then I won't receive an A in my class.<br /><br />The main difference between the two examples is the way they are implicated. The first condition assumes every score will add up to 95%, whereas the second example ignores all previous necessary conditions which brought us to the need for a 95% on the final exam.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The difference between the two examples is significant because people will try to use a necessary condition to prove a conclusion, even though the conclusion is created by a much more complex set of conditions. To assume you didn't receive an A in a class because you didn't get a 95% on a final exam could be erroneous because there were other grades that also affected the outcome.<br /><br />Here is another example of how a necessary condition can be used incorrectly:<br /><br />My car requires gas to move, therefore any time my car isn't moving it is out of gas. Obviously this is flawed as there are many reasons for why a car stops moving.<br /><br />MLMs utilize this fallacy as a means to transfer fault from the MLM to the user. An MLM will try to use a necessary condition, such as "hard-work" to indicate whether or not a MLMer is successful. Even though "hard-work" or "effort" may have some correlation to success in MLM, it is far from the only variable to determine the outcome. In fact, most people would argue it has very little do with success in MLM because the actual opportunity for success is extremely low (often less than 1%). The opportunity is also an important necessary condition, again arguably more important than "hard-work", and yet a MLMer may completely leave that out when casting judgment on people that have failed in MLM. To an untrained victim of this faulty logic it may be very persuasive.<br /><br />A popular example of affirming the consequent used by MLMers is, "In 2-5 years, you can earn residual income", or "In 2-5 years, you can retire from your J-O-B". Unfortunately, much like the "hard-work" example, time is not a sufficient condition for determining success in MLM. Many people have been in MLM for decades and have not retired or earned residual income, and an overwhelming majority of MLMers do not succeed in 2-5 years. Yet, MLMers will continue to repeat this line as though it is an inevitability, an infallible truth, or even a commandment.<br /><br />It is important to remember that MLMers have a financial bias when it comes to recruitment and will often utilize fallacies, such as affirming the consequent, to achieve their goals and earn an extra dollar. That should be a sufficient condition for understanding why a MLMer says things that you want to hear and can be designed to mislead you into making a poor decision for your financial future.<br /><br /><br /><br />_________________________________________________________________________________</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Source: </span>https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/eng207-td/Logic%20and%20Analysis/most_common_logical_fallacies.htm</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-68880192506445615032017-09-20T15:33:00.002-07:002017-09-20T15:34:46.043-07:00MLM and 12 Classic Propaganda Techniques Pt. 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
***WARNING THIS IS A LONG BLOG POST***<br /><br />Today's blog post is going to finish the classic propaganda techniques series. Again, these techniques can be utilized for a multitude of purposes and are designed for one person to take advantage of another. This does not have to strictly apply to MLM, and often doesn't, which is why it is even more necessary to fully understand their uses and effects. There will always be people trying to deceive and manipulate others, therefore it is our to prepare and arm ourselves against these antagonists. Without further ado, let's dig into the rest of the list.<br /><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">7)</span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> "<u>False Equivalence</u>: </span>Attempting to equate vastly different situations to one’s advantage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists use false equivalencies to justify their unreasonable views and grandiose needs as well as to avoid responsibility for their destructive behaviors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: Reaction from a narcissistic parent after raiding an adult child’s bank account: "'<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">Yes, I emptied your account. But don’t forget, you once stole a dollar from your younger brother when you were six.'"<br /></em></span><img alt="Image result for False Equivalence" height="320" src="http://www.trulyfallacious.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/false-equivalence-jesus-and-hitler.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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False equivalence is one of the most common MLM tactics currently used. In fact, most of my previous posts about common MLM rhetoric have something to do with false equivalence. In this instance I would like to focus on one of the most repeated lines by MLM proponents, "Corporate America is a pyramid scheme". MLMers focus on the shape of a corporate hierarchical structure, which is a pyramid, therefore everything else about it must qualify as a pyramid scheme. This premise is clearly flawed, and the main reason a pyramid scheme is illegal doesn't have to do with its shape, but rather with the way a good or service is distributed, in the case of MLM. <br /><br />In general, product pyramids focus on sales of goods or services to their distributors rather than the public. This becomes problematic because there has to be an outside demand for the product or service and there has to be an external revenue source. If the revenue is only generated from members within the organization, then there cannot be any new revenue and the people that joined last will not make any money, because there isn't anyone below them to make them money. In other words, if you joined in last, you are going to lose money in this structure. This is known as a "closed-market swindle" (Brear). <br /><br />The fact that product pyramids (MLMs) share the same shape as a corporate hierarchical structure, is an unfortunate coincidence and should be treated as such. Other than the shape, there is no reason for the two to have any relationship.<br /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">8)</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <u>Gish Gallop</u>: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">A rapid-fire series of assertions, questions and accusations launched at another without giving a chance to respond.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Named after the 20<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">th</span> century creationist Duane Gish, this technique attempts to convince or overwhelm others by listing many shorthand arguments, any one of which could be easily refuted, but the collective weight of which seem convincing and would take time and effort to refute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists love the feeling of power and dominance that comes from spitting out multiple statements that make others appear foolish or ignorant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissistic partner when criticized:<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> “How dare you question me? I’ve given you everything you have. Do you think you could have survived without my help? I’ve accomplished more in the last week than you have in a year. Who would you be without me? You think your friends would lift a finger if you really needed it? You’re often so wrong you don’t even realize it. I’m surprised you’ve managed to survive this long.”<br /></em></span><img alt="Image result for Gish Gallop" height="274" 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" width="400" /><br /><br />This technique is utilized by veterans of MLM. MLMers that have mastered parroting all of the usual thought-stopping rhetoric and can repeat it upon command are great at this, because the faster they can rattle it off, the more knowledgeable they appear. In fact, they begin to develop a confidence behind their parroting which creates more of an illusion of expertise.<br /><br />An example of this is when I attended my first Amway meeting. The presenter was Mike Carroll, an Amway diamond, and he was extremely good at repeating the same tired MLM lines about "building a business" correctly and went through all the bad comparisons with a "regular 9-5 job". By the time he was done talking about building "someone else's dreams", being a "slave to an hourly wage", "working for the man", never having "vertical opportunity", "losing time with family", "never getting to take longer vacations", and "investing in yourself rather than someone else", the ability to think critically was massively under attack. It was hard to stop, think, and analyze all of the nonsense he had rattled off, and it was almost automatic, to nod your head and become a believer. This use of "Gish Gallop" was so effective it got people out of their chairs and at one point had them screaming with joy.<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">9)</span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> "<u>Lesser of Two Evils:</u> </span>Giving someone only two undesirable options of which one is far more catastrophic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists use this to justify or excuse control, abuse, or other excesses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissistic parent to an adult child: '</span><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">Yes, you were hit you as a child when you misbehaved. Would you rather have been sexually abused? Count your blessings.'"<br /><br /><img alt="Image result for lesser of two evils fallacy" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RNbuY51w6c7AI7Mn7yrEVjhapcbcl7V9eNZG9FkGUrKoKLpY-iAGxHZfytr0_cqe59DgsR5iLAgBRC5LlWkTQgHGmcGdaJBVQEpRxOHiECcI1C4pv8sJ422zzQZ20bWua_Uf5lI4o0w/s400/choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-republican-democrat-statist-politics-1338290746.jpg" width="400" /></em></div>
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MLMers love to use the lesser of two evils, and funny enough, they don't realize when they are doing it. MLMers have constantly used the line, "Are you going to work a 9-5, or become an entrepreneur", or some variant to the point they stopped thinking about the positive side to working an hourly job. There are a lot of blessings working for someone else, and being your own boss is not for everyone. The amount of responsibility alone could drive most people away from starting their own businesses, and most people don't have the desire to truly build something from the ground up. It takes a lot of time, effort, and sometimes money, which are all factors that create barrier to entry. Yet, MLMers act like it is the easiest and most desirable choice, and the only choice, to combat working a "9-5 job", or "working for a boss", or "making someone else's dreams true", or some other nonsense. The truth is, most people do work for someone else, and there are many people making very lucrative salaries without starting their own businesses. There are many other options other than, entrepreneur or de facto slave.<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">10)</span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> "<u>Repetition / Ad Nauseam</u>: </span>Repeating a word or phrase endlessly to sidetrack discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The goal is that if something is said often enough, others may start to believe it. It also is a way of dismissing what another is saying my simply talking over them, repeating a stock phrase or being unresponsive to further discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissistic boss to employee:<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> "'I’ve made up my mind. That’s all there is to it. My mind is made up. When I make up my mind, my mind is made up. Period.'”<br /></em></span><img alt="Image result for ad nauseam propaganda" height="346" src="http://kittychow-animalfarm.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/7/4/17741641/208001032_orig.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br />The above is a picture of "Boxer" from George Orwell's, "Animal Farm"<br /><br />MLMers use repetition a lot, and they do it because they know it works. In a previous post from this series, there was a propaganda technique known as "The big lie". "The big lie" gets exponentially more powerful when it is accompanied with repetition, and it showed during a Dateline expose involving an undercover reporter attending a major Amway function. People in the crowd were screaming "Flush that stinkin' job!", and were also screaming "Freedom!", and yet none of them realized they were never going to achieve either of those dreams. In reality, if they did Amway full-time, then they would actually be replacing that "stinkin' job" with a different one, and there never was the opportunity for "Freedom!", because nobody ever retires from Amway. The most successful members were still peddling the dream on stage, and according to the income disclosure statements, 95+% of those people in attendance would never make enough to live. Yet they continued to repeat the same thoughtless lies, screaming in glee, because the repetition had taken over and stopped them from thinking about what they were actually saying.<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">11)</span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> "<u>Scapegoating</u>: </span>Falsely blaming one individual for a group’s problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scapegoating is one of narcissists’ favorite tactics because it can accomplish many things at once: making others feel inferior; getting other people to go along with the narcissist in ostracizing someone; gaining a feeling of power at orchestrating a group action; hiding or distracting from anything that would make the narcissist look bad; and evading the narcissist’s responsibility for creating part of the problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A meddling narcissistic relative: '<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">You’re the reason this entire family is a mess.'”<br /></em></span><img alt="Image result for scapegoating" 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JGkI5sXIGlAM5zhRq8EEgGZz4t3yQJUX9t0fnwpeWNCAAqpGXCcMY3jMC/z6VrM88ei+pasb7leuwbm0cSW4XwmZzECqy6skiSB25Z04ZWZgOAAFO8uPIqn9eno/tC8Mou0bCJ8oHZSmVDFTzXhkg44ZHLh5KxOO9Ivsojt8SgmF4wB4IIaedzwwPY8J1Rg58KRlI7VArbHRRSvJKih53dRReR5KgsMHAyM5wccRnt+esDRoTEVpGibGFaVoaxjLSNE2Ve3Lh0REiwJZZY4YyRkAu3fNpyNWlA74+TV2mwrLkp8ubEyzcY7cybbdDrUHVOrXT/DuDvAD8mLG7T/SorswSgqgq9DK9/NuK76E2Eisog3QYEMIGaBWBGDqSIqr/SDUt203u13IrsYO1ieEm1m4Sw4RvlKOCSDyq4APz5HMGkyRp2uTPO6rC8eR9mFllVAWZgoHMk4A+k0iTeyM6i5OkZHpTtFZ0QxqxQMw3hUhGOOIUnnjFasMeGTTe/bqdbSaeeNOUup13qN8VfXS/trSa2cz65fG8/qQ/pLQBuLeK/jjQtZrKulcGCZS2NPakwT+hNefy+FptuE/mv8Aav8Ag6UdU0qcfkNj2s8kvseG1macAM0ci7lUU8maRsrpJBA06s4OORqmHheS/eaS78/p/dDPVR6Lcm3Ed/FG0r20BVFLssdyzSYUZOkNAqseHLUKu/LFyU/p/wBE/EvrH6/8HDaqjBaK4UEAgm3lZcHiO/RWUfSapehzLp9UP7eDC2+2bZ20LPFr+BrAf7hOf6Uj0+SPOL+RKyRfJlmq0qRNhAtOkK2Ve1oZLpJLe1DtKhU6g2iFHHfKsr575Tw1RrqOlhkAEGuhpNPNtTpV8TPmyJKuofZXRKOZWSaGCFkGnVZXUoA4cjCVCrw7DrrrcCfNGPifQrJ+reVrh9cweMxYilKrqRoxGsUUkIGmSPTvScYyXbgpCmkjijHZDObYDo7cxW80gvZI4LkkQrE8mCI0AxoL41h3LNqHMaM8RWDUYp8ktjRjmubNiFrHRdYtNFBYtNRQWeEVFE2NK1FBY0iookYVpWibBsKRoayn2C3sm+e4VRJBGixxS57xZMyb7djGHY+1guOAClQc5FdXTY/Z491Tf8dDLOXFLbkawyLq06hq56c8cfNzq8grukm0za2sky4L4CRA8mlkISMfNrYZ9GaFXNgzFz9GDMBJdXU0twFCiZSE0AdioBpwTxOoHP8AtyZ+Jz4vdiuHs979X/Re9HCceGe4C26HQhtdw73LDlvD7WPmjHD7ciq8vieVqoJRXw5/MnDocOPkvv77lT1oqBDAAMAOwAHADva0eDO8k2+y/kjW+VG76jfFX10v7a75zmcz65h//rz+pD+ktAHTdkdNtnsiRtcpG4VAVmBhOdIH/dABHpGaycLe63NHEi3gu7dVNwg4StqZ0Rn1Mo0ZYoDgAIFyeHCop8ibXMpb/pRGt0q4c25QpM+kgKWYaHVT3zpwdWcDALLx719LKGwrluUOzru8j2fLdx7S3ywZjCCOGRG3cgUaXRQX1x6So1AgkA57GaV1RCbq7NFJ7MdSk3sOcfKhdB9IMjg/0rnR10f0tfuaHhfcF0c2KbXeElBvGDbuJN3BEAMYjjJOM8ye09gqnPmWVp1VfMbHDgRPv7pk0RRKHnlJWJDwHDwnc+9jQHLH5gMlgCafA8sq6dSMmTgVlF0m2WkMtvYie4BciSeXS0sJeeYIhkgZ9ysbzNgjSThgAQNRrvRiopJGBu3bOkXE0NpCXbRFFGOOBpVR2AAenAAHMkAVJBgNsbZl9kNc2s95FKIzMlndRbu1uYoVBkSLKBkkI77JOoE8tPIA3M/se61W8sayDdpIVkQMpWQuBwbgT3hz5Mjy0AZXaXRmXZymfZmpoly0lizFkZeZMDNkxPzwvFTywOFUZcEcnr3HhkcSy2PtGK7gjuYW1RyDUp7fIQR2EEEEeUGuXODi6ZqUrVkvTSUMeFaKCxhWlokaRUNE2QNtXwtreS4ZWcRqXKqMsceSiGPjkorqS5UrMyL2C6/+VdxzA4IsrJjMp9Erx99KPLnQnlyONdGOCGLf6v8A0Z3Ny/pFtMl1cLo1Gyh06VjhK+yMYwMyAFIcfBjyeA7/ALKoyaxR8it93y+RZHE3z2KvZFjHab+8lCOts2iMpEkc00pQDU7A+2SEzNGp73Jd8g96RqhkeSCb2sqcVFsmm0muJEnvGGUOqK3QkxRNgjUzYBmkwT3xAA7B21y9TrOJOGPk+vV/0aseGnxS5k1hXMZpBMKRoZGF60/coPXb8tdfwXzz9EY9b5UbrqN8VfXS/tr0Bzmcz65fG8/qQ/pLUrmHQ6FbwK8KK6qw0LwYBh4I7DXi3Jxm3F1uzt0nFWKxW4ssraLE8BJb2O2Yt2T4W6kUEBScnQy8ycEcq6mDXrh4ct335/MyzwO7h8iBZ7QmWR7i6ee1nzIqu0aT2skO8d4kYQjUugNgZZSSThjqIroxzYp7Qaf0f1M7hKO7RItLCS8mhvbqCCMqmVRUJkLsVZWkLDvSmngvHBYnOax6nVKnjxt+v9epbjxO+KRpVFYEi9hFFWJClF0f6SW8NxcyXC3HsguYYo1tpnKwRnC6WVCvftqkJzx1KD4Irt6fgx41uviYcvFKXIrtpbXmvJJbmGHQqvZiRJSNbwLJLunTQSrMJ9YCqTlsduMaU73KuRq+m002QYU3jQQXF1HHgsXnTQkJ0jwwuuRtPwtBHECpIKfY91LtIbOiuYpBKglnud6ArmMwSW+WVQu7ErytpXAJWJj2UAXnS66NjJBtEKzRx6re4RBlt3MyaHC++KSKgwOOJHxQAh01DYKWF+yn324C4/0SOrn6FNVvLBdRuF9im6EkGW+EccqQG53sQljaIgyxI0oCOAQBJq4cuNY9VTkmi7FdGpK1loss8K1FE2MK0tEjGWloaxhFK0SCCAcgB83ClYyGMKRokp59iI0u81yBTIszw5G6eVFASQgjII0qcAgEqpIJFWfiZrH7P/0j2acuInMKxtFyBMKrYyBMKrYyMH1q+5Qeu35a6/g3nn6Iya3yo3PUb4q+ul/bXfOczmfXN43n9SH9Jalcw6HSLAe1J6i/lFeKn536s7a5IlqKZEMMlWIVhVFWJCsKoqxIRhFFOkQyk2jeSXolsrFTI/GOabVoghzjUrSDiZNJI0oCRnjprfptNJtSlyM2TKkqRo9ldGwjxz3DrLLGuiIKgjggXAGmKMZxwAGpmZhxwQDiuoZSXtXY+/likErxGMOMx4EjK+NSF2Bwh0qSAAcopBGKAGbO6N21vJvY1feHwnaaV2fhpGsu514HAas4wMcqAIHWFqksZrePjI8U7oB4XtUZdSPrN0P9QoAlbOuhPDHOvgyIkg+Z1DD/AHrkuNOjSmSdNRRNnmmigsaRUUTY0ilaJsGwpGhgbClYyIN/clUYRAPLht2mfCdEMm7PwSygjPZqBwau0+FZG0+wmSbirR5aXKzRJNGcpIqup8qsAR/Q1llFxbTLk7VjmFVNDIEwqtodAWFVsZAmFVsYwXWt7lB67flrreD+efojJrfKjcdRvir66X9td457OZ9c3jef1If0lqUHQ6TYe5J6i/lFeMn536s7a5ImKKlEMKoqxCMMoqxCsKoqxClZ0uu3gsLmWM4dYnKt8E4xq+jOforRgipZEmVZHUWH2LtMWEA2fHZvv49awQoO8njVhi43x7wA6lLknUGbGCSurumA0mxLm4eHXdwpBJlu8WTeLpHI6tIx28P/AOABPRwwyCCOwjiKAK3a234LYiMkyTEZSCMa53+ZByHymwo7SBQAPZFhKXa6usb110LGDqSCLOd2D75ieLt2kKOSigDFbE2nPs6+TY86qYWLJZuAwfdBS8eokkSAAGM4wVZVyCGBrLmxLeSLIy6G+01mLLPNNRQWCmlRPCZV+cgf71HCTYGO5jc4WRGPkDAn+hpXFkpj2FI0MgMhABJOAOJJ5ADmaShjF9D4Wm2jBc8hJFPfSegSPJFaZHYTA5+fd/Jrs48ail8FRjlK2yf0Lu0lsYjGcqFwMDgO0KPmUqDjly5g1ydVBqbk+rZsxSTjRcMKxsuBMKrY6AsKrYyBMKqY6MD1r+5Qeu35a6vg/nn6Iyazyo2/Ub4q+ul/bXeOezmfXN43n9SH9Jalcw6HS7D3JPUT8orxkvM/VnaXJD7u+SEAuTljpVVUu7tgnSqICzHAJwByFXYcUsjqKEnNRVsYb6dVMjWU4jB4nvDJp+GIUZmIHPHhY96a3LQyrmr++pR7ZdidYX0UwJikV9OA2k5KkjIDDmpx2GqXjlDzKh1JPkTlFCIZ7LCrqyOoZWBVlIyCpGCCO0EVZF1uhGYzba3ez2tilwvsaJ23c80byNbArp3UpjOZIGBxqIypVMtwBrrafUe02lz/AJMmTHw7ot36QWUuJdo7UsJY0wy28LAxlxyeRS7NKRzVcAA8cMQpXUVB7eV9oKfYamys5BqM6II7m5yOBjGMxJjB3jd+R4IXwqz5c6jsuY8YWT+q+NRsyFt2qye2JMyqA0kkUjxPIx5szFCcnic1oW4hrKAMNt2CPau0o7PBaGzDS3DqxUiZ0KQxK6EMrKC0hxywnzUAWB6GNyXaW0FX4O+Rv7pImc/S1J7OPYm2I9BLZ/dpbub/AOy7mx91HUf0qVGK6BbHw9X+yl5WEB9LIHP2vkmmIFcdX+ynGDYQD0ogjP0FMEUAAHRGS242N3Io+IuGNxAfQGY72P5wxHyTVM8EJ9BlNoDtCymvQllKm4Eilrr2wMTEG0tHEV4trOAWwNKPxAZgKpxabhncunIslktUi623HbQW8rON0rhUcwgrNIcBERTH3zORhFA48gK2FJQbBhxFq0LHk6ViXBWBIyVWEFeBKnUWOT37PxxiuPrJuWSuxtwqok9qxMvBNVbGQFxVbHQF6qYyMD1sD2mD12/LXV8I88/RfyZdZ5UbbqN8VfXS/trunPZzPrl8cT+pD+ktAIuIpbsov/WOo0rgLHEMcPKUJ/rXJ9hgT8i+b/sxy8WzXSNl0DiaWL2XOweca7fOnSEWNyGwMnjIVDkjHvRjveN0MUMaqHJ7/fodOGV5Yqb7GrJxxphzJ3t1Y3E+tDcyymMYaBplRotXDEgKxsurOCG56vTROkvfqviQt3sRzscSLhbRu+yCb65e4AHl3IlkV/V1J89Ve3xx8v0VE8Enz+podkWC28McCElUUKCeH9BwA9A4AcKyylxycmWJUqJdwzCNyoywVio8pwcD7amPMVlf0UezitYpUjiAJjijk0rrdS8cSuz4yzMzhueTrrtoxHmy7tLPZzysMR2/srAHxcM0qoB/pVQPorBON5GkXp+6VnVv0qgS3js5jomMl4WP/ZV/ZFxKV1n5CswbGk6SM54VtjON8N70VOLqydd9JJtpO1rsk4j8GbaBGYY/KsOfdpPSO9HDjx4OKaXo9sSGxgW3gB0glmZjqeR24tI7e+Ynmf8A0AKALKgBUAKgBUAKgCn6UWqvBr3qwSRkNDMxwI5PBXJPNGzoZT4QYjnigDIbL2ltLacIaWWG1hJdJEgDm5JRijxmVyBF3wIyoJxybjmsmfU8D4Uty6GK9ybtC/jtTDbRrEhZWEQdxDCqxaARqweIDDCAEnB5AE1gx4nlbbZoclGkRbq8ZSN7tKzhU8AqqC5J7AzzYb6Eq9aWHZ/f7CvI+6K2YJO8MMW0p5mlkGpU3ca7lQzSsDFErAYXRq1cC68c4qxafHHfhFc2+pd23R6zky0IkjKu8etJpAdSMVbI1FX4g+EDy5VMoxaqSXyBd0Ut9s66ktb9vZTBrXeKEjiVXdBEsqnXknUyNjKaeIOMVGLQYFUq+ZE9Rk5Wc66Y26KkbKOJJ74ksSMcOJJJreoqKpIz23zOsdRvir66X9tAM5n1yeOJ/Vh/SWgETYdtW4VV3yFsAaVOts45aVySawPFPnRxfw+WUtos1HR21vlgUrcLAGZ5hEYNR78khZSz8eGnIUKRjGay5NdGMuGMbra7/g9Jg0rhjim+hfHak8kbRTWIfUGR8SoYXU8DwfDYI5gr24486sWqxc7+g3s58qIFpIEuEEcc8ckjaZ45NcyFFSQrIk5LAAEDC6h7ocoGYUZnDJj4r5ffIIXGVUaRawotYVasQrDJToRmf2jskz3IiUFIlZZ3IHe7wRNGijsP/ZfA5GEE41DO2GXhx/GymUbkC6XThIotmxZ9uU708ytsmBJk/CkJCZ59+55is+XN7ODyvn09X/XMsxw45KJkts7AtUhaUQqN0N6EA9rJQE4aPwGGMjiO01h0mtzvNGLldut9+fx5mrNgx8DaR2mCFY1CIoVVGFVQAoA5AAcAK9KcoJQAqAFQBGivVeV4lyTGFLnsBbiFz8LGGI7Ay+UUASaAFQBG2nAZIZIlIBdHRSQDgspA4HgfmNAGW6NWsMVrF7HjEUbqJQgz3plGsjjywTjHZjFcXK5OT4vQ2QqtibPGrDSwDDyEZH2GqbrkWkC72cjRSRxgRF0dNaLpK6lIyNODwz2EfOKhTakm9yeHakZudnt5y+iO3cRCFGSRm3qE5VIlNs5QqUxoXVgEcDkGupiyxyrYyyi4sl9G7GWGXQDJCJS8igaSWAwWeWKUM68TpD5DkFQ/HAFkmmRFBb3bQtr8TQq84CCG+CLqXSCzIe94GWPUxKDJKyY56ahZoY9pur5BKDlvFHNesG3jhMcULrJCcyW7qwYGFhwUkcmTwePMaTzJxqKUdQ6jfFX10v7aAZzPrl8bz+pD+ktSg6HSdmRqsSaVA7xeQx70eSvHTk3J33OzFJJE9alEMKlWIVhlq1CMKtOhWFWrEKwq06FYZadCHJOsqCQX0szrIi7uNYpu+WPSqkn2xeCkOzcCQe2rnxNR4d11Wz+j+BCre+ZW2t291NDawPKY53jiZJWSUlS2ZWV1JbCxhjksc45eVNPp4vInKKtO7Sa9LTpfQfJlfDs3Xxpne7m8WN4kbnKxRPnEbyH+1G+yusYiRQBBuL4pcRQ4GJFlOe3Um7IHzYZvsFAE1jgZPKgCk6GsHtFnPhzk3L58IGbv0VsdqxlEHoQUAXlACoAzHTq9kiS3EEe8nM2qIZ0jMUUkrLns1ojRZ7N8D2YKTmoq2SlbobsmB4reGOQgusaK5HLUFGrHozmuPklxSbNkVSoM1VMsBNVbGI11Csi6XGRkHyYKkFSCOIIIBBHEEClUnF2iaTVMqI+j0Clj7a2vww88rhvWDOQ/+rNPLWZmuf0RCww7EyKFY1CRqqKowqqAqgeQAcBWKcm3bL4qtkc9607WNI4mRFUtI5YqoBY6eZIHH6a6vhM5SlJN9EZNWkkqN51G+Kvrpf212zCzmfXN43n9SH9Jalcw6HS7D3JPUT8orxsvO/VnaXJExalEMKtWoRhlqxCsKtWIVhVp0Iwq06FCqadCsKpqxMVmT6X7LFsBta0jjSe1DyyAKFE8Gn22Nio8LSMqxzgj0mtWHI06ZVKPULtTpTbXMVtcxvpeC6tmlhfvJoRMTbnXGeIGm4PHkewmthUbqgDObWm1bUsol4sqXM0nyY9Kxgn53YAeqfJQBe3kReN0BwWVlB8hIIoAzvQqAw72KU4uWWCaaMHKxho91Gin3wCwaSeRKk0AaigBUAY5bk3d/LKD7Va6raMdjTNpad/TpASMeQ73y1h1k+US/DHqWTGuezQgTUjGQJqrY4JqRjIC9VMZAnqtjowHWx7lB67flrqeEeefojJrPKjbdRvir66X9td0wM5n1zeN5/Uh/SWpXMOh0qw9yT1F/KK8ZPzv1Z2lyRMWpRDI1ztZEfdKrzS4zuol1uAeRbiFjBxzcqDWzDp55N1y7spnkjHYIjXz40WscYPPfT98P9EKOD94Vsjo0ucvkip5X0QK9hmjUtd7Sht1/wDHGkZA9e4Zwfuir46bGuSb+/gVucurGbBjc3BkjnuZLcRspM+AJZCykPGoRSFUKw1YAbWMZAzVef2aXDFK/gTC276GmU1nQ7CqadCsIpp0xWRttRCS1nQ8milU/MUYH/erIPdCPkUvSbYVnd7H391ENUdpvFlAxLHph1ZDDiePHTyPkrqGc0fRTaZu7G3uG8KSJGceR8YcfQwI+igDIbH6UQR3t9c3CzoXl9jwy7iSSHdW2Y8B41IHtu+Y5x4Q9GI4ldWTQKbb20r1btrOXdbgAwqtvqSclNQCzz+GcggjdrpJXnzNc8vC0iVGx+y9n3lyIdrWe0UuH3ZTRLAsYlQtkwyPCe8ZGzg6TpbPYTm0U0myel0UkotblGtLo8oZsDX6YpB3kw9U58oFAGjoAwuxPaLy+sz8b7Mj+VHc98xHzSrIPsrnayNSUjRhe1FvcSqil2ICqCzE8AABkknsAFYubpGgpv8AmeyOCbmJQ3g623erPLGvGfoqZYMi/wDlkKce5PjmVxqRgw8qkEfaKzyTXMtW41qqYyAtVbHQJqrYyMB1se4weu35a6vg/nn6Iy6zyo2/Ub4q+ul/bXdOezmfXL43n9SH9JaEHQ2ljtxHVY7ZJLqQKoKwjUqnSODSkiNPpbPorzMdBmnJtqlfX+uZ1HnglS39C1g2LeT/APyJVtozzjgOuYjyGdgAn+hc+Rq34tHix7v3n8eXy/spllnL4Gi2bs6K2jEUCBF54HMk82ZjxZj2sSSa1N2VpUZDbm3E9lNBdSGNACYlaV7KJzk6jLMSC2kaQFTUrZLccYjsUdrX9lbe+4Xors22RpjAkTxq4VJQqtIW05kG+AzKqsdIdu+4NnOM1g1cnxJWy/ClRp1NZUyxhVNOhWEU0yYoRTTpi0VnSidxavHEMyzf9PEOQ1y96GPyVBLn0Iauwx4ppCT2R50ztmh2O0WQ6RxxJcMRgmBdInYKvDVoDHHzjyV03y2MyC9XyyrYl5I9AeW5nhT/ALm6mmeVAwPBWOvlnhwzg5AIqkkS+YPoWR7AhZeGrXIRyIZ5HdwR2MGZgR2EGuflfvsuiti6LVVY1GX2lZf8PM20bQhAA011bnhDOFUl3HxU2B4Y4MfCB5jRhztNRYkodTTbd2da3dsy3kaNDpLtvOGgAZLauaEDPfAgjy1uKSq6t9pi42erB2dY5Jold862jWRtyzauOTEYzx40AZO1l3u0rR4TwEd/LIef/STz5tBnsDMNaL2Jjh5Mura9nuW4U+I2EyBlKsAQQQQeIIIwQfRXJujYUtts+5tkEVvcK0K8FiuEMmlexFlVlYKOzWHPprStX+pfIT2T6MpVuUkMssmyY33bmFprVsyMVGXwxSMgJyJL4yCASQa2R96Kd8+jKXs+XyJmwdmw3Ci5310kMhC2iNcShiujUXIZiWLEOQGLDQgPaaSWKHLhXx2Qyk+ds92q82zyrzSb+2ZghkKYniZuCaxGNMik4XKqpBI4HOax5tFGavFs+3T6lsMzj5uQEdJrInT7KhDctLOEb7Hwa50tJnX/AMP5GlZsfdGT60bhHhgKOrDW3gkH3vorf4TGUZztVsjPq2nFUbzqN8VfXS/truGBnMuubxvP6kX6S0AdpsGSK2QnTGixqSeCoo0jJPYBWJ7s0rkZzafSGa7jePZ6YV1ZfZchKIMgjVEgGqQjmGOF5YJqnJqcWF1J2+y/2PHHKa25dywsulUWgC6zBMODoUYoW7TG4XTIp5jBzxwQDwp4zhNXFitNbNFfd9MndjHawnJKhN+kiGUsRxWLSGEYGS0jlcY4BqdyhFOTktuzRG7dJDrWxmN2tw8VtFpV1ZoWbVNqxpDqUUAKQSMljnljJzizamGSHCr/AHLY42pWX6msqZYEU06YrCKaYhoeDTWKUXTWWSO3jnhAMsVzbNGpOFZnlWEqT2ArKwz2ZrVpZf5CrKvdJ3WHLJJYNZxJ7fdqYUU+CuVzKWYcAFQN85wBzrozmoq2Z0rdFr0f23Hc2aXWQgCnehuG6aPIlVs+DpKsD81MQUnQ7JtjKQVE01zcIpGCI5p5JI8g8sqwbHyq5meSeR0aIL3S7zVNjlF0qG+EFkOPsmZEf/6Y/bZ8+gomj6wVfpo8U77CZHSDdLG9l3CbOHuQVbi7+UmoiGE+h2V2b5MWPfVq1GX2cdubK8ceJguj+0I7fZtztB17x5Lm40j36BjHEB2EukcePWFWYo8MEhZO2R+jOzXhjaWchrmciW5bs1kYEY8iIuEA9HprlajN7SV9Ohrxw4UWrGsrZagbGlbGMdcxoslxZ3F09vBJIssSlFMcus72ZNZTiDIHzGW8EnsOK6umnxY01u19oy5I1JoPZTSNtANHceyWjjYhHXcAxuVDLCp71nXSrbwDGGKMRqBW91wiLmauZ1mhK3ETxKxVdLlCSWYBMGJ246tOOOc4pOT2H6bk2eBXGHUMPIwBH9agk5V1x7Jt4IoHhgiiZpHDMkaoWGjPEqBmr8Um+ZVkSRr+o3xV9dL+2ripnM+uXxvP6kP6S0Aa+1sprtY5L9gyqFMVsnuCYA0s/wAa/LnwB5CvO6vxF24Ytl1fX9uy+p08Wn24p/LoaBTXMTNIZGp0KwqtViFYRTViYrCKadMVhAadMUIDTpi0PDU1kUVO3HEslvZqC0jzQTEAZCxW88csjseSr3gUZ5lgBmtekg3Pi6IpzNJUTL2XebVKn/sWyFfnuZX1cPmtk4/KNX62VRSK8K3bKqeELsGaL46SeLOM8bq9eMH5xvR9grTF1jT+H+itq5UaQYAwOAHAfMK4/Ea6Fqosmiv2AouL+e45rbqLWM9m8fTLcHyctwvoKsK6WkhUL7mbK7dGcO0m9g3d+nut3I/sf5mYW1oB6CAj/wCtjVGX/JnUe32yyPu47LbpBaqg2fsmPwF0yyD/AMNoE0A/PMYefPS1adTPgxv5FWKNyLNjXFbNyQxjSNjA2NI2Siv2lZ73QRI0bxuJI3XBKtpZDwYEEFXYYI7abFmeKVoJQUlRXzbNuTMk5v5WZNWgPHEUUsNJIRFUZ0kjJycE+WtH5i0q4V9Sv8P8Rt9sk3IxezPcKOKpgRRqfhBY8Et6WJxxxjNU5PEcj8nu/X+R46eP/wBbkP8A5ajT3Ke7i8m7upR/RmIpPzPOudP9l/qhvwsPj8zJdYttLHFDvLqaddbaRKVOk6eYZVBP010/D9ZLUSknFKu1mXU4VjSaZ0bqN8VfXS/trqGRnM+uXxvP6kP6S1K5h0OiWXuSeov5RXh8nnfqzux8qJKmhMGEU06YoVTViYrCKasTFZHv9qLCVTDSSvndwoMyPjngHgqjtZiFHaa0YcUsj2+ZXOajzK7bIuVQK05W6lBFvBCRoj5Zlkdl1SKmcsTpU8FCkkZ6Kw4scblv8X/ozuUpOkaRTXOsvB318kETzSHCIpZjzOAOwdp7AO008E5NJCypK2c/sdpXZunuVuHiuHRdcYVHhji1MYomVhxYZc5BznVyBGe9ixLHHhRglNydjf8Amye2vJWuJInmnjto4pGXcwJpkmGqTvmwqhyxxzyAMc6rz4PaOI2OfCmbfpBbrb7GhRJRKqS7P9tGMSH2ZAWfgSO+bJ59tWZF7jXwFj5kXBauHZuopuk22/YsYEYDTSkpCp5ZAyzt5EQcT9A5kVfgxPLKunUScuFGPsOkl5bbLe0iigcbuULdLKysQ4YmUxlDrfJLZ1YY8e2uxRiC9HOk1mzQezN5DbwR25tkMTmJ5UQZkZlU50EAIDgcNXE6cZ8WDgbk+bssnO1S5Gg2PtFL68ur+Mkxe12sBKlcpGut20sARmSUjiPeCsmvnuo/uX6eOzZdk1zWzSDY0jZKQNjSNjA2NI2MgTGq2xkDY0jYwJjSMYw3Wn7jB67flrseC+efojFrfKjddRvir66X9tegOczmfXL43n9SH9Jalcw6HQ7L3JPUX8orw+Tzv1Z3Y+VBwaUkIpp0yGEU06YpTXu25nRzZW0kyq2h5woaNMHDlE1B7grx71BjIxnPCupp9C5VLI6Xbr/wyZM9bR3BjbNvbIVsJY7i6lUPLcTSIuBkqNWtkGoENpgGkDSc6e3qxx0qqkun3/JmcvmWuwYVAdyJN+W0ztMVM2pQCFJQlAoDAhU70auHbXJ1UsnHU/2rkasSjVotw1UJj0UnTGxuJ4EW3CMVlSR43OkSKmSF1Y4EPobj8H6Dr0mWGOfFMpzQco0jIWVvfRb15LCQs7tIxEsWkKAAoyX5BVHH5zXVWrwv/wCv5/oyPDPsQtnTmUpIygtdEsVbvgltHyGCOOokfTIT2VoKyY+wYRLAkSmPeXEOoKzKjBW3jZjB0k4jODjhjPZVWaXDjk/gNBXJI6XfX8UCGSaRI0yAWdgq5PIZbhXCinJ0lZvdLmYPprsi+luXmhj30UkSRIUdVeJMgy4DEAl+PfKfg+Suhpc+KEOGTpmfLjlJ2io2pO8jLZyQyW66d7MH0g7hOYGhjwJGn5s1vhkjNXF2UOLjzLPYsjPCsrH3T2wDkEQ+AoHZhcZ9OTTiF/0GmDQTaTlRcTYbmGzpYkHtGpmH0VxfENsv7I36fyGgLVgbNFFdBtq3kme3SVTKmQyZ74YxngeeMjOM4qZYpxiptbPqQpRbq9yUxqhssBsaRsZIGxpGyQTGkbGQ2kGMP1p+4weu35a7Xgvnn6Ixa3yo3XUb4q+ul/bXoDms5n1y+N5/Uh/SWpXMOh0Oy9yT1F/KK8Pk879Wd2PlQakGPQalMggbaulwlrvRHJcOkKd8A4V2CyMvpClsfK010NBheTKm1st329DPnmoxq92aHbebOxd7bTGLaNpFTTlGSJGO7PaAQPCBBBwePEHurd7mJ7LYzNztJpnW5aGG2khkkUzkSaMqXiYPcPHGrJqB9qjMhYqoyvFhYlWwl2T+jB/6ZW1FtbSuHYYaUPK7LKw7C6lWxwxnGBjFcPVyvNI24V7iLcNVCY9Dw1NZFDLmFZY3jcZV1ZGGcZVgQeI5cDTxm4tNENWqMVF0DmhcNBfcAm7USwh2VM5xqV1B4+jsHkFdOPiXeP1/4ZXpuzLbY/RVo5knuLlp3jJMahBFErFSurSMljpYjJPaeFU59c8keFKkPjwKLssbpFlv7aJ1DLurx8EZAI3EeePbplYfMxqdHyk/T/YZeaXqM6GzFtnWhJydxDk/MgH/AKrNn2yy9WPj8qPdudHba9wZ4yWAKh1ZkbSea5UjK8TwORxoxameLysmWOMuZWR9BbIYDLLIoxhJJnZAByGnIBHoPCrJa/M1V/QVaeBoYYljUIihVUYVVACgeQAcAKxym5O2XJVyPS1I2NRm7yKKEvFdAi2klM8VyvB7SZ8aiWHFFLZYScR3zK3e8+tpc8ckFB80qrujJlg4u+n8E2K5khkFvdY1t7jMoxHcADPD4EmOJT6VyM4xavS+z9+HL+P+fH5l+LLfuy5/yTWauc2aAbGkbGQylGPKgDEdafuMHrt+Wu14L55+iMWt8qN11G+Kvrpf216A5rOZ9cvjef1If0lqVzDodDsvck9RfyivD5PO/Vndj5UFZgASSABxJPAAeXPZSpXshjJ3+3ZLomO0YpFnDXGOLY5iIH85+jy139F4VXv5vl/f9fPsc7Pq/wD5h8/6LroHYwXUd5s+4Gbl1D+yScyyRk+1OpPgtC4XguADoPMmuxDHGC4YqkYpScnbZpLENfW0JmIAwpuEX30iHDRk9ia1OR74ADkSDmfusvW6MvOu7mkFklpLdGWRnu91qMQdy3fkYAdVIUKrMSQCVAJNJm1EMUbm/wBu/wB9yYY3J+78y+tIhGixjkoA48zjtrz08jnJyfU6CjSpBw1CZFDw1NYUehqmyKHaqmyKFqqbCip2NtCK52nG0MiyLHb3CsynIDPNbYGeR9zbl5K6mlxzhF8Sq6/2ZcklKSo86IJosLdD72MJ93I/9Vi1T/zS9S7EvcRbaqz2WUeFqWyaGlqiyaGFqVsmio6UXDJavpzltEfejL4kdUbQMd8+GOkdpxV+jip54p/dbleZ1B0RwqPqsbJFvLV1I3bM6rZSKQQDNglAOYj90RhwAHg+g+Mv/TB8EFktrmyVPZE0dxHqSJ5FQxyRO5Aj1guwdSWVdXekFlJBBJHK1Whg4uePZreulfA14s0k0pE41xDceVACoAxHWn7jB67flrteC+efojFrfKjddRvir66X9tegOazmfXL43n9SH9Jalcw6G7kv47e2WWZwqBEyT5dIwAOZJ8grxaxTy5XCCt2zt8ahC5GXvJpb45lBjt+awcmk8jSkdnyB9Nel0Xh8NOuJ7y79vT+zmZ9S8my2RMVQBgDAHAAchXQMpJ2DOYdpWco4ZkaB/SkqNgfiLGfoqGSFsdlQztNM/tyvPdiPJzGITdzMoUDgyNqLZOc6h2YFed8Q1uWOZwg6S7d6OnpsEXjUpK7Ly3jVFCIoVQMBVACgeQAcBXKc3J23bNSikqQcNU2A4NTWRQ4NTWRQ4NU2RR7qqbCirtrBtoTTh5pY4IWEGiIhDK5jV5Cz4LaQJFUBSOIbjXX0mGKxqbVt7+hjyybk1exrYLZI9IRAoVQigDACLyUDsArXdiUYCytJLG5iCyM0F1Ldo0bHO6mjeVgyeRGWM5Xy8e2s+uxxljc+qr91yGwyalXRmmLVxLNtDS1RZNDS1RYUNLUtklR0klKxI6yLGUmt2EjDVGmJVBZxwyoUnPEfOOdbPDn/AJ0vg/4KdSv8fyIe0r4qyPE4USTCW6Npd72N4cYlkVAA6HijsVA8E8STx9Al3Oe2bE7It5LN7eMgRTI3titrJ1j3XeMSXbkdRJ5DjVdu9yylWxzjZ3TgZAnj7zwd+h1KxHAyaMZWNsZHMgHjXPz+B5FD2mN38Ph9+g+PxPG5+zlzNdBMrqHRgysMqynII8oI51w5RcXwyVM6SaatD6UkxHWn7jB67flrteC+efojFrfKjddRvir66X9tegOazmfXJ44n9WH9JaAJ9tbPKUnuWDsAN2g9ziGB4I7W8rHj9lVYNPDCqgufN9WNkyym9yxq8rFQBCS3N9IIUUGJHUzSHwO8YExL8NjjB7ACe3hWDXayOCDV+81t/f7GjT4HklfQ2qqAAAMAcABwAHkrybdnZHVAHoNTZFDg1NZFDg1NZFHoapsD3VRZAHojchLm7tWPfFxdRj4UboiNjy6ZEOfXXy16DSyU8EWum33+xgyKptfuaoCrhTDyXgvr4Tx8be2EiRN2SzPgSSL5UVQUDdpZscKxeIZlCHslze7+CLcEOKXF0RaFq41mw8LVFk0NLVFk0NLUrZNDSaiwK3ZfsrZ4MdssU0OSUjkYxSRAnJRZFVgyZJwGGRyyRXaxeJwkv8qd91vZilpZJ+5yK3pJt+eK0liNlFb+yTuw8MobDP7oWGhOJjD4YZORxro6PPi1ORQg3fxRl1MZYcbk0YxRgYHLlXqUq2R5Rtt2w2zb2a1bVbsACctE3ubeXh7xvlD6c1y9d4Vh1Suqfc6ej8TyYXUt0bnYXSKG670ZSUDLRN4XzqeTr6R9OK8ZrPD82lfvrbv98vuj1Gn1WPOrizP9afuMHrt+Wtngvnn6Iq1vlRuuo3xV9dL+2vQHNZzPrk8cT+rD+ktAIvLfwF9Vf9hTCjyaAI9jbPfHvCUthwaQcGm8qxnsXyv9A8o5uu8QjgXDHeX8ev8AX29en0zybvka62t0jRY41CoowqgYAFeXnOU5OUnbZ1UklSCUpIqAFQAqAPc1NkHuqpsKPdVFkUVG2I0e4ttUy2zIzyi6YgCNYwpdOJAOsHGCcYBJBwAex4QnKct9q3Xf/wAMesaSW24W76R7NHvb3aDeCWYlYT6d27RREelUNekx6Wcl7sTkz1WOO0pff7EPovtKKV7iOK3NuqOHWPvQqrIDgAISB4BP+qvOeNYJ4sycuvT0/wDTqaDLHJj90vdVcazfQs1FhR5QSeVACoAVAFR0n2MbuEKr6HRxIhIypYKy4btwQx4jl6eVbvD9Y9Ll46voZtVp1nxuDMBKHjkMMyGOQe9PJh8JTyYekV7zS63FqI8UGeQ1WjyYHutj2tZkGSxBscwRxVgcMp8oI4g1XkxRyR4ZItxZp4ncWB6RbVnmijinIfQxKycmIIxhhyz6RXEXhsNLkc4cn0O7j134mFPmjsPUb4q+ul/bVgzOadcfjif1Yf0loBFWnSyUADdpwAHb2fTU2FALvpHJLpDopQHLICQH9DEHOn0DnSzTaaTr4kxpO2XCdYc4AAghAAwANQAA5ADPCuS/B8bduT+hs/GyXRDu6NcfExf3f5qPybF+p/QPxs+yF3Rrj4mL+7/NH5Ni/U/oH42fZC7o1x8TF/d/mj8mxfqf0D8bPshd0a4+Ji/u/wA0fk2L9T+gfjZ9kLujXHxMX93+aPybF+p/QPxs+yF3Rrj4mL+7/NH5Ni/U/oH42fZC7o1x8TF/d/mj8mxfqf0D8bPshd0a4+Ji/u/zR+TYv1P6B+Nl2RT3nSaWaXeyqrkHvFOdEY+SucZ+Vz9OK62hx49JGoRTfd8zBqlPUeaTS7IX/M0nwE/r/mul+Yz7Iw/lsO7DbL6XS28kkixoTIIwQc4GjVjGD8r+lcjxDBHWyUpuq7ft/R0tG/w0OGO/qWXdGuPiYv7v81zvybF+p/Q1/jZdkLujXHxMX93+aPybF+p/QPxs+yF3Rrj4mL+7/NH5Ni/U/oH42fZC7o1x8TF/d/mj8mxfqf0D8bPshd0a4+Ji/u/zR+TYv1P6B+Nn2Qu6NcfExf3f5o/JsX6n9A/Gz7IXdGuPiYv7v80fk2L9T+gfjZ9kQtrdMWuk3c1tCw5qe+DKfKrZyDV+Dw5YJcUJtfITJqfaKpRRTRbTcDBw3pPOu1HVTSp7nJnoccna2Hf8Wb4K/wBab8ZLshPy+HdgLu8MgAIAx5Kqy53kVNF+DTRxNtPmd36jfFX10v7apNDNPtPojYXMpmntY5JGwC7DJIAwP6UEETuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QAu5/svzGH7tAC7n+y/MYfu0ALuf7L8xh+7QBc7J2TBaR7q3iWJMltKjAyeZ/pQB/9k=" 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MLMers utilize scapegoating to try and discredit the horrifying statistics that describe all parts of MLM. Some of the statistics include, 95+% of MLMers don't make money, 50% of MLMers quit in the first year, 90% quit in 5 years, and 95% quit in 10 years (according to "The Balance", but I believe these percentages are low), and my personal favorite 100% of MLMers do not "retire" on "residual income". Their response to these statistics is to scapegoat the MLMers that didn't make it. MLMers may say, "they didn't follow the system", "they didn't try hard enough", "they didn't have the right mindset", or some other nonsense, but of course the sobering reality is all MLMs are a ruse. MLMs are responsible for these failure rates, and the creators of MLMs know the "business opportunity" is not viable. If someone can say something, in science, with 95% certainty, then that would be treated as fact until otherwise noted. To date, nobody has been able to disprove these tragic statistics.<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">12) </span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><u>Tu Quoque</u>: </span>From the Latin for “You too,” answering a criticism by asserting the other person is guilty as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The implication is that a questioner or accuser is hypocritical. The goal is to have a stalemate and put others on the defensive while sidestepping the original complaint.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: Response from a narcissist when told he is being selfish: <em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">“How dare you accuse me of being selfish. You’re just trying to make yourself look good by making me look bad. It doesn’t get any more selfish than that.”</em></span></div>
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<img alt="Image result for Tu Quoque" src="http://www.undeceivingourselves.org/C-comm02.gif" /></div>
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"Tu Quoque" is another one of the more underrated propaganda techniques MLMers use, and is more subtle than many of the other techniques. The reason being, the blame is being shifted to accuser and they usually don't realize it. This technique is commonly used when someone confronts an MLMer and the MLMer responds with, "What do you do that is so much better?", or "How much money do you make?", or "What do you know?". A lot of the time the accuser may also be unsuccessful, or rather, not be as successful as MLM claims you can be, therefore they cannot respond to these statements. This is how the technique works and it is why it is so effective. It doesn't matter if the accuser is successful or not, and it doesn't matter if the accuser has something better than MLM. The bottom line is, MLM is a broken "system", and it doesn't matter if the person has a better answer.<br /><br />Another way of looking at this is, if you were to tell someone they were losing money because they are spending more money than they are making in MLM, and they respond with, "Yeah, well, what do you do to make money?", don't go down their rabbit hole. You don't have to defend yourself by dignifying that with an answer, but a good answer would be, what difference does it make, you are still losing money. </div>
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These propaganda techniques are not critically thought out by design, but rather designed to stop critical thought. If someone says something that sounds ridiculous, made-up, or simply doesn't make sense, even if you don't know why, then it is important to take a moment and think about what the real meaning is. You will be surprised how often you catch people using propaganda techniques for persuasion, and you will also be surprised how often you find people are full of...</div>
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_________________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />Source: https://www.thebalance.com/the-likelihood-of-mlm-success-1794500<br /><br />Source: https://blogs.psychcentral.com/narcissism-decoded/2017/09/12-classic-propaganda-techniques-narcissists-use-to-manipulate-you/</div>
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-14380840355815913182017-09-14T08:15:00.001-07:002017-10-14T12:15:37.469-07:00MLM and "Adam Ruins Everything"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about a show called, "Adam Ruins Everything", and in particular his episode titled, "Nutrition". I want to mainly focus on the beginning part of the episode as it pertains to vitamins and in particular "vitamin supplements". "Vitamin supplements" have been hawked for over 100 years as a cure-all for many different sicknesses, such as, various types of cancer, the common cold, various mental illnesses, and more. However, every clinical test, that has been conducted using proper scientific techniques, has proven these claims to be false. There are no cures for cancer or the common cold at this time, and if there were vitamins that could do it, then everyone would know about it. The two biggest problems with these "vitamin supplements" are, "experts" are regularly paid to say they work, and the media regularly uses bad scientific studies to advertise new products. Because the industry is consistently deregulated due to massive amounts of donations, hiring current and former FDA members to work for supplement companies, and getting senators, such as Orrin Hatch of Utah, to lobby on their behalf, there is no proper group to monitor and punish these fraudulent people.<br />
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Here is the episode: <br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/29v6rNFjlLI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Adam does a great job satirizing Dr. Oz while giving a healthy dose of entertainment and information. He also does a great job neutralizing an angry crowd and demonstrating that people can get very angry, and sometimes violent, when confronted with the truth. He understands he has a responsibility with his show, and he wants to make sure that people are informed rather than radicalized. This is one of the things I like most about his show, he gives very important and well-researched information and he tries to make sure people don't get "triggered". <br />
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This is something completely opposite from the current media and political landscape. Their goal is to be as divisive and provocative as possible, which is why we have groups like "Antifa". They have lost sight of their responsibility to the people, and they have gone out of their way to make people as hostile as possible because of wedge issues. The media wants to stir the pot and get people angry at each other, because it stops people from thinking about important topics and also keeps people from rallying together against the media and political figures.<br />
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MLMs utilize the same tactics and create an "us vs. them" mentality. By creating such a vicious division between themselves and everyone else, it makes MLM adherents isolate themselves from the outside world. This allows MLMs to have more control over their members and their information. By doing this, they can keep MLMers in their "businesses" longer and extract more cash.<br />
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MLMs purposely target the "vitamin supplement" market because of two very important benefits for their scheme. First, the "vitamin supplement" market is heavily deregulated, which allows them to put anything in a bottle and call it a miracle cure. This industry is perfect for creating a cheap and useless product while not having to answer to an agency or governing body. Which leads me to the second, and arguably biggest advantage, they have magically bottled hope. This is extremely powerful because most, if not all, long time MLMers, excluding the narcissistic sociopaths at the top, have very low self-esteem. This allows MLMs to provide the answers to their physical and mental issues and helps to ensnare their members for longer durations. By giving them a lotion, potion, or pill, and calling it an answer to everything, they are giving the MLMer what they truly desire, hope.<br />
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The FDA and the "vitamin supplement" industry need a serious overhaul. It is time for the government to step up to the plate and create meaningful laws against the "vitamin supplements", "nutritional shakes", "body wraps", "skin patches", and any other ridiculous product that has not gone through rigorous clinical trials with real scientific methods applied. The FDA is an organization founded on the principle of keeping consumers safe, and at this point, they are doing the exact opposite.<br />
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-47299812704612275122017-09-12T09:14:00.000-07:002017-09-12T09:22:53.226-07:00MLM and 12 Classic Propaganda Techniques Pt. 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is going to go through more of the propaganda techniques utilized by MLMers to condition their prospects and lower-ranking members. These techniques are not exclusive to MLM and should be treated as potential threats to our critical faculties. Some other common places in which these propaganda techniques can be regularly seen are, the news, advertisements, major sporting events (yesterday had a lot of football games focusing on the 9/11/2001 events), and especially the internet. It is up to each individual to be cognizant of these techniques and understand their effects, otherwise, they will not be able to identify what is fact and what is fiction.<br />
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Without further ado, we go back to our list and start with "exaggerating".<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">5.</span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> "<u>Exaggerating:</u> </span>Stretching the truth to extremes to get credit, eliminate doubt, or coerce someone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists have grandiose personas. Exaggerating is second nature to them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: Reaction from a narcissist when a friend suggests theirs is a one-sided relationship: '<span style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><i>I’m the best and most generous friend you’ve ever had. I’ve done more for you than anybody in history has done for another.'"</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><br />This propaganda technique can be a bit vague, therefore we need to put this in specific context. This isn't the same as "the big lie", and often "exaggerating" can be a combination of lying, "intentional vagueness", and "glittering generalities". In MLM, "exaggerating" is used at every level, therefore, I would like to focus on what the "exaggerating" will look like at each position. Again, some of this may look like "the big lie", and some of this may look like "glittering generalities", but it is based on an original truth that has been morphed into a lie.</span></span></div>
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Entry-level MLMers (equivalent to MLMers that have limited or no downline) "exaggerating" example: An entry level MLMer may say, "MLM doesn't require a lot of money to start". First of all, "A lot of money" can be subjective, which goes along the lines of "intentional vagueness", and second of all, some MLMs can cost thousands to start, which goes along the lines of "the big lie". The MLMer may try to combat this by saying, "but 'traditional' businesses cost hundreds of thousands or even millions", which is not necessarily true and is an exaggeration in itself, but that also doesn't mean that MLM is inexpensive. This type of "exaggerating" can be extremely misleading.</div>
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Mid-level MLMers (equivalent to members with substantial downlines, but not top ranking members) example: A mid level MLMer may say, "MLM has freed me from my job and I am now working the 'business' full time". Again, this has two exaggerations in this statement. First, it hasn't freed them from anything, but rather replaced one job with another. The idea of them being "freed" is a fallacy. Second, this inherently implies they are making a stable income through MLM, which according to the income disclosure charts, would suggest they are not. Only the top 1%, or less, are making any substantial monies from MLM, therefore, any money the mid level MLMers are making is not going to be adequate as a lone income stream.</div>
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Top-level MLMers (equivalent to "Amway" diamonds and crowns) example: A top-level MLMer utilizes exaggerations the most. One of their most frequent examples is the lifestyle videos. They will show videos of mansions, cars, boats, and vacations. These videos resemble the celebrity lifestyle and the idea that their money stream is infinite, but that is not accurate. Many top-level MLMers make a modest living, according to the income disclosures, and almost none make enough to have the lifestyles they portray. Instead, they rent fancy cars, fancy mansions, or even plunge themselves into huge amounts of debt to create the facade. A previous "triple diamond" from "Amway", Greg Duncan, bankrupted himself after claiming he paid for everything in cash. Also, at my first "Amway" meeting, Mike Carroll, an Amway diamond, claimed to pay for everything in cash but brought out an "Amway" credit card at the end of the meeting. These top-level MLMers utilize the "exaggeration" technique extremely effectively. <br />
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6.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">"<u style="font-weight: 700;">Minimizing:</u><span style="font-weight: 700;"> </span></span>The opposite of exaggeration, minimizing denies or downplays anything that doesn’t fit with a propagandist’s goals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists are desperately image conscious so they frequently minimize the negative consequences of their actions. They also discount others’ feelings and needs, which narcissists tend to see as nuisances.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissistic parent’s response to adult child who wants to discuss the parent’s past neglect or abuse: '<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">What are you talking about, you had a great childhood. Yes I was strict but all parents were in those days. You have nothing to complain about.'"</em> </span></div>
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"Minimizing" is one of the most underappreciated techniques used by a MLMer in my opinion. MLMers have the uncanny ability to completely minimize the nearly 100% failure rate while simultaneously exaggerate their income claims. They also regularly minimize the results of lawsuits and act as though settlements are victories. One of the most notable moments was when "Herbalife's" CEO, Michael Johnson, came out and said the FTC and "Herbalife" had finally reached an "agreement", and it "comes at a time when our business is growing bigger and better than ever before". That was his description of having to pay a $200 million dollar settlement and completely restructure in North America because, as Edith Ramirez stated, "We did not determine 'Herbalife' not to be a pyramid". This brazen disregard for the accuracy of the situation is not unique, and most major MLMs have had to go to court and settle, yet they act as though nothing ever happened or it isn't significant.<br />
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One of the other ways MLMers utilize "minimizing" is in the prospecting or recruiting process. They act as though it is an easy "duplication" process, but in actuality, the process is nearly impossible and extremely lengthy. In fact, when I was being propositioned for "Amway", I had to go to three "meetings", read a book, and attend an "FED" before they felt I was ready to join. Not only did that require a lot of my time and effort, but it required an immense amount of theirs as well as money for my tickets. The process in which I was subjected was anything but simple.<br />
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Even though these two techniques are technically opposite, their design has the same intention. They want to deceive the person into believing something other than the reality of the situation. They have cleverly designed their words and ideas to disguise their intentions while shutting down any room for rebuttal. They are instrumentally utilizing thought-stopping techniques to better themselves and take consumer's hard earned dollars.</div>
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Source: https://blogs.psychcentral.com/narcissism-decoded/2017/09/12-classic-propaganda-techniques-narcissists-use-to-manipulate-you/</div>
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Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6MwGeOm8iI&t=68s</div>
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-84487324691631356052017-09-08T11:42:00.000-07:002017-09-12T05:36:56.965-07:00MLM and 12 Classic Propaganda Techniques Pt. 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is inspired by an article on Psychcentral.com called, "12 Classic Propaganda Techniques Narcissists Use to Manipulate You". If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you probably realize why I chose this article, and for the sake of staying on topic, we will transpose narcissists with MLMers (one could argue they are the same thing anyways). I have written about issues with propaganda in the mainstream media, but I haven't specifically focused on techniques used by propagandists. Hopefully, after we go through these techniques, we will be better armed to defend ourselves against MLM proponents.<br />
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1. "<u><b>Ad Hominem</b></u>: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;">From the Latin meaning “towards the man,” an attempt to shift the conversation by getting personal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you bring up a topic that threatens a narcissist’s ego, he may resort to name-calling, questioning your intelligence or attacking your character. This technique is designed to distract from the topic at hand and make you feel you have to defend yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: When you voice an opinion opposite of what a narcissist believes, the narcissist may say, '<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">You’re delusional. You’re clueless, as usual.'</em><span style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><i>"</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><img alt="Image result for ad hominem brainy quotes" src="http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-political-correctness-will-die-as-it-lived-kicking-and-screaming-ad-hominem-abuse-as-wendy-mcelroy-93-87-29.jpg" height="187" width="400" /><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><br /><br />MLM adherents don't typically utilize ad hominem attacks in person, because they are taught it is important to remove negative from their lives. This means no negative thoughts, therefore no negative speech. However, the internet is an entirely different story and a breeding ground for pent-up anger. MLMers often go to anti-MLM blogs and anti-MLM YouTube videos to pour out their vitriolic rhetoric. They will attack an author's credentials, their intelligence, or their modus operandi, instead of focusing on the content. This type of distraction can be extremely effective at derailing the purpose of discussions and videos.<br /><br />2. "</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><u>Glittering Generalities:</u> </span>Using glowing words and statements to describe ones self, ideas, or behaviors without providing evidence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists are in love with their words just as they are in love with everything about themselves. They think superlatives make them look good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissistic husband tells his spouse: '<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">I’m the most amazing husband ever. I’m super-thoughtful, smart and always available. I provide a world-class lifestyle for you.'</em></span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><i>"</i></span><br />
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><img alt="Image result for Glittering Generalities quote" src="http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-only-the-great-generalizations-survive-the-sharp-words-of-the-declaration-of-independence-ralph-waldo-emerson-227095.jpg" height="188" width="400" /><i><br /></i><br />MLMers love to rant and rave about their success, and they try to utilize their success as well as their upline's success as proof that the "business opportunity" is viable. Both online and offline MLM prospects and members have been subjected to grandiloquent videos and rhetoric designed to appeal to a person's sense of desire. These "glittering generalities" do not directly correlate with the MLM "business opportunity", and are often half-truths or outright lies about their success. Anyone, especially MLMers, trying to suggest MLM is legitimate because someone, somewhere, has had some form of success should immediately be rejected as a form of evidence.</span></div>
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3. <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">"</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><u>The Big Lie:</u> </span>Spinning a lie so outrageous that others are at a loss where to even begin to refute it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Narcissists are convinced that whatever they say in the moment is 100 percent true just because they are saying it. Lying often comes naturally. They know that the bigger the lie, the more it may overwhelm others’ critical faculties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissist when confronted with a credit-card bill evidence of an extra-marital affair:<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> 'I’ve never been to that hotel in my life. That hotel is notorious for making up fake check-in records and then blackmailing innocent people like me. There was a big article online about that a while back. You probably saw it. I might even have an email from the hotel trying to blackmail me in my inbox right now. I will fight this slander all the way to the Supreme Court. They will be sorry they ever made up this lie about me.'"<br /><br /><img alt="Image result for The Big Lie brainy quotes" height="188" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/3c/6f/08/3c6f080f681c1ca5cf57b4924cbb1ab4.jpg" width="400" /></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">MLMers utilize this technique constantly! Some regularly used MLMisms are, "2-5 year plan", "10,000 hour rule", "10-15 hours a week", "residual income", and one of my personal favorites, "a fool-proof system". These lies are utilized constantly, and no MLMer has ever supplied any evidence to support any of these claims. These MLMisms are repeated tirelessly to shut down the prospect or MLM adherents cognitive faculties and lull them into a false sense of confidence in the "business opportunity".<br /><br />4. <span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"><u>Intentional Vagueness</u>: </span>Saying something so vague as to be meaningless or open to multiple interpretations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This can leave others stymied, trying to figure out what was meant. In so doing, the vagueness distracts attention from legitimate concerns or questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Example: A narcissist when asked why he did something: '<em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">I did what had to be done. I always do what needs to be done. It’s obvious.'"</em></span></div>
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Everything around MLM is designed to be vague. Most MLMers won't reveal what the "business opportunity" is during the initial contact. Instead, MLMers will present an exciting, "part-time income opportunity", "side hustle", "extra revenue stream", or some other nonsense to lure unsuspecting prospects into a meeting or second contact. From there, they still may not give pertinent details about how money is earned, but rather will go back to "glittering generalities" or start parroting "the big lies". MLMers will also go out of their way to not explain how much work is required, how often you need to be involved in MLM related activities, and how much money a MLMer has to spend each month. The less information they have to give, the less likely someone will question the MLM and the MLM adherent's "opportunity".<br />
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________________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />Source: https://blogs.psychcentral.com/narcissism-decoded/2017/09/12-classic-propaganda-techniques-narcissists-use-to-manipulate-you/</div>
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-27711499207816806522017-09-05T15:26:00.001-07:002017-09-05T15:30:40.897-07:00MLM and the No True Scotsman Fallacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about a particularly effective fallacy which runs rampant in MLM called the, "No true Scotsman" fallacy. This fallacy is extremely effective in MLM, because it, much like the other fallacies, does not require any actual evidence to support a claim. Instead, there is a form of closed-logic used to try and shut down any critical faculties in the denier. This type of closed-logic, or sometimes circular logic, is utilized by MLM leaders to neutralize their adherents and keep deniers out. These fallacies are also very easy to parrot, which enables the rhetoric to spread wider and faster, while also creating more cognitive dissonance as the new truth becomes reality.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The "No true Scotsman" fallacy is: "<b style="background-color: white;">No true Scotsman</b><span style="background-color: white;"> is a kind of </span>informal fallacy<span style="background-color: white;"> in which one attempts to protect a </span>universal generalization<span style="background-color: white;"> from </span>counterexamples<span style="background-color: white;"> by changing the definition in an </span><i style="background-color: white;">ad hoc</i><span style="background-color: white;"> fashion to exclude the counterexample.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Rather than denying the counterexample or rejecting the original claim, this fallacy modifies the subject of the assertion to exclude the specific case or others like it by </span>rhetoric<span style="background-color: white;">, without reference to any specific objective rule ("no </span><em style="background-color: white;">true</em><span style="background-color: white;"> Scotsman would do such a thing"; i.e., those who perform that action are not part of our group and thus criticism of that action is not criticism of the group)."</span></span><br />
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<img alt="Image result for No True Scotsman" height="285" src="https://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/093/b/7/no_true_scotsman_fallacy_by_chaser1992-d60arko.jpg" width="400" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /><br />In other words, you can explain away any unique example or criticism by simply saying it isn't a true representation of the group as a whole. MLMs love to explain away any issues they may have by suggesting the MLMer was not a representation of their organization because they, didn't try hard enough, they didn't follow the "system", they didn't explain the "business" correctly, or some other nonsense. This allows them to circumvent any negative statistics, disprove any bad experiences, or justify any losses. Instead of directly addressing the problems, they can simply say, that isn't a true or authentic version of the "business".<br /><br />It is important to hold the person accountable when they try to use this line of logic. The person needs to provide evidence to assert the example or criticism is unique and is not representative of the group as a whole. Especially when it comes to statistics, it is important for them to provide statistics to refute the point. It is not acceptable for a MLMer to suggest 99% of MLMers failing in their "business" is somehow not important because they didn't follow a "system", or they didn't "try hard enough". That is not a reasonable excuse for the overwhelming failure rates. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />__________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />Source: </span></span>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-14673313476499897302017-08-30T07:51:00.004-07:002017-08-30T15:08:02.937-07:00MLM and Life Coaches<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post was inspired by an article on Psychcentral.com, "Should the Life Coaching Industry Be Regulated?". I have found that life coaches are very similar to the vitamin industry in the lack of regulation, but with "life coaches" it may be worse because of the inherent subjectivity. It isn't possible to be subjective when it comes to results on whether vitamins and supplements actually work, and there have been many clinical trials and prolific institutions that have proven most vitamins don't do what their labels claim. Could life coaches and their results be as quantifiable, or is the placebo effect from life coaches too hard to calculate? Should we completely stay away from life coaches, or is there a way to effectively determine if a person is providing a useful service? These are the questions that need to be asked and answered in order to determine if this is a real industry or a make-believe scheme.<br />
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First, is it possible to actually quantify the effectiveness of each life coach and whether they are meeting the objectives of their teachings? According to the article, and my own experience, it is not. There is no way to objectively give credit to the coaches for the success or failures of their students because there are too many other variables that effect the outcome. Also, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of every life coach's page explaining they are not responsible for any results, good or bad, and all testimonials are not to be considered typical. That kind of preemptive warning can lead to the conclusion that this industry is inherently flawed, and the user of these life coaches is completely at risk. The only industries that are able to operate in this manner are other deregulated groups (such as vitamins, oils, shakes), which are prime MLM "businesses". This amount of subjectivity allows charlatans to pose as authorities and take advantage.<br />
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Can life coaches actually be certified? This question can be mostly answered above, but there could be some very basic prerequisites which could help to certify the person. The life coach could at least go through a course or degree program designed to give basic information on psychology, business, and life skills, then be held accountable to a certain standard. This would eliminate a lot of the people claiming to have answers without any proof, and it would give consumers the opportunity for recourse in case a life coach did not perform to a certain standard. Life coaches would also need continuing education as the field and society evolves. Nobody wants a medical doctor that stopped learning in 1984 to be operating today, and the same should be applied to life coaches.<br />
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If life coaches could be certified, would that cut down on the unethical practices? In short, yes, because they could be held accountable for their teachings, but the field would still be largely subjective making lawsuits extremely difficult to litigate. At least the fear of being sued would prevent a percentage of life coaches from taking advantage of their clients, but there will always be some that have a reckless disregard for the rules. Certifications and licenses are not perfect, especially when it comes to ethics, which is why we have malpractice law firms.<br />
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After examining certain life coaches, in particular those that speak at MLM functions, <strike>I believe the industry needs an overhaul or it needs to be eliminated</strike>. I believe the "industry" needs to be eliminated. <strike>I do believe that there is a potential industry out there, similar to personal trainers, but the current life coaching industry is completely warped</strike>. I do not believe there is a potential industry out there, and my previous notion was inherently flawed as I thought more about it. There isn't any original concept in "life" coaching. It is a vague and unregulated way to suggest you can do the same very specific jobs as other certified professionals. It is essentially a legal loophole for college dropouts. It is too easy to call yourself a "life" coach, "guru", "leader", or even "teacher", and there are not enough regulations to protect the consumers. <strike>I'm also not completely convinced that certifying life coaches will be the remedy the field needs, but at least it is a start</strike>. There is no one certificate that can encompass everything a "life" coach claims to be.<br />
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If a "life" coach existed, then MLMs, in particular, should never be a market a life coach would speak at, let alone endorse. A life coach should be someone that helps steer a person away from scams, and anyone claiming to be a life coach that associates themselves with MLM should be disregarded entirely. It doesn't matter if they spend most of their time in ministry (Maxwell), personal development (Robbins), or "Real-Estate" (Kiyosaki). These people are taking advantage of a "Criminogenic Syndicate" (Brear), to make a quick buck, which is a complete conflict of interest as a life coach.<br />
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Source: https://blogs.psychcentral.com/nlp/2017/08/should-the-life-coaching-industry-be-regulated/</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-52471247394395208802017-08-21T07:45:00.003-07:002017-08-21T07:47:02.604-07:00MLM and Double Standards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is about MLMers and their consistent use of double standards. Double standards are frequently used in society and some of the popular topics are, men versus women in the work place, whites versus minority groups in college, or gay versus straight in marriage (not as controversial these days). The main thing these have in common, aside from being wedge issues, is the introduction of a subjectivity standard. The truth is, there shouldn't be any subjectivity when it comes to whether it is right for men and women to have the same opportunity for employment, or if white people and minority groups want to go to college, or if gay people can get married. Whether your personal beliefs lean in one direction or another, there are clear and defined rights in the Constitution and they are not subjective.<br />
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It is important to recognize wedge issues for what they are, subjects designed to divide a population. Politicians and the mainstream media utilize wedge issues to promote conflict, generate donations, and distract the masses from important world events. The mainstream media, in particular, utilizes wedge issues to generate ratings, because people are more interested in watching a piece about abortion than Assad gassing his people. <br />
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Double standards work the same way, in that they promote an emotional response and are utilized as a way to divide people. The idea of promoting diversity has become so convoluted and strange that people don't know what is considered inappropriate or racist anymore. The idea that two people are not judged solely on their qualifications, but also on their genetic coding, is the definition of discrimination and is a double standard. We are currently witnessing this at Google, as James Damore, a former Google engineer, came out and said Google was showing discriminatory practices. There are more men than women in higher positions and the work environment was not female friendly. These double standards are real, and even extremely left-leaning groups, like Google, are not as diverse as they seem.<br />
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MLMers utilize double standards all the time, because it is one of their best ways to defend their "business". In fact, most of their arguments are rooted in some kind of double standard. An example may be, even though 99% of people fail in MLM there are 'systems' installed allowing each MLMer the 'opportunity' to have success". If any other business had failure rates upwards of 99%, then they would be out of business, and if we say something with 99% confidence in science, then that is considered a fact. Only MLMers can suggest that 99% is not strong enough evidence that MLM is a failure of an "opportunity". Another example is, MLMers often suggest that people outside of MLM don't know what they are talking about because they are not involved in MLM. Not only is this logically fallacious because it would suggest nobody can have an opinion about anything unless they had experienced it firsthand, but it also suggests that they are allowed to cast their own opinions about the person even though they know nothing about them or their research. In other words, the MLMer is trying to suggest that a person can't give a good opinion about jumping off bridges being bad for your health, even if they have never jumped off a bridge, and they are suggesting, non-MLMers can't give an opinion about MLM, but pro-MLMers can give opinions about non-MLMers reporting.<br />
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MLMers constantly try to create false dichotomies, and act as though the people that are not in MLM are failures and uneducated about MLM. The idea that non-MLMers can't know or understand MLM is ridiculous, especially since it is supposed to be "duplicatable". Let's be fair for a moment. MLMers don't tend to be the highest functioning members of society, and to suggest that they can understand something, that the majority of society cannot, is highly unlikely. Therefore, we can say, with 99% confidence, that MLMers don't understand what they are talking about, and are utilizing double standards to make their arguments seem more plausible.<br />
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On a side note, Google has hired a "VP of Diversity, Integrity, & Governance", and I bet you can guess what type of person they hired. It makes you wonder, why would a company that is supposed to be progressive need this department, and how many white men were overlooked for that position?</div>
John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5576018960973115197.post-10107491228664201232017-08-16T13:56:00.000-07:002017-08-16T13:56:57.456-07:00MLM and the "You are just angry" line.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's blog post is synonymous with one of my earliest posts about projection. Projection is a defense mechanism designed to transfer your own emotions onto someone else. It is, logically speaking, one of the worst ways to "win" a debate, and is usually used as a last resort when the person has had all of their more meaningful points refuted. Instead of continuing to focus on the subject, they begin to attack the rival by suggesting the rival can't be logical, because they are being emotional, or more specifically, angry. The United States, in particular, loves to get emotional when debating, which makes things more interesting, but is not good from a scholarly perspective. We also like to argue, rather than debate, because we attach a part of ourselves to the subject we are talking about. We have gotten to a point, in the US, where the ego is so fragile, that any time we are "losing" a debate we have a visceral reaction and become antagonistic. <br /><br />MLMers have frequently resorted to projection on other blogs, and have commonly referred to authors and other commentators as angry. They may say the author is angry because they failed at MLM, or they have a specific vendetta against a MLM, or even that it has something to do with their biology. These MLMer attacks are both silly and direct reflections of their specific mood. MLMers wouldn't be looking for anti-MLM blogs unless, they lost a prospect or their family and friends recommended reading it. This loss of a prospect and or the rejection of the "business" by a friend or family member can be extremely damaging to a MLMers ego. This in turn will lead to a rage and will result in lashing out over the internet. When MLMers lash out they lose focus and rationality, which leads to ludicrous comments, some of which reflect themselves. <div>
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Unfortunately, as an anti-MLM blogger and regular commentator on other blogs, there becomes a harsh realization about the ability . MLMers are very similar to addicts of controlled substances, and they aren't going to be able receive help from anyone until they are ready to help themselves. The combination of a weakened ego, and clever psychological manipulation, makes logical discourse nearly impossible. The other harsh reality is, the people these MLMers attack and call names, are the people that try the hardest to show them the errors of their ways.<br /><br />The best strategy, in my opinion, when a MLM adherent devolves to ad hominem attacks and deviates from the subject, then end the discussion and resume it no sooner than twenty-four hours later. They will need time to refocus and calm down, and it may be best to start the conversation with addressing the exaggeration of emotions and how that is inappropriate for dialogue and business. </div>
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John Doehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05186871105223753934noreply@blogger.com8