MLM and John Oliver

Today's post is to celebrate and acknowledge a wonderful segment presented by John Oliver. I have been a big fan of his since he was on the Daily Show, and was both excited and stunned that he actually did a piece on MLM. I found out a few months ago that you can suggest topics for him to present (this is my subtle way of suggesting I may have helped make this happen), and I suggested MLM several times on his forum. The real reason I believe he decided to make the segment is the recent address from Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the FTC, and her remarks against MLM. She basically threw everything at MLM including the kitchen sink, and here is what she said from David Brear's article (http://mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.com/2016/10/edith-ramirez-recites-modified.html).

It would seem MLM has been tossed into the spotlight recently, and that doesn't seem to bode well for its future. MLM tends to slink around in the shadows of society, and gradually picks people off as targets to join while still remaining ominous. In fact, MLM only tends to come out when people are at a vulnerable place in their life, and it is interesting to see the tides turning as MLM is starting to look very vulnerable. Bill Ackman (Billionaire and CEO of Pershing Square) and Robert Fitzpatrick (Pyramid Scheme Alert) have led the charge against Herbalife, and it wasn't clear at the beginning how it would pan out, but it seems to have been a slow and steady battle with many successes. Now that the FTC has concluded their investigation, sanctioned Herbalife, and forced them to restructure their compensation plan and their opportunity pitch, there could be some real change.


Without further ado, here is the John Oliver segment on MLM. Enjoy!

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

MLM and Repetition

Today's blog is about the outrageous amount of repetition involved with MLM, and what the side effects of this repetition have shown. Some of the most common expressions that come to mind when thinking about repetition are, "Practice makes perfect", "The more you practice the better you will get", and "Repetition is the key to success". It is important to note that these expressions have a positive connotation, but can actually be just as negative when forming certain skills and abilities. In the case of MLM, they utilize mind numbing repetition to mold their members into thoughtless beings with a single purpose of getting more recruits.

FDR said, "Repetition does not transform a lie into truth".

MLMers are designed to be reactive when opposition rears its head. They are told what to say, how to say it, and they are given reasons for why it should make sense. However, when this thought stopping jargon is analyzed, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems. The story the MLMer weaves is merely a distraction at best, but usually a very spun lie. My echolalia post is designed to debunk some of the common thought stopping jargon, and how it sounds good on the surface but is really nonsense.

MLMers are relentless in their repetition, and they know it is a key ingredient to develop their "de facto slaves" (David Brear). They will constantly talk about the dreams, the wealth they have generated, the success they want for you, and the lies and evil that exists outside of their wholesome and glorious business. They will also make sure to denigrate any of the outside influences whenever they can, and will continue to pump the same mindless jargon into the downlines until they become exquisite replicas. They are then unleashed on the world to continue the repetition they are programmed with, and their only mission is to find new victims.

MLMs will preach about duplication, and the simplicity of the business as long as you follow their system. They will say they have all the answers, and there is a 100% success rate when you apply their system, contrasting a 0% success rate if you don't. You must repeat everything they teach you with unwavering loyalty, and you must devote your life to the business.

"By repetition, each lie becomes an irreversible fact upon which other lies are constructed." - John Le Carre

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

MLM and the Monopolization of Information

Today's blog post was inspired by a recent read from one of my featured writers, David Brear. He has had an extensive history with MLM in his family, and he has written about their relationship to cults. While this particular blog isn't specifically identifying MLMs as cults, there is an underlying relationship between this blog and that idea, because the blog involves the psychology that is used to create cults. I will link David's article to the bottom of this post.

David's definition of monopoly of information from the article: The leaders of  pernicious cults seek to control all information entering not only their adherents’ minds, but also that entering the minds of casual observers. This is achieved by constantly denigrating all external sources of information whilst constantly repeating the group’s reality-inverting key words and images, and/or by the physical isolation of adherents. Cults leaders systematically categorize, condemn and exclude as unenlightened, negative, impure, absolutely evil, etc. all free-thinking individuals and any quantifiable evidence challenging the authenticity of their imaginary scenarios of control. In this way, the minds of cult adherents can become converted to accept only what their leadership arbitrarily sanctions as enlightened, positive, pure, absolutely righteous, etc. Consequently, adherents habitually communicate amongst themselves using their group’s thought-stopping ritual jargon, and they find it difficult, if not impossible, to communicate with negative persons outside of their group whom they falsely believe to be not only doomed, but also to be a suppressive threat to redemption.

MLMs lure consumers with the promise of a money making opportunity, but they are consistently vague about how the opportunity works until you are brought to a meeting. Their initial focus is on creating an environment where the consumer will be love bombed to earn trust, and then they will propose their irrational idea. They have to make sure a consumer is properly primed, because the consumer, in most cases, will not willingly hear the idea otherwise. Afterward, MLMers will turn their attention to outside resources designed to destroy the reputation of the MLM and attempt to discredit them.

When I was first propositioned for MLM, there was no mention of the business and how it worked. Instead, the focus was on a fantasy that everyone has and a loaded question that most people would answer affirmatively. In fact, the name of the MLM was disregarded until I was brought to an event where hundreds of people clambered together in a church to receive training. This is the beginning of the indoctrination as the herd helps the new recruit unconsciously form a consenting opinion about the opportunity. MLMers will consistently suggest that outside resources, such as the internet, family, friends, co-workers, and media outlets cannot be trusted and their information is routinely false. MLMers will follow this by suggesting they have all the answers, they will take care of your needs, wants, and desires, so long as you subordinate to their teachings or system.

This system is designed by the mentors that are all knowing, because they have videos showing their wealth. The mentors will encourage MLMers to consistently listen to recordings and attend seminars to reaffirm their message. The recordings and seminars will be repetitive and mind numbing, and will deter the MLMer from engaging in outside learning. They will continue to press their information while denigrating everyone else until the MLMer is completely indoctrinated.

Fred and Tom have been involved in MLM for over 10 years, and they are completely indoctrinated. They will discredit any outside opinion, and have begun to completely isolate themselves from society. Their attention has been solely consumed by the MLM as they continue to work toward their fantasy of retirement (similar to being beamed up by the mother ship). They are completely deluded and shells of their former selves.

Here is the link to the rest of David Brear's article: http://mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.com/2012/03/universal-identifying-characteristics.html

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

MLM and Self-Esteem/Arrogance

Today's post is inspired by a few comments I read from other blogs. MLMs are very good at inflating MLMer's egos based on the love bombing mixed with the herd mentality. It is natural for people to be filled with a high sense of self-esteem when they are in an environment that treats them as though they are powerful and important. It is important to note that this isn't a true form of self-esteem, and can easily be washed away as soon as the external resources are gone. This self-esteem that is generated from the MLM herd usually generates a sense of arrogance, because they are fragile and they must protect the system that is giving them the confidence.

Arrogant - Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.

Self-Esteem - Confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect.

After reading comments from many MLM defenders, I found there is often a level of arrogance in the way they form their programmed rhetoric. A self-confident person would not be bothered by people talking badly about their company, and would opt to spend their energy on a constructive project rather than being defensive. This in turn led me to a Psych Central article on the difference between self-confidence and cockiness (I will provide a link at the bottom of the page).

The arrogance really shines through after doing this for an extended period of time, because the stuff that the defenders say is roughly the same across the board. Therefore, I must eliminate the actual words and analyze the language used, the amount of research performed, and the responses given to a naysayer of MLM.

The language used is normally aggressive or condescending. It is very rare for an MLMer to start a counterpoint with language that would take into consideration the adversary is an actual human-being. They instead go into attack mode, and use loaded language, loaded questions, or some sort of equivocation that attempts to make the writer look stupid. The MLMer often has trouble separating the words written and the points given from the actual writer.

The amount of research an MLM defender does before posting on a blog is essentially 0. They do not provide links or references for their points, and they do not fact check themselves before they type in their robotic retorts. This makes talking to them difficult, because they have tuned out half of the discussion before it even began. The arrogance to believe only what the upline MLMer tells the downline is both bizarre and frustrating, and to not provide any evidence to support their points makes it even worse.

Finally, the responses they give to naysayers strike the strongest chord. They will spend a large amount of time writing a response that tears a person apart and end it with, "I'll pray for you", "Have a great day!", or "Good luck and god bless!". This is one of the worst forms of arrogance, because they are attempting to put themselves on a moral high ground and elevate themselves above the naysayer. This is also is their way of "winning" the discussion while conveniently allowing them to exit without allowing for a response. It is the MLMer getting their quick jab, while still remaining morally above the naysayer that provided an initial discussion, and then quickly leaving while feeling unscathed from the nastiness of a "negative" point. The hypocrisy mixed with the blatant disregard for their fellow human beings is staggering.

Here is the link to the Psych Central article: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/26/the-fine-line-between-self-confidence-cockiness/

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

MLM and Sleep Deprivation

Today's blog post is about MLMers using sleep deprivation as a manipulation technique. Sleep deprivation has a variety of effects ranging from impaired brain activity to death. Healthline.com describes what will happen to your central nervous system when you are sleep deprived:

 Sleep deprivation leaves the brain exhausted, so it can’t perform its duties well. The most obvious  effect is sleepiness. You may find yourself yawning a lot and feeling sluggish. Lack of sleep  interferes with your ability to concentrate and learn new things. It can negatively impact both short-  term and long-term memory. It gets in the way of your decision-making process and stifles  creativity. Your emotions are also affected, making you more likely to have a short temper and mood  swings. Overall cognitive function is impaired.

Needless to say this is a tremendous issue when it comes to learning the ins and outs of the business. With all of these negative effects it makes one wonder, why would MLMers want to make their prospects sleep deprived? It seems like backwards logic since they are supposed to be teaching prospects valuable information and trying to help them succeed, yet they are pumping information into people with reduced cognitive faculties.

MLMers utilize long and strenuous days to their advantage, because prospects are more easily manipulated when they cannot think clearly. MLMers don't want you to critically think about their pitch, where the money comes from, or how to be successful. They just want you to join and continue to spend money. The major seminars reinforce these points by making the days extremely long, 9 am to 12 am (sometimes later if you are in a "nuts and bolts" or "night owl" meeting), and then repeat the process the next day. No other company encourages anyone to go through training for that long in a day, because they realize it will not be beneficial to your success as an employee.

I have two examples of sleep deprivation from the FED I attended, and they are a constant reminder of how ridiculous it all was.

1. When I got done with the second day of the FED, I told Fred that I needed to get some extra sleep if I wanted to be able to retain the information from the final day. Instead of understanding that an 18 hour day (including travel time) requires extra R&R he guilted me into coming in at the beginning of the following day for a religious ceremony that I didn't believe in. If I didn't have sleep deprivation, I probably could have confronted his ludicrous objective, but instead I just caved in because I didn't have the energy or cognitive ability to think clearly.

2. When Fred was attending the FED, I remember him falling asleep and thinking, "How could he fall asleep? He is so passionate about this business, and is probably missing out on something important". I asked his wife what was going on, because she was staying awake, and she said, "He had a rough night on a blow up mattress, and we car pooled with Tom (the sponsor/eagle), and he had to stay for the 'night owl'".  Looking back, I realized that he was just as much a victim of the sleep deprivation as I was, and he too could not be "fired up" enough to stay awake throughout the conference.

I'm not the biggest fan of Ted Talks at the moment, because they haven't been doing a great job in selecting certain people to conduct them (Robert Kiyosaki), but they did do a nice job with this sleep deprivation video. It is a little more dramatic than it needs to be, but it gets the point across that anyone interested in making you successful will let you get some much needed shut eye.

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

MLM and Consciousness

Today's post could also aptly be named echolalia part two, but I wanted to focus more on the unwillingness to be aware of the programming. This is an information age, and we have access to more answers to questions than ever before. I am the tail end of a generation where libraries were a necessity, and book reports required opening actual books. Which brings me to the main point, people are less informed now than they ever have been in history. It seems contradictory that you can talk into your phone and immediately find out when William Shakespeare was alive, or how to cook a proper chicken tikka masala, but people can't seem to figure out that the stuff they are saying in MLM has been debunked hundreds of times.

Consciousness: the awareness or perception of something by a person.

This post was inspired by a couple of YouTube videos. The first video compared MLMers to zombies, and there are some worthy comparisons. When talking with an MLMer it is impossible to have a critical point, because they are deeply programmed to immediately respond without actually hearing what you are saying. An example of this was in my story with my conversation with Tom. I told Tom that I didn't think all of the monthly expenses were necessary to try and run this business. Before he even registered what I had to say, he immediately responded, that is how his team was going to work the business and if I don't like it, then I can try the business with someone else. Another instance was with Fred when he told me that the MLM was not a pyramid, because it has a product. He clearly did not come up with this line (it has been said for decades), and did not do any research to verify its accurateness. This, to me, is a loss of consciousness, because he is repeating garbage that somebody told him and he treats it as though it is a law of nature. He told me this line with such conviction, that it would make others not want to research its authenticity as well.

The second video I watched was Dave Ramsey on MLM. This video is bizarre for a number of reasons, the first being, he suggests MLM is not a pyramid because legally there is a product being sold (again this is incorrect as stated above, and I will put the FTC's definition of MLM at the bottom), but then suggests, "The business you are in is recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, everyone is a recruit". So, he gets it right there, and then the video goes on and on trying to legitimize MLM, which is more unnecessary nonsense. He is a YouTube personality that has over 160,000 subscribers giving him an air of authority, and he talks to people as an expert on business related topics. Yet this particular subject seems to have eluded him, because he got the actual definition from the FTC wrong, and the reason for why they consider MLM "legal". He is not a dumb person, but this was clearly a lack of consciousness as he could have very easily looked up the definition, and provided an expert analysis.

This is a troubling time, because people are opting to lose their ability to critically investigate a topic, and are becoming unconscious participants. I know this is a complex topic with many reasons for why people choose to not investigate for answers, and the purpose of this is to figure out how to change that rather than simply point and scream.

Here is the FTC's definition of MLM and how it can be considered "legal". 
  Not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. If the money you make is based on your sales to the  public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan. If the money you make is based on the  number of  people you recruit and your sales to them, it’s probably not. It could be a pyramid  scheme. Pyramid schemes  are illegal, and the vast majority of participants lose money.  (https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/multilevel-marketing)

Here is the MLM zombie video: 

Here is the Dave Ramsey MLM video:

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

MLM and Addiction

Addiction is a very interesting topic, because it is easily identifiable, it is treatable, and yet is one of the hardest concepts to completely understand. Addiction comes in many different forms and there is potential to be addicted to almost everything. This is why many drug companies try to suggest their drugs don't have any addictive properties, even though addictive properties do not completely stop someone from becoming an addict.

Addiction: Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction)

In layman's terms, addiction can be any substance or activity that makes your life go from an original point to a lesser point. This makes addiction very scary, because the reasons for becoming addicted are not readily definable. There is no research that suggests only when people do a certain action, will they then become addicted. Addiction can come from joy, stress, depression, anxiety, or from nothing and be completely random.

When I was learning about the brain and addiction, we went through the example of how cocaine affects the brain. The following is a condensed version of how it works. Cocaine affects the limbic system (our reward system), and the limbic system is in control of releasing dopamine (our neurotransmitter that makes us happy). The limbic system releases a certain amount of dopamine depending on how pleasurable something is, and it has a certain balance to ensure we don't get overly happy or overly sad. However, cocaine makes the limbic system go crazy and then it releases an extremely large amount of dopamine the first few times. This is why people become addicted, because their brain feels REALLY good, but cocaine also damages the transmitters which help to create dopamine. This is where we get the phrase, chasing the high, because the deterioration of the transmitters happens quickly, and the limbic system doesn't naturally release this larger amount of dopamine, therefore people run into a double problem. They can't continue to feel as good as they originally did when they took cocaine, and they feel extremely bad when they aren't on cocaine forcing them to up the dosage and continue to try to get to the original high, which eventually becomes impossible. Not only does this cycle tear apart their day-to-day lives, but it destroys their brain chemistry as well.

Are MLMers similar to cocaine addicts? Undeniably, and here are some of the parallels between the two addictions.

1. The first time you get love bombed at an MLM meeting is very similar to the first time a person uses cocaine. The high from being involved in a group of people that care about you, listen to you, and embrace you is extremely addictive, and MLMers know that. They want you to feel as good as possible, and they want you to keep coming back to try and get more of that love and support.

2. MLMers will begin to chase the high after they are struggling without the group. They may be failing to find recruits, failing to sell products, or failing to get family and friends support. This helps to make sure MLMers keep coming to meetings, and keep trying to get the love and attention they had originally gotten.

3. MLMers will slowly become dependent on their team, and their life will become more and more absorbed by all things involving the business. You will see the MLMer's personality change as they become more involved with the group, and their day-to-day responsibilities will start to go unattended.

4. MLMers will start to get less and less positives out of the experience, because uplines will not continue to love bomb unconditionally without results. Upline may ridicule the downline, and the pleasure of the love bombing will fade as the downline continues to struggle.

I have heard of MLMers pursuing the dream to the point of foreclosure on their homes, job loss, and divorce. MLMs have been responsible for taking away retirements, and have made people lose friends and family. MLMs have the exact same downsides as any drug (legal or illegal), but MLMs may be worse because people can be harder to escape.

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.