One of the great things that I get to do now that I'm not "running the roads" every night, is spend time with my children and watch movies. Most recently we watched the movie Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief. Good family movie, however there was one scene that gave me MLM flashbacks!
It was the scene where the kids all enter a building that looked like a night club or casino. As soon as they arrived, the girls working there started coming by and offering food on a tray. The food was called Lotus Flowers, and they were said to be delicious! The three young heros in the movie ate some of these flowers, and everything changed! They forgot about the situation they were in, and started living for the moment. Time was flying by....minutes turned into days. Then one of the young heros decided to not eat anymore of the flowers. He became aware of his surroundings, saw that this place he was in was not designed for fun and good times....it was a prison! The flowers they ate, clouded their judgement....and kept them from ever leaving. The best part was when he started to become aware of what was happening, more and more girls started showing up with trays of these Lotus Flowers, trying to convince him to eat them again. Come on....just one more......
I couldn't help but see the similarities with the Team/Monavie "Business". The entire time you are "in" Team, they push the CD's, books, and meetings on you. Try them.....you'll like them....just listen to one. That's how it starts. Then before you know it, your on "System". Getting CD's and books delivered to you every couple of weeks. You listen more, and more, attending meeting after meeting, never able to get enough. You start to lose track of time. Weeks become months, months become years.... and then one day...you don't listen to as many CD's. You (heaven forbid) miss a meeting. You start to wake up! That's when the Team "Leaders" start to get worried. They start to hover.... CD's in hand! "Your not listening enough" as they hand you another stack of CD's. "The answers are in here"... "we really miss you at the meetings"....but it's too late.....your becoming aware of your surroundings. Your starting to think on your own again...... what am I doing? How long have I been at this? I've waisted how much money? Your starting to see that true freedom begins......when you leave Team!
I've read a lot of posts on the internet recently from people looking for answers. How can I help my friend, relative, co-worker, spouse, get out of Team/Monavie. The answers are not simple, but there is one thing for certain........they have to stop eating the Lotus Flowers.
What caused you to stop eating the Lotus Flower (or drinking the Kool Aid if you prefer)?
ReplyDeleteWas it the results? Something you read? Something you heard?
Great post, and Oh, so very true!
Rocket - Great question! It was a bunch of things for me. First... my upline had lied to me, and I caught him, but before that I knew the end was near. The brutal reality started to sink in, and I was evaluating my long term results. They were not good enough. My last year I would say.... I only stuck around because I didn't want to hurt the people I was going to be leaving behind. I was a "Leader" when I left! The less I listened to CD's and attended functions... the easier it was to walk away. When the time was right... I walked away and never looked back. It took a lot to do after everything I had put into it....time....money....relationships....but in the end...it was the best decision EVER!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, it really tickled me. that is important to me bc now i can laugh about it.
ReplyDeletethis post holds powerful truths. i know because that is how it happened to me, back in 2002 with bww. seven years later my team had shrank to me plus 3 and i knew inside my heart was not in it anymore. so i listened to cd's much less and you won't believe the difference in thinking clarity that set in. as soon as that happened the cd's were toast, in fact i felt disgusted by them. concurrently i started missing meetings and then a major conference and that's when i knew i was out and never went back again. my sponsor had hit 4000pv only once eons ago (courtesy of my group), was gung ho loyal to his uplines and by now paid much less attention to my group. his uplines had told him to gag his business i.e. amspeak for get-another-group. all of sudden he started hovering around me initially when he realized i wasn't really showing up as before. of course he/them didn't want to lose me (source of tool income to uplines). so he called but found me with a very strong mind of my own. he didn't call about this again.
and then i dared read the "negative" websites and i found yo'll and the truth. i had a lot of reading to do - Eric Scheibeler, the tools lawsuits, everything as much i can spare time for, that i knew nothing of while i was on the inside. i was shocked at how the deception is perpetrated and how i could never see it. they are good at that but thank goodness for the internet and yo'll. keep writing/blogging you are getting the truth to us one person at a time.
ExAmbot
ExAmbot - Welcome here! I'm happy the post helped you. It's important now to laugh about what has happened....but at the same time....never forget HOW it happened to us! Thanks for sharing some of your story as well! Nice to see that it doesn't matter what Line Of Sponsorship you come from....the tactics are the same! Gave me chills reading it. The truth is out there my friend...and I'm glad I could be a piece of the puzzle for ya! Keep reading, and learning! Also...don't be afraid to share what you've learned with others!
ReplyDeleteMLM Punisher
Ha... this sounds like that scene from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief.
ReplyDelete