To quote one of my favourite 80's hairbands Cinderella.... "The more things change, the more they stay the same". Another year has come and gone, and how much closer would you say Orrin Woodward and his clan are to reaching their stated goal of one million people? Oh I'm sure they'd tell you they're "right on track", and that things have "never been better". The truth of the matter, in my humble opinion, brings me to a quote I heard from Orrin Woodward himself, "those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it". Very appropriate considering the big changes happening with TEAM or should I say LIFE Training, as they are now known. You see, this is hardly the first time this organization has undergone a name change (Hello.. Team of Destiny, TEAM, TEAM Monavie). I'm not here to write a big blog post on this event, my friend at the Amthrax blog has done a pretty good job on that already. What blows my mind is that people who have been following Orrin for YEARS.. don't see the endless hamster wheel that they are on! I mean really 2007 was not that long ago! Remember that Teamsters? That was the release of Orrin and Chris's book Launching a Leadership Revolution. I remember all the fanfare and excitement of having a book on the New York Times Best Seller List! I also remember ordering many...many copies of the book in advance, as well as receiving it not once, but TWICE as the Book of the month while on "System". Oh yeah... good times! It was used as the book somebody received when they got started in the "Business" as well! Make sure you have extra copies for the new person you're going to sponsor.... I mean... you're a professional right? Why would you make the new person wait for the information? Do you also remember when they stopped using LLR as the sign up book? I do... I also remember having about 15 copies sitting in the back of my car when that happened, because ladies and gentlemen, I was a professional. I was getting people started all the time, and I wanted them to get off to a fast start....for them...really (this is sarcasm for those of you playing at home).
What is the point of my little rant? It's that they are doing it all over again with this new book Leadershift! The exact same process. It's like watching Bill Murray's Groundhog Day! You can read all about the pre-order process as being orchestrated by LIFE on the Amthrax blog. Mark my words, this book will be a "must have" to all "serious business owners" in LIFE. It'll be book of the month, probably more than once, and it will be the book you "get somebody started with". Oh I'm sure there will be an awesome back story, like how they donated the "1st edition" proceeds of the LLR book to charity, but the fact remains, we've seen this story before!
It must amaze people who are looking at this from the "outside" and wondering why people continue to tow the company line. Thought reform is very powerful, it took me YEARS to regain my critical thinking skills. I remember thinking "I don't care if I never make a cent in this thing, I'm making a difference, and saving people from themselves"! If you've been with TEAM for a long time, you know I speak the truth. LIFE will continue to operate in a fashion that is best for them.... always have... always will. If it ain't broke don't fix it! Orrin must have just reached back into his book of tricks and said "Remember that LLR thing we did a few years ago? That seemed to drive volume up pretty well... let's try that again!". Happy belated groundhog day folks!
Thank you for being open with your experience so that you can help others. I have been approached by several different MLMs and haven't taken the bait. Most recently, some friends presented Team Life to my husband and I. We told them we would check it out and let them know. We were skeptical anyway and leaning against it, but a part of us thought why not give it a try. We listened to the first 2 CDs and received a book to read and a sample CD from a subscription called "Money Matter's". I got online to research, and feel as though your blog is only confirming that this is not something to get involved with. You mentioned in one of your blogs about how you were able to overcome any objection when you were in it. So what would you recommend would be the best way to opt out of something like this once approached or presented the material?
ReplyDeleteI know a few different people involved pretty heavily with MLMs. I was wondering what changed your mind about Team Life, especially considering how involved you were?
ReplyDeleteone life cd "Be a stonewall" all about 6 step method of a budget. Before that cd i never paid all my bills and i borrowed money to get gas for my car to drive my 2 kids around. After i listened to taht cd and IMPLEMENTED the info in my life, i easily pay all my bills, i even added some new stuff like a fitness membership and some insurances i didnt have and i pay them off monthly too. I save alot too and now i am the guy loaning a friend 500 to keep a light bill on, and i also have paid off about 1000 in debt. Swear to God lol. Been in for a year and a half. Helped some people. Only invested i'd say 800 tops in 18 months. Better father, more friends, better relationship with my kids mom who i totally messed up her life and she hated me before i had this info now she is very friendly with me. I got more hope. More freedom, less stress and more options and confidence. So a 10 dollar cd alone got me thousands of dollars in return. 800 total investment has produce a life i don't want to commit suicide in daily plus the thousands in saved money. So ya, i guess you guys had a bad leader in your group, maybe it was your upline - probabablly the guy in the mirror, not sure. But i think this LIFE deal is one of them things that can sometime have operator error attached with it. Cause i am a idiot and i still improved greatly - so not sure what happen to you guys. Maybe you just hate people inside and it came out and no one liked being near you. It would explain why you have such a ridiculous negative site to post about you epic mistake of a quit. The american dream is to have a oppurtunity - not a amamzing promise. I know you people quit that business and never found anything better out there and so you're bitter cause you know Orrin was Right. Oh and we would hit a million faster if the world wasn't a bunch of babies who quit after three no's. Not orrins fault thousands quit in a decade because they have short term vision and no fire in the gut.
ReplyDeleteChris - Thank you for your well thought out, grammatically correct posts. I'm happy for the changes you've made in your life for the better! Good for you, but you missed the point of this post... and many before that! I'm not here to bash "Leadership" information. If you have no problem shelling out $800 or $8,000 for that matter, on information to help you in different areas of your life, then go for it. The fact that all of this "Information" can be obtained for FREE at your local library is besides the point. You vote with your dollars, as will I.
DeleteYour condescending comments about "Operator Error" would lead me to believe you haven't read very many posts on my blog. I was around this organization much longer than you, and rubbed shoulders with most of the people you listen to on CD's! You can't honestly expect me to believe that you are treating this like a "Business", and striving to become what L.I.F.E. refers to as a "Leader"! Tell me... how many weekly open meetings do you attend? What about the monthly seminars? How many Major Leadership weekends have you attended in the last 18 months? Are you on Full System... or just picking and choosing the CD's you want? If you are doing this... doesn't that make you smarter than Orrin? You might want to check up line on that brother... I bet you'll hear that you're "off track".
Finally, are you suggesting that the only reason this "Opportunity" is not at a million people yet is because too many people have "short term vision"? So in your own words, "Thousands quit in a decade" and they all have short term vision! Hmm... could it be that this is NOT that great of an "Opportunity"? No... it couldn't be THAT obvious could it?
FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE DAMN ELECTRIC BILL?!?! Did your friend run a damn movie theater?
Deleteoh i am sure you're gonna approve of that lol, since i am sure you welcome a difference in opinion lol. keep controlling the post to make it all seem negative. You steal people's hope man, god must really love what your doing here
ReplyDeleteChris - You seem to think that I wasn't going to approve your posts? Well... I'll have you know that this is NOT Orrin Woodward's blog, where if you have a different opinion it will NEVER be heard! I dare you to go and find a blog post on Orrin's blog, where anybody has challenged him on his views or thoughts, where he approved the comment, and then engaged in discussion. Good luck! It's a one way door. Not here pal! As long as it's not spam, I'm happy to engage.
DeleteAs for me stealing people's hope... no, I did that for years... it was called the TEAM Business. I'm just a small part time blogger trying to chip away at all the harm I did to people while associated with this "Business". If I can help one person at a time, ask the tough questions, and regain their critical thinking skills, it makes it all worth it! As for what God thinks about what I'm doing... we'll leave that to God to determine!
Chris Murphy, does God tell you stuff like that? Or does he only talk to Orrin or Chris Brady?
ReplyDeleteAll gung-ho MLM people are like brain-washed cult members with the only intent to make the very, VERY few at the top rich. Ever notice that most MLM "business people" seem to have been rescued from themselves? Most successful people are so because of intelligence, hard work, a valuable skill and some luck involved. In short, MLMs prey on those who are most vulnerable--financially or emotionally.
ReplyDeleteChristopher, thanks for your comment. I have to admit I had a family member ask me "How's the cult going?" every time she saw me for years! It drove me crazy at the time, however she couldn't have been more right! The biggest lie in MLM is that you really believe that you have a chance to "Make it",when the facts are, it's just as much of a "Old Boys Club", as corporate america is! The "Leaders" tell their followers that you're just looking for people who are in the "Looking Zone" to join your business. The truth is you are looking for the vulnerable people, as you said financially or emotionally!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!