Hello, Eric,
 
"Dollar-wise I would have to say approximately $25,000 over a period of 5 years.  This doesn't include travel costs, meals on the road, etc. In lost time with our children, alienation from our families and friends, and brainwashing, well, I can't come up with any dollar figure for that.  You know all too well the pain of realizing you can never get that time back, but in talking with our children, they are so wonderful and resilient, that it does help to hear from their own mouths that they still love us enough to understand, and that we believed we were doing this business for them.    

We only made it to the 4000 level, but one thing I can say is that we met some really wonderful people along the way.  We thought they were all our friends for life, but when we quit, they just faded away.  I really wish we would hear from them.
 
In response to your other email, here is a brief synopsis of OUR story which you won't find in Dexter Yager's Profiles of Success:
 
XXXX and I live in Louisiana.  In 1989, we had recently opened a full service carwash in our small town.  We lived behind the carwash in a mobile home.  Needless to say, we were very strapped for cash.  I was pregnant with our third child when we were approached by XXX and XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX to look at this wonderful business that would bring us
financial freedom, put us and our children in a huge, beautiful home that was paid for and have as many cars to drive that we wanted.  

XXXX and XXXXX are still very good friends of ours and I don't believe that they knew about the true nature of this business any more than we did.  They were directs by that time and might have had a hint, but I don't know. We were taught that the "system" was
absolutely critical to the success of our business and that they wouldn't help us to build the business unless we were 100% committed to the system.  That meant tape of the week, go-getter tape of the week, book of the month, attending weekly open meetings, monthly seminars, and all of the major functions all around the country.  

Because our upline diamond was Louie & Kathy Carrillo and his upline was/is Tim Foley, most of the major functions were held in south Florida with the exception of Free Enterprise.

To drive to one of these functions took us about 18 hours since we didn't have the money to fly.  We tried as hard as we could to include the kids on these trips.  Otherwise, we paid sitters to watch them.  

XXXX was showing the plan to as many people as possible to the point that he qualified for what our upline called "Go-getter" which I think meant he showed 60 plans a month, something like that.  All the while I was home consuming Amway only products and services.  I knew we were paying more for the items I was buying as compared to what I could find at the grocery store, but we were told that we couldn't have one negative product in our house including toilet paper because what would our downline say if they saw one.

The only reason we didn't go bankrupt was by the grace of God and by XXXX's realization that he had made financial commitments to the bank prior to seeing this business, and he was ethical enough (thank God) to honor those commitments.  That's not to say it wasn't close. I don't remember how we were able to afford all of the products shoved down our throats, but we did.  And our business just didn't grow.  

I couldn't understand it because the evidence seemed to be all around us that many others were making a LOT of money, but we just couldn't get a piece of that pie.  I felt as if we were always having to window shop and never being able to have any of the wonderful things our diamond was showing us, especially FREEDOM.  Of course I pictured in my mind living in a luxury home with all of my children around me and XXXX being home full time to enjoy them, too, since that's what they constantly told us on the unending tapes we listened to and from what we saw and heard on stage from the diamonds at the major functions.  
 
XXXX was able to unplug first from this business and he told me later that he was even using some of the things he had learned from the books he read to build our conventional carwash business!  It took me a little longer to realize that we were just spinning our wheels and losing money in this business, and I remember that one night I was rocking my youngest baby to sleep (we had five by that time) and I asked God to please, please, please help us be successful in the Amway business.

A scripture passage came to my mind just then and it was, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you."  Of course in my brainwashed mind I didn't want to hear that, but gently He pushed me away from listening to tapes all day and paying proper attention to my faith and my large family.  We didn't quit outright, but did stop listening to tapes and buying products with money we didn't have.  
 
It's been about 15 years since we quit, but it still bothered me that we couldn't make a go of the business until I stumbled upon your website. Now I know the truth, and it's as if a huge burden has been lifted.  I know it sounds crazy, but I think you and your wife understand. My husband has since moved on himself as he for some reason did not succumb to the indoctrination like I did.  

We've come a long way since those dark days, and our conventional business that we were told was so bad has provided us with a really nice life.  We love to laugh now with our children about the crazy things we did during that five year period, and we are both so thankful that we were able to get through it without XXXX getting killed while on the road or
permanent damage to our children.
 
I thank you and your wife for your tenacity and courage in standing up for those of us who willingly put your heads on the Amway chopping block.          
 
I've lived 49 years so far and it never ceases to amaze me what some people are willing to do for their god of money.  If you ever need anything from us, please let me know." 
 
Sincerely,
 
XXXXX XXXXXXX