CHAPTER 4
Big Wheels
Kept on Turning
"Rich DeVos [Amway Founder] is one of the most energetic and dedicated Christian laymen I have ever known. I am never in his presence that I don’t feel his strength of character and dedication to the things of God."
- Evangelist Billy Graham
·We went Direct (silver producer), and things began to get very exciting! We were invited to the Directs’ leadership meetings before each seminar and Direct-only seminars hosted by Zack and his leaders. This was a thrill! We began to meet the leaders that we had previously only known from stage or from hearing on tape. Most were dynamic, friendly people, and they were a source of great encouragement.
At these special meetings, the key principles of loyalty (to your product line and upline), goals setting, and the work ethic were all reinforced but far more strongly. The metaphor, "you wouldn't feed steak to a baby," was often used to describe the tiers of teaching within the leadership. As Directs, we had proven ourselves and were advised that we were ready to hear it straight without any "sugar coating." Directs would often be asked questions, such as this by speakers, "You're the real men, aren't you? How many of you have jobs?" Another favorite was "How many of you enjoy spending more time with your boss than your wife? Who is going to do something about it?" They would joke about praying for those of us who still had to get up early and go to jobs.
Indeed, sleeping was becoming a major goal for many of us. I would often stop home briefly after work and grab a sandwich, kiss Kathy, and head out of town to show the plan. Many nights, I would not get home until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. and sometimes later. I would get up feeling groggy a few hours later, kiss Kathy goodbye again, and head off to work—and the cycle continued. We kept telling ourselves that it was going to be worth all the effort, and soon, we would be full-time parents together! We had to 'pay the price,' as they say. I would soon learn to drive myself far past the point of exhaustion. Kathy only recently told me how fearful she was of me dying on the road on any of the countless nights that I was out showing the plan. I would drive from my home state in Pennsylvania to as far away as Maine, Michigan, or Atlanta. In some cases, I would arrive home at sunrise, just in time to catch a few hours sleep. The result was that our group was growing and freedom was soon going to be ours!
We had been expecting to make around $2,000 a month as new Directs. These were the representations made in all the plans that the distributors see. That income representation was made in the SA-4400, an Amway-produced document that must be given to all prospects after they have seen the Amway Sales and Marketing plan. Distributors and prospects were routinely advised that that this was a "Federal Trade Commission" document. This continual representation gave an ongoing air of legitimacy. The income representation of making over $2,000 a month was based upon sponsoring six new people, each of whom would sponsor four, who, in turn, sponsored two more. The illustration was also predicated upon each of these doing 100 PV in monthly volume. This process was described routinely as a "no brainer." One Diamond was known for saying, "Even a blind dog with a tape in his mouth could go Direct."
The challenge was nearly impossible to accomplish! We went Direct with a growing organization, but it was incredibly difficult to keep that many people active. The turnover was overwhelming. We went Direct with a few growing organizations; yet we were making a net income after system expenses of closer to $600 dollars a month rather than the expected $2,000. I was now spending well over forty hours a week building our business, and Kathy was working even harder. In retrospect, I now realize that her work was far more taxing than mine. Sure, I had to go to my corporate job on little sleep and then drive to meetings. She had to take total care of the children, and our house—meals, laundry, cleaning, taking out the garbage and sometimes mowing the lawn—be a source of constant encouragement to our downline, and take our downline’s orders, all the while being the perfect, cheerful Amway wife. This was far easier said than done.
"This business is a way of life."
- Amway Crown Jody Victor
·
I do not recall at exactly what point we surrendered our entire life to The Business, because we certainly never consciously made that choice. I do not believe that anyone consciously makes that decision. It was the specific result of an intensive, seamless recruitment and indoctrination process. After an enormous amount of indoctrination and training, we honestly believed our complete commitment to our business was the only way we could best serve our God, our family, and our country. We began to forsake all other friendships outside of The Business. There was no other way. We had no time for anything else.
There were two groups of people that we had to deal with. There were people who were in The Business and those on the outside. They were two separate and distinct worlds. People that were "in" understood, and you could easily communicate using business clichés. People were either "fired up" (excited) or not. They were positive or negative. They were motivated or lazy (if they did not get in). Showing someone The Business was often described as a financial or intellectual IQ test. It was all very black and white. Friends and family to whom you showed the plan were either for you or they were against you.
Unknowingly, in a gradual process, we went from casual distributors to totally dedicated business owners. We were not committing to this business, but to our own family’s financial future. After all, the income stream from the global distribution business we developed would be will-able to our children. It was a slow process, but after a year, we had little or no contact with anyone outside of The Business. Our schedule was one of unending training sessions, seminars, product fairs, promotional trips, open meetings, house meetings, and follow ups. I began to log tens of thousands of miles a year in my car. It was not unusual for a committed "road warrior" to sleep in his car in his suit, just out of sheer exhaustion. We were fighting for our families' economic freedom. I had to be man enough to be willing to pay the price.
Distributors were constantly reminded that God's Word says, "A man without vision shall perish" (Proverbs 29:18). We had the vision and had to keep it alive to endure the constant travel and time away from our families. When Kathy and I were together, it was usually only for an open meeting or seminar. And this was our only time together—with few exceptions.
In retrospect, I cannot comprehend how she made it for all those years. As our business grew, so did our family. She loved and nurtured four-year-old Josh, two-year-old Ashley and our newborn joy, McKenzie, almost completely on her own. I was gone constantly and exhausted when I was home. I had trained myself to go on very little sleep and could keep up a grueling pace for about ten or more days. I would sometimes collapse on a weekend and sleep for almost an entire day, as my body recovered.
No one in our downline knew of this, as we always just smiled and worked more and more. We were taught (by several Diamonds) not to share our schedule with the group. "They wouldn't understand it, because they don't have the big dream yet" was the usual reason that we were given. The plan was shown and prospects were told that income could be made in a 12- to 15-hour weekly time commitment. Somehow, this was just not making much sense, as Kathy and I worked that much in a single day for a combined total of 30 hours. But it was going to be worth it, as we were both going to be full-time parents soon. What a joy all of this was going to be!
Our efforts appeared to be paying off, as our organization began to mushroom throughout many states and eventually into other countries. Kathy and I achieved the rare level of Ruby direct, which meant that we had developed a personal organization that moved 15,000 PV in products and services that month (over $30,000). Because this was such a rare achievement, Kathy and I were brought on stage at the next seminar and recognized with much fanfare. It was humbling to get a standing ovation from your closest friends. We both would rather not have had that kind of attention, but we were thankful that God was using our accomplishments to inspire others.
It seemed like the more we succeeded, the more people in our organization believed they could become just as successful. I use the term "succeeded" loosely. At that point, we had expected to be earning over $50,000 a year, but in reality, our net income was nearer to $10,000 for a superhuman effort. Your income, we soon learned, was a nearly taboo topic. You would be treated like an imbecile for even bringing it up. After all, this was the purest form of free enterprise in America. We were all paid on the same scale, and we completely controlled our own income. Anyone who was not happy with his or her income was advised to get a mirror and look directly at the person responsible.
When you had maintained at least 7500 PV in monthly volume for six months in a fiscal year, with certain restrictions, you would be recognized as a Profit Sharing Direct distributor. At that point, the plan showed a monthly net income stream of over $2,000 a month. With year-end bonuses, Profit Sharing Directs were depicted making around $35,000 a year on a part-time basis. This was for a business that was structured 6-4-2. Specifically, you sponsored six, who each sponsored four, who each sponsored two, all of whom did a monthly volume of 100 PV.
In the mid to late ‘90s, the sales & marketing plan shown to prospects changed dramatically at the direction of our upline Diamond. We were now to show a 9-4-2 configuration when showing the plan to prospects. Once again, for clarity, this depiction represented you sponsoring nine, each of whom sponsored four, who each sponsored two. Now the annual income showed for Profit Sharing Directs working part-time leapt to $54,000. This was an enormous shift in representation, perhaps used to draw in a more upscale, professional distributor. Our organization began to change in demographics to include a growing number of extremely successful professionals and business owners.
Something else of critical importance happened to distributors at the profit sharing level. They were covertly inducted into a business, in which they were already, unknowingly participating. All of our downline leaders, as well as Kathy and I, were not aware of the fact that we had been participating in an extremely secretive, secondary business. This secretive, secondary business was their upline Diamonds' book, tape, video, CD-ROM and support-material business. We were notified about our "confidential" meeting shortly after being recognized on stage as new Profit Sharing Directs.
Our sponsor called us over for a counseling session and explained that we would now begin receiving a small confidential perk. We would get a fifty-cent break in price on every tape that our organization purchased and a small percentage off every book that was purchased by members of our group. This was specifically described as not being an income source, but a means by which our Diamond wanted to help put more gas in our tank for traveling and to help us stock more tools in our trunk to sell.
We were advised to discuss this with no one. This seemed to make sense. It was such a completely insignificant amount of money that it did not even pay for the amount of gas my car was consuming weekly. Leaders at my level were completely unaware of the scope or magnitude of their instrumental role in this covert business. At this point, we did not have access to any information that would have led us to question this insignificant perk. Therefore, we never felt any conflict about it. This was particularly true when we helped members of our group go Profit Sharing and passed this perk on to them, thereby reducing or eliminating our own.
Somewhere between going Direct and Ruby, we got "the call" that we had worked so hard for. We were told that we had earned the right to counsel directly with Amway Double Diamonds Zack and Molly at their 10,000 square foot mansion. We were advised that this was a very rare honor and that we should consider it to be a real privilege. They were, indeed, millionaire makers. They had helped many people become tremendously wealthy. These lucky people had unlimited family time and lifestyles that most people only dream of. We were told that Zack and Molly had over 100,000 distributors in their organization and had helped thousands of them make well over $2000 a month.
This certainly was not an opportunity to be taken lightly. We were instructed to bring a written list of questions, a goal sheet, and a tape recorder to tape the entire session. We were both nervous and excited at the same time. This was one of the few times in our lives where we felt we were at "the right place at the right time."
Zack had my utmost respect. It was not because he had become wealthy from humble beginnings. He had my respect because he had achieved all his wealth by serving others in the Amway business. We were told again and again that his success had been predicated only upon his servant hood to thousands of other people whom he had helped succeed. I wanted to become more like him. My goal was not simply to succeed. What made this different from any other business venture I had seen was the fact that you only moved forward by helping others to do the same. Zack had certainly done this and in a big way. I was given Zack's private, unlisted home telephone number and a specific time to call to schedule our counseling session. My heart raced, as I dialed the seven digits of his telephone number. With each ring, it seemed as if my heart was pumping peanut butter.
Molly answered and was incredibly warm and gracious. She seemed to intuitively sense my nervousness and immediately set me at ease. She had done this for others many times before. Zack got on the phone and was warm and encouraging. He even told the few jokes to lighten up the atmosphere. He told me that he knew Kathy and I were going to be big in this business, and he was anxious to get with us personally to help give our business a jump-start.
We scheduled a time to get together, and he was very concerned to make certain this time would not be in conflict with my corporate work schedule. I knew how successful he was and was pleasantly surprised to learn, on a firsthand basis, how sincerely concerned he was for others. Kathy and I wanted to emulate Zack and Molly in every way.
Molly and Zack were larger-than-life heroes to me. People from literally all over the world have learned from them by listening to their tapes. Some were even fortunate enough to see them in person at huge seminars. Some flew in from Europe to counsel with them. Going to their mansion to personally counsel with them was The Business equivalent of going to Mecca. They had been presented to us as being almost all knowing.
They seemed to have a great marriage. They spoke from stage of one another with incredible respect and gratitude. Their enduring love for one another and strong marriage made them models for us. They had a wonderful family with whom they reportedly spent an enormous amount of time. We were so thankful to get their time, because we so wanted to achieve these things as well. This couple had helped many, many people improve all areas of their lives.
The great news of our counseling directly with Zack and Molly spread quickly throughout our group, giving us even more credibility within our own organization. Zack often spoke of paying more taxes in a week than he used to make as a salaried professional in a year. This made his time extremely valuable. Distributors were told that there was no way they could afford his time should he ever chose to bill them for it. We certainly had to make this meeting count.
Kathy and I were dressed in our best, as we began our two-hour journey to their mansion. It was very exciting to know that the life of our dreams would soon be a reality. All we had to do was take the advice that Zack and Molly gave to us and apply it. Not only were we well groomed, but our car was spotless as well. Kerry and Chris had made sure that we remembered this detail, as it would be de-edifying/insulting to drive Zack and Molly in a dirty car should they decide to go out for lunch.
You Can Trust These People
"Rich DeVos is one of the wisest men I’ve known"
- Charles W. Colson
Upon our arrival, it was incredibly clear to us—Amway worked! They lived debt free. Their home was enormous. Their fleet of luxury cars was worth several times more than our home. We walked apprehensively down the slate walkway to the large wooden entrance doors. I smiled nervously at Kathy, as I rang the doorbell above a large gargoyle-like statue. Molly greeted us warmly with a hug and invited us into their home. Zack was busy on the telephone; so Molly gave us a tour, while we waited for him. We had never seen anything like it.
The house had nearly 20-foot high ceilings in some rooms with decorations and furniture from all over the world. The incredible thing was that it was all paid for, as a result of the financial principles that they had learned in The Business. Being somewhat simple people, we never wanted a house that ornate. It was quite a showplace. However, it excited us tremendously to know that we could create any level of success and do with it as we pleased. The extreme material success that they enjoyed was not what we desired, but simply more evidence that The Business we were building worked and worked well for those willing to put in the effort.
Molly got us each a cold drink and excused herself to see how long Zack would be unavailable. In a few minutes, they returned together. Zack greeted us with a warm smile and focused eye contact. He shook my hand firmly and gave Kathy a gentle hug. He was a true gentleman. Because their time is so valuable, we anticipated jumping right into The Business counseling.
They both helped us feel more at ease by asking many questions about us, our children, and our hopes and dreams. They were extremely complimentary and went out of their way to make us feel good about ourselves. They showed a real interest in us and seemed very warm and compassionate. Zack complimented us both, specifically for not being overweight or heavy. Because we controlled our weight, it signified that we had the internal self-discipline to succeed.
Molly said almost nothing for the next two hours, except for interjecting occasionally an agreement with statements that Zack had made. He once again advised that we were going to be big in this business, and he wanted to give us the specific logistics to buy our financial freedom and help me get out of my job. We waited anxiously for this "new" leadership level information.
He pulled out the tool list, which is a listing of hundreds of books and tapes that were available for purchase. He asked me if I had heard certain tapes and read certain books. Zack would cringe in mock disbelief, when we would find one that I had not been through yet. He said, "I'm sorry, I have been holding you back. I should have told you to get this book a long time ago. No wonder you're not wealthy." The message was simple. There was no new leadership information. The educational system of books, tapes and seminars was THE secret to building a profitable Amway business. It was simple! We just had to promote the books, tapes, and seminars better. The more educated and informed our group was, the more profitable they would be as well.
A great deal of time was spent in building up our sponsors as people we could look to for leadership and guidance. They were edified to a level that was almost unrealistic. We were both at the same level in The Business as Direct Distributors. Kathy and I did not feel like we had an enormous amount of business knowledge and wisdom at this level, but Kerry and Chris were portrayed as very wise, seasoned leaders. We were told to promote and edify them at every opportunity, in order to give them the credibility they needed to work effectively in our organization. This would, in turn, only benefit us, as they were working to help us get free. We were working well together at this point, and it seemed a little odd that so much time was spent on reminding us that they were our upline. In any event, Zack and Molly knew more than we did about how to make this work, and we trusted them completely.
Zack and Molly helped us review a goal sheet and re-emphasized the importance of moving more books, tapes, and seminar tickets into our organization monthly. In the past, distributors had been advised to stock Amway products in their homes to be able to supply their group on short notice. Because we had very little money, Zack advised us that it was more important to keep a running inventory of books, tapes, and other tools to sell to our Distributors.
He shared that the secret to his success was the fact that he was willing to stock enough tapes and other tools to supply his group adequately. When he was a Direct, he had two tables almost full with stacks of tapes 12 inches high. The organizations with the most motivation and logistical knowledge obviously were the ones that were going to succeed quickly. Every business required an investment, and this was a small investment in comparison to the return in our future. We left their house with complete confidence that we had the opportunity and the ability to earn financial freedom for our family and others as well.
Soon, we began to help people in our organization go Direct, and the excitement built, as they were recognized on stage at seminars for their achievements. At each level, we were advised that the big money was just around the corner at the next level. There was no reason to doubt this, as we were literally surrounded by wealthy people and a few young people that had retired. The level that people normally retired was Pearl or Emerald.
"Bill Gates is responsible for helping develop 3300 millionaires, and then he said the number two company that has produced the most millionaires is the Amway Corporation. He said the Amway Corporation is an organization that is growing in leaps and bounds and they are responsible for producing over 2200 millionaires. "
-
voice mail passed on to distributors*
Pearl was a "big money" level in Amway. We worked with a young crossline couple that had retired in their twenties at that level and had an incredible lifestyle. To accomplish the level of Pearl, a distributor had to help at least three different organizations do a minimum of 7500 in volume in a single month. This was a monumental feat to develop a part-time organization of people that mostly consume (self-use) 22,500 PV or over $50,000 in products in a single month! We were advised on multiple occasions that one young man made well over $100,000 a year as a Pearl in the Amway business. This was a source of enormous motivation for us.
To go Pearl, would put you in an elite category of leadership, as somewhere less than 1% of all active North American Distributors ever accomplish it. At this level, another bonus, which was referred to as the depth bonus, kicked in. This was certainly the beginning of the big league of money making in the Amway business.
I was sure all this hard work would soon bring me home with my family. I missed them so much. I was almost living in my car, spending countless hours building our business for our freedom. I would devour tape after tape on these long, lonely trips. Many of these tapes would speak of the freedom of being a full-time dad and having six Saturdays and a Sunday with your wife and children. No other business could provide that type of lifestyle.
In a traditional business, the bigger it became, the more time it required to manage it. Most, we learned, were slaves to their own business, and the business owned them instead of vice versa. Many business owners we heard on tape (and eventually sponsored) echoed these types of frustrations.
In the Amway business, your income was predicated upon helping others succeed and was leveraged by their efforts in their own business. The bigger it became, the more leverage you had and, in theory, the less time it took. It was the same principle that made Ray Kroc wealthy—by franchising and re-franchising a simple business concept that worked. He had helped, not hurt, many individual business owners (franchisees). Zack and Molly, and the other Diamonds, had helped thousands of people succeed in Amway, and they were financially free, as a result of this servant hood. What a blessing to be able to work hard for yourself for two to five years to become totally economically and time free. Most would not be willing to pay the price we were paying in hard work, but most would be shackled to jobs or businesses that would control them for a lifetime. What a blessing that we could help our friends as well.
I missed Kathy so much I would cry silently at times on the long drive to meetings. She was the wife of my dreams, and it was so hard to be away that much. In a twisted way, it is my love for her that was used to keep me going out night after night to put an end to this marathon of a schedule. We got a cell phone to be able to check voice mail and leave each other messages. She would often call near midnight, when I was on my way home, for a 'wake up' call, to make certain I was not falling asleep at the wheel. She feared that I could die on the road from going so long in such an exhausted state.
This was not an unrealistic, emotional thought. We were aware of quite a few accidents that resulted in broken backs or even the deaths of distributors. We had one friend who was involved in a late night accident, in which his wife was injured, and he bit his own tongue in half. This all happened during the month they were pushing hard for Direct. Another Emerald leader's own brother was killed in a car crash, and a great deal was made of the fact that when they retrieved the schedule book from his body, the next two weeks were booked solid with Amway meetings. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a valiant manner in which to give your life. He had been doing his best for those he loved. Later, I would brag with other high-level leaders and compare our "asleep at the wheel" stories. It was a badge of courage for the fully committed road warrior. I had been fortunate to survive several close calls.
The more I missed Kathy and our wonderful kids, the more driven I became to get the job done. Many of the speakers at seminars and on tapes spoke of putting their last dollar into the gas tank or into a seminar where they made the decision to get free. They, too, had slept in their cars. Their wives and children now looked to them as heroes in their own home. We often heard stories of incredible success that came shortly after a point of utter desperation and despair. We were guided to work through these challenges that were an inherent part of the success process. After all, a diamond was at one time just a worthless piece of coal that went through intense pressure, finally emerging as something of beauty and value.
Amway Diamonds often joked about how broke they used to be. Some speakers told of leaving for a long-distance meeting and having to sell tapes upon their arrival just to get enough gas money to make it back home. We would have to do a great deal on faith, but there were times when I wondered if my faith would be strong enough.
Although we were "succeeding" and being given tremendous recognition on stage as successes in The Business, we were making a small fraction of what we had been promised. If you asked your upline about money or making more income, you knew that the topic at the next seminar was going to be on envy or jealousy. Our Diamond advised us that these things came from the bowels of hell! So did gossip! We were never to talk cross line, because this was gossip, and as leaders, we were never to discuss our tools or system price breaks.
We made the decision to do whatever it took to go Pearl. We were working unimaginable hours already and could not picture how we could do any more, but somehow we had to. We could not live like this any more. We had to go Pearl and make a large income, so that I could retire and be with my family. Once again, to go Pearl we needed to help three different people we had sponsored go Direct in a single month. Very few go Direct, as a percentage of distributors. To help three do it, and all in one month, would take some real work. Kathy and I spoke of it as we set the goal and decided to help not three but four of our organizations go Direct in the same month. We wanted to have a spare, in case one couple missed the mark and could not hit their goal.
From that moment on, we focused entirely on what The Business was predicated upon, helping others succeed. We had heard many times from Zig Ziglar and our leaders, "If you help enough other people get what they want, you’ll have everything that you want." Our energies were focused on helping our people set and achieve their own goals.
Profess It, Confess It, Possess It
"Cults use Christian terminology, but redefine terms to suit their own belief and practices."*
Freedom was the big dream for most distributors we worked with. We talked about it constantly. At seminars and training sessions, we often related our dreams to each other, describing the joy we would feel when we handed a resignation letter to our boss. Some described smashing their alarm clock with a sledgehammer. Some young Pearls or Emeralds spoke of the day they left leaving work in either a limousine or a helicopter. We dreamed of having the lifestyle of six Saturdays and a Sunday. It was all we could think of. We had to learn to focus our mental resources in this direction. From the books, tapes, and seminars we learned that as humans, we could move clearly in the direction of our most dominant thoughts.
If we could control our thoughts and keep them positive and focused on our objectives, we would succeed. Distributors were even encouraged to keep a negative jar in the kitchen. When the husband or wife would speak any statement with even the slightest hint of negative, they would have to put 50 cents in the negative jar. We were instructed that professing only purely positive was biblical. Diamonds would repeat the phrase "what-so-ever ye sayeth shall come to pass," a loose translation of Mark 11:23.
To speak negatively was not only harmful, it was against God’s word. The book What You Say is What You Get! is devoted almost exclusively to that topic. This book was strongly promoted and sold to members of our rapidly growing organization. Building the business was not easy. It was often difficult and challenging. Although I did not consider myself to be very spiritual, the principles we learned in this book seemed to help in both our business and personal life. Because I did not know the Bible very well, the following scriptures and the description of their real-life applications seemed very helpful.
"Never Again will I confess "I can’t," "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4: 13 NAS).
Never Again will I confess lack, for "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19 NAS).
Never Again will I confess fear, for "God hath not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7 NAS).
Never Again will I confess doubt and lack of faith, for "…God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3 NAS).
Never Again will I experience weakness, for "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom then shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1 NAS) and "The people that know their God will display strength and take action" (Daniel 11:32 NAS).
Never Again will I confess supremacy of Satan over my life, for "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4 NAS).
Never Again will I confess defeat, for "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ…" (2 Corinthians 2:14 NAS).
Never Again will I confess lack of wisdom, for "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30 NAS)."
Not to agree with these principles is to disagree with God. The author further explains this:
"We must agree with God that we have what He says we have: His name, His nature, His power, His authority, His love. Through His Word, we own these things already – but we must take possession of them by our spoken words. We possess what we confess. Like Joshua and Caleb, we are the rightful owners of what God has already given us in His Word – but we have to take possession of our "promised land" by faith."1
It was exciting to learn these principles. We got into this business simply to make extra money, and now even our spiritual life was benefiting. It amazed us that people criticized the Amway business and its leaders. These were the godliest people I had ever personally known. It was no wonder that they are so successful. They were living by and applying God’s laws, weren’t they? We taught these principles not only to members of our organization, but to our children as well. Our children were not allowed to say the word "can’t." In challenging situations, they learned to say, "I’ll try." Kathy and I were even becoming better parents, as a result of the business. We were both very thankful to learn godly principles that we could teach to our children.
An event was about to occur that would forever alter the direction of our lives. Our sponsors, Kerry and Chris, spoke often of freedom. We had met Pearls, Emeralds, and Diamonds that had developed extraordinary lifestyles with their Amway businesses. Zack and Molly lived a life that was beyond description. They seemed to travel the world at will. We had not seen anyone that we knew personally come up through the ranks and retire young. Kerry and Chris were Profit Sharing Direct Amway distributors the day he called me. I will never forget it. Kerry called and said he had some incredible news. He shared with me that he had retired from his job. Zack had not only given his permission for this, he had helped craft Kerry’s resignation letter to a tyrannical boss.
Kerry certainly did not leave quietly. He went out in blazing glory. He had planned his exit carefully with Zack. From his description, Kerry had worked for a terrible boss who had asked him to do things that were unethical. Kerry had an arrogant streak at times, and there was no love lost between him and his boss. Kerry gave no notice and simply did not show up for an important staff meeting. He let his boss frantically page him several times.
Eventually, he showed up at the staff meeting, which was already in progress, and interrupted his boss. He handed his boss his resignation letter and a gift. The man did not know what was happening and asked to discuss it with Kerry later. Kerry insisted that he read the letter immediately, in front of the rest of the staff. From what we were told, it was far from complimentary. Kerry then insisted that his boss open his gift, which turned out to be a gift-wrapped copy of the book How to Win Friends and Influence People. This story was repeated again and again to the glee of distributors, working hard to obtain their freedom.
This was another crossroads in my life. As Kerry told me the story, my heart began to race. I can tell you the exact tiles I was standing on in our kitchen when I got this call. My life was changed forever in a moment. I had no idea you could make enough money as a Direct in Amway to retire! I vowed to work at an almost inhuman pace to get my freedom. There were no excuses now. We had living, breathing proof that this business was working. Kerry soon began speaking often of the joys of freedom. He talked about sleeping in and having the whole day with his family. He had obtained the lifestyle of six Saturdays and a Sunday; we had until then only heard of. Now it was real.
He would later go on to buy a gorgeous white Mercedes SL from Zack. No one would ever again tell me that this did not work or that there was no money in Amway. If we could just do what they had done, we could be together every day as a family! Kathy and I were elated and energized by these events. Kerry was incredibly loyal to Zack and became more so as time went on. All we had to do was remain loyal to the business be teachable, and our dreams were soon to be realized.
"On encountering a cultist, then, always remember that you are dealing with a person who is familiar with Christian terminology, and who has carefully redefined it to fit the system of thought he or she now embraces."
- Dr. Walter Martin
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