Three Diamond Myths

I'm posting an entry from former diamond blog. It was at http://formerdiamond.typepad.com/ and now its gone. I found it on archive.org. I'll publish one on every Friday. I like archive.org but don't trust them. Try searching TOD stuff there. Besides, Quixtar legal goons could pressure archive.org to remove it and BO won't even know it.

It is revealing what he has to say. He was in the "promised land". You may think you'll overcome the odds to reach there. Fired up! But what happens when you reach "there"?

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There are many myths associated with those people that attain the level of diamond. Among them, three stick out in my mind as a few of the most prominent. The “system”, established by the kingpins, and taught through the diamonds only perpetuates these myths. An important point to make is this; a diamond is not going to reveal the truths behind their business because they do not want their army to doubt their ability and question their direction. That is why they are directly involved in enhancing the legendary stories about each other.

The 3 myths I will discuss are:

1. Diamonds are free.
2. Diamonds are Diamonds
3. Diamonds would never manipulate their volume.

1. Diamonds are free:

The fact of the matter is they are not. In this instance I am not referring to the approximate 20 kingpins that have created enormous tool businesses. In my opinion, most of them are simply “hooked” on the power at this point. As well, it is important to point out that several of the senior diamonds have saved enough money to walk away with no financial concerns. I am referring to the bulk of the people that have ever worn a diamond pin.

Some people that are critical of my telling the truth as I lived it will simply discount my statements as untrue. They will tell you that they know their diamonds and they know they are free. They will say things like, “Call them at 10am from the office and you will find them just getting out of bed.” What they fail to tell you is that the reason they are just getting out of bed is that they did not get back form showing the plan until about 3am the night before. I would suggest that they have traded a daytime job for the mid-night shift. Most of the diamonds I knew worked harder and longer at this than at their former jobs.

Haven’t you ever wondered why they sell the idea of 2-5 years and then “you can go and do whatever your heart desires”; yet they are still doing the same thing. For many, it is not out of love for the “business.” As I traveled into 20 countries speaking for these people I found that many of them resented the business. Many of their children did as well, because it robbed them of time with their parents.

Important point: They are so busy simply because they are not duplicating anything, they are replacing what they have lost. That is the constant struggle. In the mid 90’s the company said the “business” had about 7 billion dollars in retail sales. If I am not mistaken that figure, which today includes all of the Alticor business, is in the $4.5 billion range. There is no freedom or duplication when you are apparently moving backwards.

Prior to my resigning, I spent many late nights with many diamonds as we spoke openly about the fact that there is no freedom. Unfortunately most of them do not have the courage to do anything about it. Why? Because they are not free and many are afraid of losing the only income they have!

2. Diamonds are diamonds:

Once again this is not true. Most diamonds were diamonds. I am a perfect example of this. Just like most emeralds were emeralds, and most 1000’s were 1000’s. It is no different for a diamond. The overwhelming number of diamonds I knew were not qualifying. They will not tell you that. It would undermine what you think of their leadership.

In my case I qualified once in 1995. I have been very open about this over the past 3 years. I wanted people to know that their diamonds are no different than their own 1000’s. Unfortunately, once you attain a pin you are always recognized for that pin. I believe, if your diamond actually wore the “pins they are” the army would flee as the truth would collide with the myth.

One of my problems with the pin system is the illusion that is perpetuated on the part of the emeralds and above. These are critical “points of control” in the line of sponsorship. Most platinums walk on stage and people say, “They are making $2000 month minimum. Most of the platinums I knew, in numerous “training” systems, were not making $800 per month.

Important point: Do not be misled by the average diamond income of $149k as represented by the company. If I am not mistaken that refers to the average qualified diamond. The question you should ask is, “What is the median income for the individual that wears a diamond pin whether they are qualified or not?” In my opinion, I would estimate that figure to be less than $100k.

Your diamonds would scoff at that. Then again, I remember when these same diamonds said, “there was no money in the tools.” My how things change.

3. Diamonds would never manipulate their volume:

With all due respect, this is nonsense. I am not referring to the kingpins who may no longer care about their qualification. I am referring to the average diamond that you look to for guidance. To assume that many of these people do not/or did not purchase volume to qualify at least once is silly. In other instances, many distributors miraculously went platinum thereby enabling an emerald to move on to diamond.

Why? Because it is how they have been taught to build the business. The language changes but the results are the same. When you are at 750 points many of distributors received a call from their upline encouraging them to buy 250 points. They say, “You will go 1000 and your group will see you and they will move on. Remember, leaders lead!” They call it “stretching.” The fact is that you just bought (manipulated) 25% of your business. What did this do to your upline? In many instances, it moved them along at your expense.

I discussed this in detail several years ago. I used my business as the example. I bought 2/3’s of my 6th leg in Honduras. I was there with a number of emeralds that qualified as diamonds alongside me. What was taking place was unspoken between us, as we all knew that the “language of it” was different than “stretching”. However, it was a practice that is taught to the newest person going after their first 1000 pin.

An interesting thing happens between the platinum and emerald levels; that is where the language changes. It is no longer “stretching”, it is “manipulating” or “buying volume.” The reason for the name change is simple; the upline does not want to share the tool money that now has to travel down to the new pin.

Important point: Whether you are at 750 going 1000 or an emerald going diamond, it is the same behavior, although the outcome is different. The 1000’s usually fall back to 800 points, but the new diamond gets a bigger piece of the tool money.

I do not know how many diamonds I spoke with that did the same thing. It is what they were taught as new distributors. Some bought vacuum cleaners, others bought vitamins, others sponsored family members that grew overnight, and others flew to foreign markets and came back with miracle stories. In groups where bonus checks and product pick-up was run through the upline and not the corporation the ability to transfer points was much easier.

As a disclaimer, I am not saying that this was true in every instance, but to assume it was uncommon is silly.

I believe that people need to understand that the loud voice booming through the microphone is not a wizard. In many instances it is quite the opposite. It is an individual that happened to work hard at the right time (I’ll discuss that in another commentary), get some lucky breaks along the way, and unfortunately, in many instances forgot the people that got them there.

Many diamonds I know are in denial, as they actually believe the publicity that precedes them. However, what many have forgotten is that the applause was taught by them to their teams. Many have a sense of entitlement to their position. While many are greedy, not all are. Many simply lack the courage to stand up to the kingpins.

The fact is however, that many of them are perpetuating something that they themselves did not do. Unfortunately, the army does not know this, so the army feels like they are losers and unable to accomplish something that is sold as “great.” The sad truth is, in my opinion, the average honorable distributor has not been told the truth in the first place.

Sincerely,
Bo

The preceding comments are based on my experiences and opinions.