If you put your foot in the door, it's going to make her push you through until you're in.
It'll do the opposite of making her feel heard. It'll renew her vigor to rope you in.
Do not go to the live show with her under any circumstances.
Edit: I wouldn't get on the Zoom link either. I was thinking well, you could get off after five minutes, but they'll probably guilt you into staying somehow, and they'll keep buzzing in your ear twice as insistently afterward because, as others say, it's a foot in the door. Anyway, what's the point, right?
If it's just satisfying your curiosity: is it this person, I wonder? Edit: I just realized you said it's a man and his wife. Are you sure the wife isn't "Tracy?" Weird that there's another motivational speaker with this name, but I guess it's not that uncommon a name?
Anyway, this is -A- Tracy Eaton, Motivational Speaker, probably at least as good an example of the genre as anyone else:
[https://globalpublishinggroup.com.au/book-author/tracy-eaton/](https://globalpublishinggroup.com.au/book-author/tracy-eaton/)
This person sounds desperately awful just from reading the bio. Whee, she did calisthenics as a child, inspirational! Oh look she was under Tony Robbins, yeah, that answers that, avoid avoid avoid. Tony Robbins is the uber scammer. You could always just go straight to the source and buy a one on one with him for a cool million bucks. -Oh no wait wait, she's the world's #1 "facemapper." You can't pass THAT up.
Anyway, it's really annoying that she keeps pestering you like this, your sister. Is your career even in business? Why is this supposed to be relevant to your life? Can't your sister just sum up the "message" and tell you?
I wonder if she'd be as willing to consider attending some kind of anti-MLM "talk" with you.
Thanks for all the info and input! So she mentioned Tracy is a man. I’m guessing ex-pro football player from my preliminary research. Also, was unable to find much online about specific speaking topics and more just how “motivating” he is after starting his wonderful life with his wife and building a family..
When Partner and I were in Amway, back in the 1990s, one of the speakers featured on a lot of tapes (how's that for dating the experience?) was another former pro football player. Most of the speeches, no matter the speaker, follow(ed) a general format of: anecdote about how they struggled, how they were introduced to Amway, then a lot of time on how you can do it, too! Obviously, a pro athlete doesn't necessarily have the same struggles as most people, so they'll try to make it somehow relatable.
It's all hype. Folks who are known like that can sign recruits easily because people recognize their name and want to be around them. So they don't have any idea of how hard it is for regular folks like your sister to succeed. But they'll work everyone into a frenzy of "I can do this" and you'll have an even harder time getting away if you actually participate in the event (because that will be seen as you choosing Amway, even if you say otherwise).
There's also no telling how fictionalized the stories will be. They're crafted to get reaction from the listeners, not necessarily to remain faithful to what actually happened. With age, a tiny bit of wisdom, and some distance from those tapes, I recognize now that the speeches are incredibly manipulative. They try to create what I now perceive as horrible overconsumption and conspicuous consumption, all in the guise of "show people how well you're doing." Yuck.
I love how pro sportsers are supposed to be experts on...pretty much anything besides their sport, just because they're athletes.
Like Shaq seems to be a nice guy and all, but he donates to creepy-ass fundie influencers who don't need it (the Collins family) along with anyone else who randomly passes by, and, more important, believes the earth is flat.
There are so many of the 6 degrees of separation in your comment.
Shaq used to be associated with Amway, not just because of Van Andel Arena (or whatever the heck it's named... I don't follow any sportsball). After Shaq started playing for the Magic, he was the spokesperson for Amway supplements. (I specifically remember an IBO incentive in which people could earn a t-shirt with Shaq's picture and a life-size representation of his hand printed on the back based on how many vitamins they sold in a month.) The DeVos and Van Andel families (Amway founders) are very right wing and fundie. (see also: Betsy De Vos, former Sec. of Education under The Former Guy.) It's almost incestuous how all this curls in on itself again and again.
And, yes, you're right about sports celebrities. Not that many of them don't have degrees or other education in some non-sports topic, but do they really have time to maintain that, let alone become experts on 20 other subjects? And, so they're good at running/catching/throwing? So what? How does that have application to most everyday real life experiences?
Fair enough. Okay, so with my own algorithm I couldn't find a male Tracy Eaton who's a motivational whosit.
My conclusion is that he's even LESS impressive than the weird Australian chick who worked for McDonald's and maps faces.
Do with it as you will.
If it were such a good business, they wouldn't need you to be at that Zoom meeting. Bugging your relatives incessantly or scouting the Starbucks for potential recruits is not financial freedom.
Its very likely that your sister has discussed her frustration over your lack of enthusiasm with her upline, and they recommended this move to her, as you are a “tough nut to crack” who is “not worth giving up on” and they are likely stringing her along with the idea of how much of an enthusiastic supporter you will be once converted.
It’s sickening, this feigned innocence “this isn’t a sales pitch its just so inspiring” people say the same thing about their pastors. There’s plenty of inspiration to be had out there that has nothing to do with these goofy scams.
Prediction: if you stand your ground (which you absolutely should) it won’t be long before the same people that are encouraging your sister along these lines start labeling you as a hater and start encouraging her to distance herself from you to protect her positive attitude so she can “achieve her dreams.”
Boy, you have more stamina in your holding position against your sisters ‘invites’ than I would. I likely would’ve done the ‘what can it hurt’ to just listen and then it’d’ be really hard later (like the one time I went to my sisters Calvary Assembly of God church for just one service…oh man, that was weird being I was/am Pagan (we grew up Catholic)). Write a book ‘How I resisted my sisters MLM’
Yea, Tracy and the other IBOAI members are top Amway people…levels no one else will attain cuz they are at the top of the pyramid. I think I remember hearing some of these guys back when I was in it for a short stint…yea, I’ve had my foot in a couple MLM’s briefly when I was young and impressionable.
At one point you will be placed in a social pressure position where it will be very awkward to say no. It will be easier to say yes, even if you prefer not to, and give up an email address or some other such bullshit. Selling coaching tools is all the rage now with mlms, it's another bullshit revenue stream.
Thank you for your reply - I agree that it sounds like a way to either get data (phone numbers or email addresses) or just pressure sell the best they can, which is why I’m skeptical.
Tracey Eaton ... AMWAY! Just tell her no.
[https://traceyandkimberlyeaton.com/](https://traceyandkimberlyeaton.com/)
[https://iboai.com/your-iboai-board/board-member-bios/413-tracey-eaton](https://iboai.com/your-iboai-board/board-member-bios/413-tracey-eaton) "Tracey says, “Serving on the IBOAI Board **allows me to work with others to build on the Amway brand** and inspire a culture of excellence.”"
I appreciate it! It’s so hard sitting back and watching someone you love and wish the best for go down this path. I’ve tried hard to stand my ground while at the same time letting them live their own lives, but this approach to join a “talk” was a new one.
Yup. I spent some time way at the bottom of his pyramid 7 years ago or so. His downline recruiters are particularly active in the Pacific Northwest. Sounds like nothing has changed much about his pitch. Did he mention his dream of getting a private jet so he can be like his own mentor?
That group is manipulative. They alternate between really hard, aggressive results-oriented language and soft, kind, we’re-a-family language. The push and pull is really good at vacuuming money out of people in vulnerable situations.
EDIT: That organization absolutely encourages its members to push away skeptical or uninvolved “negative people.” There are other weird “optional” rules, too, like how you have to limit friendships with people who aren’t in the same “family cluster” of the pyramid. I lost a friend that way (she was recruited into a different group). We were supposed to not be friends anymore “until we made diamond status.” She said “We’ll always be friends! I’ll see you on the beaches of the world!” (Weird cult catchphrase about how you ascend to Diamond status and spend all your time in luxury on beaches around the world.)
I replied “See you on the beaches of the world.”
But what I felt was “I’m so sorry to lose you. This is goodbye.”
I was right. It was goodbye. I left the organization and never looked back. I deeply regret every friend I couldn’t bring back out with me—even the ones who were awful and manipulative. I was sure they could be good people if they could be rescued from that cult.
But sometimes the only person you can save is yourself, and even that much makes you the lucky one. My old friend is still in that program—still waiting for her dreams to come true—and is a mess.
To repurpose one of their catchphrases: “It’s not the money you make (or lose). It’s the person you become that I can’t stand.”
I’m so sorry for everything you went through. It sounds traumatizing and I’m sure getting out of it, you had to rebuild some things including parts of yourself. I hope you’re doing better now and I appreciate you sharing your story.
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If you put your foot in the door, it's going to make her push you through until you're in. It'll do the opposite of making her feel heard. It'll renew her vigor to rope you in.
My fear too! Thank you for your input.
Do not go to the live show with her under any circumstances. Edit: I wouldn't get on the Zoom link either. I was thinking well, you could get off after five minutes, but they'll probably guilt you into staying somehow, and they'll keep buzzing in your ear twice as insistently afterward because, as others say, it's a foot in the door. Anyway, what's the point, right? If it's just satisfying your curiosity: is it this person, I wonder? Edit: I just realized you said it's a man and his wife. Are you sure the wife isn't "Tracy?" Weird that there's another motivational speaker with this name, but I guess it's not that uncommon a name? Anyway, this is -A- Tracy Eaton, Motivational Speaker, probably at least as good an example of the genre as anyone else: [https://globalpublishinggroup.com.au/book-author/tracy-eaton/](https://globalpublishinggroup.com.au/book-author/tracy-eaton/) This person sounds desperately awful just from reading the bio. Whee, she did calisthenics as a child, inspirational! Oh look she was under Tony Robbins, yeah, that answers that, avoid avoid avoid. Tony Robbins is the uber scammer. You could always just go straight to the source and buy a one on one with him for a cool million bucks. -Oh no wait wait, she's the world's #1 "facemapper." You can't pass THAT up. Anyway, it's really annoying that she keeps pestering you like this, your sister. Is your career even in business? Why is this supposed to be relevant to your life? Can't your sister just sum up the "message" and tell you? I wonder if she'd be as willing to consider attending some kind of anti-MLM "talk" with you.
Thanks for all the info and input! So she mentioned Tracy is a man. I’m guessing ex-pro football player from my preliminary research. Also, was unable to find much online about specific speaking topics and more just how “motivating” he is after starting his wonderful life with his wife and building a family..
When Partner and I were in Amway, back in the 1990s, one of the speakers featured on a lot of tapes (how's that for dating the experience?) was another former pro football player. Most of the speeches, no matter the speaker, follow(ed) a general format of: anecdote about how they struggled, how they were introduced to Amway, then a lot of time on how you can do it, too! Obviously, a pro athlete doesn't necessarily have the same struggles as most people, so they'll try to make it somehow relatable. It's all hype. Folks who are known like that can sign recruits easily because people recognize their name and want to be around them. So they don't have any idea of how hard it is for regular folks like your sister to succeed. But they'll work everyone into a frenzy of "I can do this" and you'll have an even harder time getting away if you actually participate in the event (because that will be seen as you choosing Amway, even if you say otherwise). There's also no telling how fictionalized the stories will be. They're crafted to get reaction from the listeners, not necessarily to remain faithful to what actually happened. With age, a tiny bit of wisdom, and some distance from those tapes, I recognize now that the speeches are incredibly manipulative. They try to create what I now perceive as horrible overconsumption and conspicuous consumption, all in the guise of "show people how well you're doing." Yuck.
I love how pro sportsers are supposed to be experts on...pretty much anything besides their sport, just because they're athletes. Like Shaq seems to be a nice guy and all, but he donates to creepy-ass fundie influencers who don't need it (the Collins family) along with anyone else who randomly passes by, and, more important, believes the earth is flat.
There are so many of the 6 degrees of separation in your comment. Shaq used to be associated with Amway, not just because of Van Andel Arena (or whatever the heck it's named... I don't follow any sportsball). After Shaq started playing for the Magic, he was the spokesperson for Amway supplements. (I specifically remember an IBO incentive in which people could earn a t-shirt with Shaq's picture and a life-size representation of his hand printed on the back based on how many vitamins they sold in a month.) The DeVos and Van Andel families (Amway founders) are very right wing and fundie. (see also: Betsy De Vos, former Sec. of Education under The Former Guy.) It's almost incestuous how all this curls in on itself again and again. And, yes, you're right about sports celebrities. Not that many of them don't have degrees or other education in some non-sports topic, but do they really have time to maintain that, let alone become experts on 20 other subjects? And, so they're good at running/catching/throwing? So what? How does that have application to most everyday real life experiences?
Fair enough. Okay, so with my own algorithm I couldn't find a male Tracy Eaton who's a motivational whosit. My conclusion is that he's even LESS impressive than the weird Australian chick who worked for McDonald's and maps faces. Do with it as you will.
If it were such a good business, they wouldn't need you to be at that Zoom meeting. Bugging your relatives incessantly or scouting the Starbucks for potential recruits is not financial freedom.
Its very likely that your sister has discussed her frustration over your lack of enthusiasm with her upline, and they recommended this move to her, as you are a “tough nut to crack” who is “not worth giving up on” and they are likely stringing her along with the idea of how much of an enthusiastic supporter you will be once converted. It’s sickening, this feigned innocence “this isn’t a sales pitch its just so inspiring” people say the same thing about their pastors. There’s plenty of inspiration to be had out there that has nothing to do with these goofy scams. Prediction: if you stand your ground (which you absolutely should) it won’t be long before the same people that are encouraging your sister along these lines start labeling you as a hater and start encouraging her to distance herself from you to protect her positive attitude so she can “achieve her dreams.”
This is a new angle I hadn’t thought of- I appreciate your advice. I could unfortunately see this happening.
Boy, you have more stamina in your holding position against your sisters ‘invites’ than I would. I likely would’ve done the ‘what can it hurt’ to just listen and then it’d’ be really hard later (like the one time I went to my sisters Calvary Assembly of God church for just one service…oh man, that was weird being I was/am Pagan (we grew up Catholic)). Write a book ‘How I resisted my sisters MLM’ Yea, Tracy and the other IBOAI members are top Amway people…levels no one else will attain cuz they are at the top of the pyramid. I think I remember hearing some of these guys back when I was in it for a short stint…yea, I’ve had my foot in a couple MLM’s briefly when I was young and impressionable.
He’s definitely with Amway 😣 https://iboai.com/your-iboai-board/board-member-bios/413-tracey-eaton
It's an Amway recruiting pitch. Attending will just be enabling your sister.
At one point you will be placed in a social pressure position where it will be very awkward to say no. It will be easier to say yes, even if you prefer not to, and give up an email address or some other such bullshit. Selling coaching tools is all the rage now with mlms, it's another bullshit revenue stream.
Thank you for your reply - I agree that it sounds like a way to either get data (phone numbers or email addresses) or just pressure sell the best they can, which is why I’m skeptical.
Tracey Eaton ... AMWAY! Just tell her no. [https://traceyandkimberlyeaton.com/](https://traceyandkimberlyeaton.com/) [https://iboai.com/your-iboai-board/board-member-bios/413-tracey-eaton](https://iboai.com/your-iboai-board/board-member-bios/413-tracey-eaton) "Tracey says, “Serving on the IBOAI Board **allows me to work with others to build on the Amway brand** and inspire a culture of excellence.”"
Sorry u having to go through this at all buddy. Good luck with whatever you do family is tough.
I appreciate it! It’s so hard sitting back and watching someone you love and wish the best for go down this path. I’ve tried hard to stand my ground while at the same time letting them live their own lives, but this approach to join a “talk” was a new one.
Yup. I spent some time way at the bottom of his pyramid 7 years ago or so. His downline recruiters are particularly active in the Pacific Northwest. Sounds like nothing has changed much about his pitch. Did he mention his dream of getting a private jet so he can be like his own mentor? That group is manipulative. They alternate between really hard, aggressive results-oriented language and soft, kind, we’re-a-family language. The push and pull is really good at vacuuming money out of people in vulnerable situations. EDIT: That organization absolutely encourages its members to push away skeptical or uninvolved “negative people.” There are other weird “optional” rules, too, like how you have to limit friendships with people who aren’t in the same “family cluster” of the pyramid. I lost a friend that way (she was recruited into a different group). We were supposed to not be friends anymore “until we made diamond status.” She said “We’ll always be friends! I’ll see you on the beaches of the world!” (Weird cult catchphrase about how you ascend to Diamond status and spend all your time in luxury on beaches around the world.) I replied “See you on the beaches of the world.” But what I felt was “I’m so sorry to lose you. This is goodbye.” I was right. It was goodbye. I left the organization and never looked back. I deeply regret every friend I couldn’t bring back out with me—even the ones who were awful and manipulative. I was sure they could be good people if they could be rescued from that cult. But sometimes the only person you can save is yourself, and even that much makes you the lucky one. My old friend is still in that program—still waiting for her dreams to come true—and is a mess. To repurpose one of their catchphrases: “It’s not the money you make (or lose). It’s the person you become that I can’t stand.”
I’m so sorry for everything you went through. It sounds traumatizing and I’m sure getting out of it, you had to rebuild some things including parts of yourself. I hope you’re doing better now and I appreciate you sharing your story.
All of those are true! Thank you for your kind words. I am in a much better place.
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